Depression Support Thread

Tulip

:hello: Everyone,

Morning,hope all is well,Shaz I am so delighted for you Hope you and Ian have a great time seeing the New Year in I am off to mums tomorrow night to see it in and also sleep over

I am sure things will be ok for you and Ian Anni have a great time at Sams today and have a wonderful time

QWB Miss you on here with us and I wish you a happy new Year if you read this post Hope you are ok

Love and light,

Katie xxx

shazrobo

thanks katie, hope you have a good time at your parents
hope you have a good time at sam's anni
hugs all
shaz xxx

Tiff_2

Hi budd!
How are you hunnie?
I hope you're feeling better budd. It was good to see you get such supportive replies.
Let's have a look angel...

budd wrote:

Ive had enough my head is so confused, I don't want to be like this anymore, I can't see things getting any better something is always going to happen when I start building myself up again, I hate myself. I am a waste of oxygen. I am not meant to enjoy anything.

WHY DO GOOD PEOPLE DIE

budd wrote:

I am so jealous of everyone. I have to pretend I am happy all the time. I feel sick inside. I have forgotten who I really am or it was scared out of me by others. I work hard for nothing, barely keeping the roof over our heads, surely there should be more to life, or maybe death is better.

Oh my, I think we can safely establish that you weren't a happy bunny when you posted this, angel - my goodness but you're being harsh to yourself! I'm so glad that you posted hunnie, instead of struggling.

Was there anything that triggered these feelings, budd or have you felt like this for a while?

Either way hunnie, it might be a good idea to visit/revisit the doctors and open up to them. I'm not a professional angel, so please use your own judgement. The professionals know what services are available to you in your area. You've got nothing to lose sweetie. Have you got any kind of support package set up already?

When we're at our lowest point, this is exactly how many of us can feel. If it's any consolation, any one of us could have written those thoughts down angel, or at least some very similar ones. This shows that you're not alone in how you're feeling, budd. When you're feeling like this it's good to let it out but once you've vented, please remind yourself that this is your stress and illness talking - this isn't the real you!

It's hard to see the future when we're so low sweetheart and that's the cruelty of mental ill health - it tries to trap you in that moment of despair and it can be a bit like quicksand in that it seems that the harder you fight, the more 'stuck' you feel. And depression loves it's own company - your thoughts seem to just spiral down and so it's no wonder we're left feeling this way.

That's when you have to try and take a step back and detach yourself from those feelings as much as you can.

One tip that might be helpful, is to make yourself read your post once you're feeling better and then to rewrite your post. Write down the opposite positive thoughts of your post and give evidence of them. Then keep it ready to read it to yourself if you feel really low again. Our words can have such a huge impact on our minds, budd.

One example might be...

budd wrote:

Ive had enough my head is so confused, I don't want to be like this anymore, I can't see things getting any better something is always going to happen when I start building myself up again, I hate myself. I am a waste of oxygen. I am not meant to enjoy anything.WHY DO GOOD PEOPLE DIE

which can become something like...

''Stop! That's enough. I'm feeling really low and stressed. I'm being cruel to myself and thinking horrible thoughts. My illness is what is making me feel this way. I'm thinking too much, which makes me feel worse. What I have written isn't accurate, it is my illness talking. I remember that I felt like this before and that I did feel better later. I am a good person and I can love myself - it is only my illness that doesn't like me. I am in control. I've decided I won't give any more time to this thinking now. I'm going to look after myself right now and see what I can do to make myself feel better. I'm going to be kind to myself and I deserve it.''

Sorry angel - it's not a great example but I hope you get the gist of what I mean. This isn't meant to be a glib reply angel and it's not an easy thing to do. The more you practice it, the easier it can become. I know this probably seems silly and over-simplified, but mental ill health feeds us negative thoughts and demands our complete attention, so we need to try to neutralise that with positive thoughts and actions, no matter how simple they might be, as best we can at the time.

If you, or anyone else, feels that they're really struggling, please contact either:

the Samaritans at
www.samaritans.org.uk

Provides 24 hour confidential and emotional support for anyone in crisis. Find a local branch or contact by phoning 08457 90 90 90 (UK) or 1850 60 90 90 (ROI). Or you can also email to jo@samaritans.org.

or

NHSDirect at

Provides 24 hour access to nurse advice, information about healthcare and about local health services. Contact NHS Direct for help with a current health concern, to ask about out of hours doctors' services and for emergency health advice.

Helpline: 0845 46 47, every day, 24 hours a day (lo-call rate)
Website: www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk

I really hope something here helps you in some way, sweetheart and that you're feeling better than you were.
Be kind to yourself, budd.
Much Love,
Tiff xxx

alba37

Glad you had a nice time last night Shaz. I've not heard of "yes man". It's great your getting a break and doing something different. It'll be nice having a friend with your for New Year. Are you still knitting?

Hey Katie, how are you? Sounds like you're keeping busy as usual, hope you have a nice time tomorrow night at your parents. Do you know how QWB is doing? So many of the 'old' regulars are missing now, I hope everyone is alright.

I'm going to my friends house. The weather isn't too bad here, it's dry and sunny, but very frosty.

Tiff, you must be so tired! How are you feeling today?

Anni, sounds like things are good for you just now, and you're seeing Sam at New Year... hope you have a lovely time too.

Hope everyone else is ok today too.

A x

Sazbo

:bdaycake:

Happy Birthday Meyore hun!

Hope you're having a fab day :j Can I have one of these --> :beer:

Much love,
Sazzy xxxxxxxxxx

slowlyfading

my dog died yesterday

shazrobo

happy birthday meyore
shaz xxx

shazrobo

(((big hugs)))slowly fading, had the dog been ill, or was it totally unexpected?
shaz xxx

alba37

Aw SF, I'm so sorry to hear that. You'll miss her so much.

Thinking of you,

A x

whitevanwoman

slowlyfading wrote: »

my dog died yesterday

I am so sorry. It's heart wrenching. My old dog died 3 weeks ago, aged nearly 15. Please try to look after yourself over the next few days - I hope you have someone at home to help you get through this. We're here to help as well.

It's taken until now for me to start to really accept the old fella has gone, and it's only been in the last week that I've managed to get a bit of control over the tears but I'm still a bit all over the place so try not to expect yourself to be able to function as normal for a while.

It has amazed me how many people have been sympathetic and understanding - both strangers and people I hardly know. I went to the garage to pay my mechanic the week after he died, and had a long chat with him about losing a dog - I came away gobsmacked as he was really open about just how upset he had been (& I think still was) when his dog died last year.

If you are really struggling there is a Pet Bereavement Support Service run by the Blue Cross. They offer both a telephone and email support service. Volunteers have completed a 6 month training course in pet bereavement support.
The support line number is 0800 096 6606 - 7 days, 8.30am - 8.30pm - a co-ordinator will give the contact details of the nearest available support volunteer.
The email support address is : [EMAIL="pbssmail@bluecross.org.uk"]pbssmail@bluecross.org.uk[/EMAIL]

I haven't made contact with them but I have their leaflet on my fridge door and I came very close to contacting them in the early days.

Make an appointment to see your GP (if you get on ok with them) - I'm lucky to have a brilliant GP with a background in pyschotherapy who is more of a friend than a GP - he was very sympathetic and explained a little about the physical and mental symptoms of grief (which I'd never experienced before). He told me that he and his wife lost their dog 18 months ago and his wife still can't talk about the dog without tears in her eyes. People really do understand.

My heart goes out to you at the moment - I know how awful those first few days were, when I think I was probably in shock. It is getting a little better as the days go past but every day there is another reminder and another memory and my eyes fill up automatically but I know that gradually day by day the pain will lessen and be replaced with what they call a "sweet sadness". My other dog has got me through this and I know I have neglected him a little recently but he will forgive me because, well, that's what dogs do! He was quite unsettled too for a couple of weeks - he missed the old boy but is now settling down into "Top Dog" mode (although he's the only dog, he still thinks he's Top Dog).

Thinking of you and sending you hugs, & licks from Rigg the pig - try googling that & see what you find! - who thinks he was put on this earth to lick faces, especially sad faces. xx