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Posts created by sue f

16 years ago 0 +0 / -0 77

No Support

Hi Sariita, you are so not alone, thats why this site exists !!! It really is an excellent site, and everyone can really empathise with how you're feeling. What this site does tho' apart from being able to talk and ask others about your thoughts and feelings, is offer an excellent cbt programme that is really well worth doing, and doesn't cost anything !!! It is possible to live with this 'thing', really it is, and live well too, not just exist !! Its not easy, there's good days and bad, lots of doubts, but so much to learn too. People have different 'coping' techniques, and relaxation idea's, most of us have really been there, some still going through it, but know that it can all make a difference, and that you are most definately not alone !! I wish you well

16 years ago 0 +0 / -0 77

Citalopram

Hi there. The trouble with all these drugs is that it does take the body some time to adjust to them and some do cause unpleasant side effects. There are lots of drugs that can help out there, and sometimes it takes a while for you to find the one that suits you. Its definately the right thing to go back to your gp and tell him how you're feeling, he needs to know anyway, and should be monitoring you anyway. It took me a while to find the right one for me, and now I take venlafaxine, but have tried citalopram in the past. What works for one tho' may not work for another !! Sp please have a chat to your gp, and maybe ask if he could assign you a cpn ( community pschiatric nurse ), they generally have a lot of experience if the various drugs used today, side effects and so on. If you have agood one they can be worth their weight in gold, and mine was definately a large part in my recovery. Hope this helps.

16 years ago 0 +0 / -0 77

Having a rough time of it lately...

Diva, what about giving yourself one period off per week, maybe one evening, or one day at the weekend, so that you can have that time to look forward to ? Also then you know that you are 'allowed', so hopefully shouldn't feel guilty about it. You really can't work 24/7, its not good for anyone !!! If you really, really can't manage a complete day, what about a nice long lie in on the weekend ? And don't underestimate the power of a good nights sleep !!! I think its one of the very under-rated things, but so very, very important. Quite often when I'm really stressed I will have a sleeping tablet on a Friday night so that I sleep well and don't have to get up so early on a Saturday. I find that I really look forward to that all week, and don't have any hang ups about it as I only take a sleeping tablet that one night of the week. What a difference it makes !!! Good luck Diva

16 years ago 0 +0 / -0 77

what is then cause of your metal disorders?

This is an interesting thread !!! When I was diagnosed with GAD, and SAD, I searched and searched for reasons and got very hung up on it. My family, as they were so worried looked around too for possible causes. I did have a difficult childhood I guess, although at the time I probably didn't think it was harder than anyone else's. There are lots of possible reasons, but its not like a physical illness when you can say with certainty that this ( alcohol for example ) caused that ( liver damage, for example ). We can surmise I think, but its very difficult to be 100% sure what caused it. Sometimes , not always I know, its just life itself, and not being able to cope with something thats happening at the time and not necessarily something that happened in the past, and sometimes if the 'cause' isn't clear, I wonder how important it is to know. I'm not sure what started my descent into such depths that I experienced, but ( and I never , ever thought I'd say this ) I believe I'm a better person because of it. I've learn't a lot about myself, whats important, priorities, all sorts of things, and horrible tho it was at the time, I'm glad I went through it. I remember reading a book when I was really bad that said the same, and I thought the author was mad !! I think I understand a bit more now, and certainly know myself better. I've rambled on a bit here, and got off the subject a bit, but I guess what I'm trying to say, is the 'cause' may not always be important, but the lessons we can learn from it are. I hope that makes some kind of sense !!!

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 77

hello having alot of trouble

Oh Nikki, I really feel for you, and wished you lived in the uk, where despite everything at least we have the NHS. We've all been where you're at, read some of the other posts and you'll realise that you're not alone. There will be people going through it right now as you are, people who are recovering, coping, and a lot who are actually free of this, as you can be, given time. Their advice and experiences , and the programme on this site were such a huge help to me, so please make use of it all.

Right now my advice to you would be a couple of things, that may seem odd to you, but really does help....

First is sleep. I know it can be so hard when you're freaking out but it is exhausting and your body and mind needs sleep to help recover. Its so underated, the benefits of a good nights sleep, but I can't tell you how important it is.

Relax. A tough one this, difficult for anyone to do, really do properly and has to be learnt. Find some headphones and calming music, shut yourself away, and try to lose yourself in the music. If you can only do this for a little while, its a little while free from panic.

Get out. By that I mean walk somewhere, nice. You don't have to be alone, but choose somewhere calming again. I know this all sounds 'trippy hippy', but again removing yourself from confinement does help. It also tires you out a bit, so its back to sleep again.

If you can see a doctor, great. I'm not sure how the system works in the states, and what is available, but medication definately helps and doesn't or shouldn't carry any stigma to it, or means you're a failure or anything like that. If you had high blood pressure you'd have to take tablets for the rest of your life, so why should this be any different ? Don't get hung up about it. If its something you choose , it should give you the energy and clear mind to explore what else is out there that might work for you. CBT is without doubt to my mind the way to go with this horrible panic. Hypnosis is also something that for some people , helps.

But know this, you WILL RECOVER, its possible, likely and definately achievable, and I say this as someone who never thought I would ever be saying so.

There is also a lot of good reading material out there. I haven't been on this site for a while so don't know if I am allowed to recommend anything, but I thought Claire Weekes was writing just to me it was so spot on.

Good luck, take the best care of yourself that you can.

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 77

Anyone tried Hypnosis?

Yes I went to a hypnotherapist a couple of times after checking out their credentials and reading up about it. There is evidence to suggest that this form of therapy is useful to all sorts of anxiety sufferers and phobia.

I think I went tho' expecting a lightbulb to switch on in my head and all would be well with the world !! Well it wasn't like that for me, but what it did do was enhance the skill I learnt of relaxing ( after the 1st session of course when I was extremely nervous !! ). It helped me to be able to induce a state of relaxation which helped me a great deal.

They say that everyone can be hypnotised, well I'm not so sure about that but I can only speak from my experience, I'm sure there are many who were probably more 'receptive' than I was and get greater benefit. I do believe in it as a discipline, and am not disappointed, as even helping me with relaxation skills I think was worth every penny !!

Try it and see !!

Sue

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 77

controversial / partners

I haven't been on this site for some time now, but as it was so helpful to me and I drew a lot of help from the programme and people who posted, I dip in from time to time to see if I can be of any use. I have a great feeling of debt for this site for the help at a time when I thought my world had ended. So I've logged on and read quite a lot of the posts over the last month or so to see what names I recognised and what progress they're making, and it still amazes me just how much inner strength we all have. We may not realise this at the time, only looking back, but it is there. Equally important is that community help, a genuine concern for others that is sometimes lacking in the ' world out there '. And its from this viewpoint that I write, as I've noticed on quite a lot of threads just lots of little mentions, almost like an afterthought about my husband won't do this with me, or blames me, and so on. I suppose this subject is dear to me because when I was going through it I thought there was nothing wrong with my relationship, and there were other causes that initiated that first attack. It took me a long time to realise that my marriage wasn't as it should be and in fact contributed a lot to my anxiety, it took even longer to admit to it as that was very scary to admit to as it mean't I had to do something about it if I wanted to stay well.

So I don't write this to provoke, or to be controversial in any way, just to nudge I guess and ask if this could be an underlying cause for some, that they too don't really want to admit to. This is not in response to any particular post nor will I name those posts that made me think about writing this. I just feel its so important not to bury this under the carpet if this could be part of the problem, as I did, because for me if I hadn't tackled it, I'm not so sure I would be better today.

I hope I haven't offended anyone by writing this, that is definately not my intention, but more to provoke some challenging thought and hopefully discussion. As I said before I owe this site such a huge debt, if I could wave a magic wand and make everyone better I would !!! ( hope that doesn't sound patronising !!! )

If it is part of the problem, try to deal with it, and stay well !!

Discuss !!!

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 77

controversial / partners

Hi. For me it was more a case that my husband was quite controlling, not deliberately so, its part of his make up I guess. If I was baking, or doing anything really he'd come along and suggest a ' better ' way of doing things. It got so I couldn't do much with him, the thought of making a meal together, well I just couldn't !! I actually had an attack when we were hanging wallpaper together because I was so strung up about it. So we'd argue about it, and both being stubborn, neither would see the others point of view. Its not as if he was cruel to me in any way, or would laugh at my efforts, to a large degree it was my hang up, he couldn't see the problem. Or else being a man of routine i.e in from work, he'd make coffee, have bath, we'd eat etc, I'd get worked up about not having a meal ready, and not being able to bath first !! When we actually talked about it he was amazed that I felt this way, as he never complained about a meal not being ready, or anything else for that matter, a lot of it was in my head, pre-concieved idea's about how he would feel. Then when I was really ill he took over the shopping, and general looking after the house. Trying to get that back wasn't easy, but something I felt I had to do to regain some semblance of control, he always liked shopping ( unusual for a bloke so I shouldn't complain !! ) so now we each do it on alternate weeks !!

So for me that control I felt he had, or was taking made me feel like I wasn't a whole person if that makes any sense. He will always have that side to him I guess, but now I don't let him get away with it , and tell him if I think he's out of order, mistakes are mine to make, his way isn't always mine even if sometimes its a better way. He's not always right !!! All relationships are about learning I guess !

Our relationship certainly contributed to my anxiety, and subsequently my panic, but I denied it to everyone , especially to myself. It wasn't the only ' cause ', but it was there, and once I actually admitted it to myself and to him, our relationship changed, and feeling more relaxed together really helped me tackle my panic. We're not perfect neither would I want us to be, but we're having a laugh together.

I wrote the initial post as I said for a long time I wouldn't look at the relationship, but reading through some threads its does appear to me to be a contributing factor for some. Once admitted, it can be worked on, and hopefully improved. None of us asked for this wretched thing, reading through this site and feeling all the support that people show to perfect strangers, we should be expecting the same ( and more ) support from our partners, if we're not, why not ???

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 77

Is it possible to fully recover from Panic Disorder?

Yes, yes, yes, it is possible to recover, definately !!

Have now been panic free for 5 years, after soooo much work !! I did the programme on this site, many times, which helped so much, and learnt. Read, and researched everything I could lay my hands on, some good, some not so good, tried looking for a miracle cure, drugs, hypnosis, cbt, you name it I tried it, because I was in despair. It took me some time to recover from what was the worst year of my life, when I honestly did not want to live with this ' thing ' any more, I'm not sure I could have gotten any lower, but slowly, very slowly the days got better, and better.

I wouldn't describe myself as exceptional or particularly strong, you don't have to be to recover, honestly. There isn't a single answer because we're all so different, but know that it is possible to recover. It is a slow process, and for me some of the major things that I changed was allowing myself to have ' me ' time, to look after myself, to sleep when my body said I should, to say ' no ' when I should, and realise that a lot of problems do not belong to me , and to stop worrying quite so much !!

I never in a million years would have imagined that I would say I'm glad it happened to me, but I am !! It made me slow down and re-evaluate my life, to realise whats important in life, and one of those is ME !!!! So to sum it all up, you can recover using the right tools ( this programme ), a support network, whatever works for you, and realising that we're not weak because we have anxieties, but rather we're strong because it takes a very brave person to ask for help, also we owe it to ourselves and those that love us, to look after ourselves.

If I can do it, you can !! And yes I do have moments of anxiety, thats called life !!

15 years ago 0 +0 / -0 77

do i have depression

Hi, as you're in the u.k I thought it might help if I gave you a snapshot of whats available to you. I don't know if you've come across them yet, but has your gp mentioned cpn's to you ? They are community psychiatric nurses, who go out to visit patients, help with medication worries, chat over your problems, suggest different types of therapy, and act as a link between patient and gp. I'm so lucky that I had an excellent one who I owe so much to, as she made such a difference to me. I had depression as well as a panic disorder, and she reviewed my meds, came when I just couldn't cope with what was happening to me, and supported me so much.

There is also Womankind, who are a support network, with local meetings.

In the u.k we also have No Panic, who I would recommend. If you put both of these into Google, it should tell you what services they provide. No Panic is excellent, with a telephone helpline, and one to one counselling. They also have local meetings.

This programme too is excellent, I must admit I used a combination of all of them !!! Why not !!!

Good luck, you can recover from both the depression and panic, honest.

Sue

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