Mental Health Thread 2

[Prydzopolis]

Just checking in to see how you’re all holding up?

How are you holding up @NeverGoat? Can’t be easy for you after your loss?

Also how are you @Kitto? Have you reached out to your GP yet?

Was good to see @Smoggy back on the forums, I know you’re doing it tough buddy, just know we are here for you if you need it

edit: Apologies, I forgot you@Edinburgh, I know the last couple of months have been difficult for you! Sorry, it feels like so long ago

[Neverbloom]

31 minutes ago, Prydzopolis said:

Just checking in to see how you’re all holding up?

How are you holding up @NeverGoat? Can’t be easy for you after your loss?

Also how are you @Kitto? Have you reached out to your GP yet?

Was good to see @Smoggy back on the forums, I know you’re doing it tough buddy, just know we are here for you if you need it

thank you, not specifically about my dog but its been a difficult day, suicidal ideation is back at least it is a bit, will be going to the doctor soon but hopefully it will fix itself, how are you doing? should be meeting with a friend next weekend for the first time all year so that is a plus

[Edinburgh]

On 16/06/2020 at 9:14 PM, Prydzopolis said:

Just checking in to see how you’re all holding up?

How are you holding up @NeverGoat? Can’t be easy for you after your loss?

Also how are you @Kitto? Have you reached out to your GP yet?

Was good to see @Smoggy back on the forums, I know you’re doing it tough buddy, just know we are here for you if you need it

edit: Apologies, I forgot you@Edinburgh, I know the last couple of months have been difficult for you! Sorry, it feels like so long ago

I'm great thanks Prydz.

[Kitto]

I have an appointment with the gp this afternoon. 

[Edinburgh]

2 hours ago, Kitto said:

I have an appointment with the gp this afternoon. 

Excellent 

[Kitto]

So that's done. I was a bit nervous. I have a referral for a psych. 

One thing that I wasn't expecting was the doctor asked if I had an 'exit plan'. Of course it makes sense to ask. She said that if I was a diabetic or had cancer, it makes sense to see a doctor and it should be the same way for mental health as well. 

[Neverbloom]

glad it went well

[Prydzopolis]

 

[Neverbloom]

say what you want about Jordan but this is powerful
 

 

[wendybr]

He's a good man.

I've watched that a few times...

I hope he's doing OK. 

 

 

[Neverbloom]

5 hours ago, wendybr said:

He's good man.

I've watched that a few times...

I hope he's doing OK. 

 

 

same, honestly have not checked out too much of his psychology things but will soon, still remember how respectful he was to that rude woman on Q&A a while back

[Neverbloom]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-08/australia-suicide-problem-solutions-verdict-unclear/12416882?nw=0

[Prydzopolis]

 

[Kitto]

Hey everyone. 

 

So I had a psych appointment on Friday. Maybe I had too high of an expectation of the consultation but I left feeling quite underwhelmed. 

 

I've been prescribed anti-depressants and something for my sleep. Started taking them last night. Slept OK. I understand it may take a bit to kick in. 

 

I feel I have nothing to help in the immediate short term, and nothing to change my ways in the long term. I don't want to be taking medication for the rest of my life. 

 

Cognitive behaviour therapy was mentioned. I guess I'll look into that myself. 

[Neverbloom]

2 hours ago, Kitto said:

Hey everyone. 

 

So I had a psych appointment on Friday. Maybe I had too high of an expectation of the consultation but I left feeling quite underwhelmed. 

 

I've been prescribed anti-depressants and something for my sleep. Started taking them last night. Slept OK. I understand it may take a bit to kick in. 

 

I feel I have nothing to help in the immediate short term, and nothing to change my ways in the long term. I don't want to be taking medication for the rest of my life. 

 

Cognitive behaviour therapy was mentioned. I guess I'll look into that myself. 

the first dose of medication can be very rough, the first time i took sertraline it knocked me around some, after 4 or 5 days it was fine but it took some adjustment, CBT can take a while to actually be very helpful its not a quick fix but at least in my experience it can take a bit, different for everyone though, most people dont need to use medication for the rest of their lives for a lot of people its just something they need for a while

[marron]

Yeah.

Don't want to sound like a wet blanket here but...

There is no quick fix.

Psych's don't always fit with you and what you need. There is no shame in going "this isn't working, can you recommend someone else". Having said that, it all takes time, so you're not going to be able to really judge that for a little while.

I was seeing people for a while, and taking meds. Maybe over a few years I think I saw at least 4 or 5 different ones regularly over the whole course of it. It's funny, one guy I was seeing got the shits with me one day and I shut down and never went back to him, tried at least 1 or 2 other people after him. But in the end, it was something that he said flippantly that has made the difference for me long term. So you never know.

The other thing is that, while I don't doubt that for some mental health issues can absolutely be resolved, for others (like myself) it's more about coming to terms with it and learning about how to deal with it as opposed to like fixing it. Not that things can't be better overall, a whole lot better. But yeah.

Meds can help with just taking the edge off things so you can feel better about trying to move forward and work it out, I guess. For me, yep, like goat said, the first little bit was rough, quite strange. I also did NOT like the idea of being on them for good. When I'd been on them a while, I went to the GP, and the pscyh, and said, hey, I think I want to get off these, I'm feeling good and I'm worried about just needing them to feel good. I want to know the extent to which I am being in control here and how much is the meds. So they told me how to go with it, I can't remember now. Anyway, that was also a bit rough coming off them but I felt better about it overall. But probably, being on them in the first place allowed me to get to that point, if you know what I mean. 

[wendybr]

Very glad you've made a start, Kitto, and let's hope it's the 3rd step to you getting on top of your difficulties (the 1st step being talking to your wife, and the 2nd being, talking to your GP).

Re something to help with sleep - I recall, with a close family member, Melatonin being diagnosed, and being helpful - not the Melatonin you can buy over the counter, which is not very potent, but something  a Compounding Chemist made up.

It's a natural hormone, and was recommended above sleeping tablets. Two different types - one slower acting,  and one quicker acting. Might be worth asking your GP about? Not cheap, but worth it to get a good night's sleep, and to wake up feeling good. Getting off to sleep gently, staying asleep, and then waking up feeling genuinely rested was what I heard was the effect of the Melatonin.

All the best with the journey, Kitto - and take care of yourself!

 

[StringerBellend]

5 hours ago, Kitto said:

Hey everyone. 

 

So I had a psych appointment on Friday. Maybe I had too high of an expectation of the consultation but I left feeling quite underwhelmed. 

 

I've been prescribed anti-depressants and something for my sleep. Started taking them last night. Slept OK. I understand it may take a bit to kick in. 

 

I feel I have nothing to help in the immediate short term, and nothing to change my ways in the long term. I don't want to be taking medication for the rest of my life. 

 

Cognitive behaviour therapy was mentioned. I guess I'll look into that myself. 

Great that you are going down the path of getting help.

Some thoughts that might help, but feel free to message me (bits from others bits from me)

- Psychs can all be very different and people are all different what works with one person might not work with another so, give it a good go but don’t be afraid to change and find one that works for you. It’s a very personal process so you need to feel comfortable with that person 

- they tend to fall into different schools of thought, some will be very CBT based (which some argue is treating symptom not the cause) others will be more trying to get you to talk about the cause and get to root, again it will work different for different people. Both have a place too especially to deal with short term to get you into a place to deal with the long term

- generally medication is more effective when coupled with the “Talky” treatment ie psych, it might calm you enough and give you the space to think clearly for the psych to work and take effect

- with the medication it will take a couple of weeks to take effect, and you might have to try different ones. It’s a Almost a guessing game in doctors part which One will work for you all our brains are different and we react differently again don’t be afraid to tell your doctor how it makes you feel and try and other one 

- if medication works, don’t  feel that you have to stop in the short term, if it works for you and helps, then keep with it, you wouldn’t stop any other sort of medication you needed,
Most people don’t want to start it or see it as something they’ll stop as soon as possible, but it might be something that you do for a couple of years..

if it helps get you to a point where you can appreciate life fully then that’s just a good thing, so you might carry on with It

Hope something there helps 

[marron]

ShEesh somehow  forgot to say - it's awesome you're on the path and doing something kitto. A journey of a thousand miles etc etc.

[Kitto]

4 hours ago, marron said:

ShEesh somehow  forgot to say - it's awesome you're on the path and doing something kitto. A journey of a thousand miles etc etc.

Thanks. I'm not usually the one to be open about things but I hope by posting about it, it may encourage others to take action too if they need it. 

[bombagol]

24 minutes ago, Kitto said:

Thanks. I'm not usually the one to be open about things but I hope by posting about it, it may encourage others to take action too if they need it. 

@Kitto, not sure if this will help your sleep, but I'll share what I do.

I had been physically pretty active before Covid, so I usually slept well.  But my activity level has dropped during Covid and there have been some worrying developments at work and often found it difficult to fall asleep.

Then I remembered that when I was a kid growing up in Hungary in the 1980s, there used to be a nightly 10-minute exercise class on TV.  It was to freshen up and your body wanting to rest for the night.

So lately I started to do stretching / yoga for about ~15 minutes before going to bed.  I just do it quietly in the dark on the carpet in the bedroom while my wife is already asleep.  I find it works really well as it loosens and relaxes the body and I fall asleep easier.

All the best, I wish you well.

 

[Kitto]

The kids used to do a little "kids cosmic yoga". Unfortunately due to a buggered up leg (which is the other reason I went to the gp) I can't really bend it without pain. Going for a full body MRI in about two weeks to see if I have any other tumours if I have one in my brain that maybe might explain a few things, so hopefully that can be excluded once the test is done 

[EmMac]

19 hours ago, Kitto said:

The kids used to do a little "kids cosmic yoga". Unfortunately due to a buggered up leg (which is the other reason I went to the gp) I can't really bend it without pain. Going for a full body MRI in about two weeks to see if I have any other tumours if I have one in my brain that maybe might explain a few things, so hopefully that can be excluded once the test is done 

Hugs 

Come talk about it any time

[Kitto]

How we all doing? 

 

Turns out I have a golf ball sized tumour somehow nestled behind my knee cap. It's pushing on the nerves around it and causing mischief. Organised surgery for about three weeks time. It's not cancerous which is good but it's growing and I need to get it sorted out. 

[wendybr]

1 hour ago, Kitto said:

How we all doing? 

 

Turns out I have a golf ball sized tumour somehow nestled behind my knee cap. It's pushing on the nerves around it and causing mischief. Organised surgery for about three weeks time. It's not cancerous which is good but it's growing and I need to get it sorted out. 

Oh no!

Well...parts of that post are good ,Kitto!

It's good that you'll be operated on and will feel better soon!  

[Prydzopolis]

Oh Kitto!! Just be grateful it isn’t cancerous, good with the bad I guess! Hope the surgery goes well!

How are you battling on the other fronts @Kitto? 

[Neverbloom]

four corners is doing an episode on people with mental health issues and they are making us all look like a bunch if violent psychopath's who will randomly kill you, its fantastic

that said only 6 minutes in maybe it improves

[sonar]

9 minutes ago, Neverbloom said:

four corners is doing an episode on people with mental health issues and they are making us all look like a bunch if violent psychopath's who will randomly kill you, its fantastic

that said only 6 minutes in maybe it improves

Don't take it to heart....the media always do this sort of crap (and the ABC is not exception).....depicting everyone/anyone on benifits are dole bludgers etc......

[Neverbloom]

14 minutes ago, sonar said:

Don't take it to heart....the media always do this sort of crap (and the ABC is not exception).....depicting everyone/anyone on benifits are dole bludgers etc......

thank you, they are more harsh on the system then anyone with mental health issues but i still dont get why they focus on a few cases all of which are people with mental health issues murdering other people, i mean dont get me wrong i know these things happen but they are so rare compared to someone who just ends up killing themselves

honestly i dont feel much stigma around my mental health issues as most people i have been friends with had their own mental health issues but for other people its just not a good look to focus on those people who murder others

[Kitto]

18 hours ago, Prydzopolis said:

Oh Kitto!! Just be grateful it isn’t cancerous, good with the bad I guess! Hope the surgery goes well!

How are you battling on the other fronts @Kitto? 

Good, real good actually. When I get closer to depleting my medication I'll go back to the gp. I'm going to cancel my next appointment with the psych since I didn't really felt like it all 'clicked', but I'll get a referral to someone else. 

 

On that thought, do I actually need a referral or should I just get some local recommendations (no idea where though)