Hi everyone.After what seems to be a very long 'vacation' (as I'd like to put it) I am finally back. For how long or for what regular purpose I am unsure of. All I know is, I have returned because I feel like I need some support - and what better place to ask? So here I am, in need of some 'opinions' on the matters at hand.First of all, the problem is I am off medication now completey (you may/not remember I was put on medication for anxiety and depression) and I am experiencing a severe downfall in my life. The main reason I would like to mention for coming off medication is because of the numbing down on my emotions it was doing. In order to treat the oversensitivty of my anxiety and depression it sarificed my other emotions - so I began to feel nothing. There was other problems with that too, like for example I started eating junk, not looking after myself and being withdrawn plus feeling tired all the time. My appearence started to suffer as did my social life. I just didn't care anymore. I switched to another form of anti-depressant and still had no change - even through several dosage changes. So I decided enough was enough and I wanted out. So I weaned off successfully but things started to get pretty bad as time went on more and more without the medication in my system.The problem now, is that I am completely and utterly the same as I was before I was put on my medication. All the familiar feelings and thoughts are all back. I have panic attacks at night and throughout the day, I get obsessive intruding thoughts, I feel like I want to cry without ryhme or reason. Then I also get extreme highs where I am extremely happy. I just don't know how to deal with it all. I am keeping myself busy, exercising, eating a strict diet and trying to tackle the problems at hand, but I am not responding to any of it. It just is there, still persisting.I don't really want to go on an anti-depressant again, but I certainly need to do something.
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Hello peeps I'm back
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There is a very promising development involving direct electrical stimulation of the appropriate parts of the brain, but it's still in trials, and it will be some years before it's generally available. In the meantime, it has to be either therapy like rational-emotive therapy, which can help mildly; or medication - antidepressant and/or anti-anxiety. What have you been on so far?
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Well, before I was on medication, for 2 years I was doing cognitive therapy. Then I was put on prozac, celexa, paxil and then zoloft. My doctor wouldn't prescribe me an anti-anxiety.Basically, I am trying to go down the the road of 'alternative routes' because I really don't want to be on something similar to an anti-depressant. The anti-depressant just hid the problem from me, I wasn't actually dealing with it. I definitely won't do a form of cognitive therapy again, because I think my mind can take only so much of that before it goes into vicious circles. So I'm considering maybe hypnotherapy - I tried this before but the lady that did this seemed to focus on past-life regression which was all a bit 'too much' considering my state of mind. Plus I don't think she could properly get me hypnotised. So I am going to try again but with somebody who specifically specializes in treating depressed/anxious people, who can possibly reprogram me to think differently about things and get on in life.For now, I'm just gonna have to suffer.
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Hi thanks for your reply.Hmmmm, the trouble with is, yes I do suffer the same symptoms that may be listed under bipolar, but how do I know for sure? I'm not sure my doctor can find a definite either. My anti-depressants did work for a bit, then they just made me wreckless. I still had the highs and lows, but I didn't care.
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I haven't really done anything particularly extreme per se, so I'm not sure if it still counts. The thing is as well, I don't like going to my doctor for anything to do with my mental health issues. I have had some unpleasant experiences doing this - so this prevents me from going back to them about anything liek that. They don't like treating people in this area, it is all very hush hush. I would see a psychiatrist but the ones that I can see for free, I can't because I'm over the age threshold or not a priority. You have to be 19 or under. So that means paying out to see one which can be very expensive.I don't qualify to be on the priority list to see a potential psychiatrist for free - because you have to be on the verge of killing yourself or already done something dangerous or life threatening. You see, here in the UK because most medical treatment are/can be free, there are waiting lists and you have to qualify to even be considered. For example, whne I was younger I had to wait 6 months last time for the free under 19 treatment, and that was when I was very suicidal. My psychiatrist was the one diagnosed me with having depression and anxiety and he was the one who put me on medication, but we didn't fully explore other areas and I can't see him anymore due to the age thing. And so, to come off my anti-depressants without the support of my psychiatrist I had to goto my doctor (shock, horror), who seemed to be overly enthusiastic about getting me off the medication. I was just told how to wean off and given a guide for how much to go down each week slowly. That was the last time I spoke to my doctor about anything like that.