Stickied The Mental Health Thread.

[Monkey!]

It isn't a wind up I have a card with a number I ring regularly for advice now. I have also been given a number to ring for sexual anonymous and for money advice aswell as being on a waiting list for counselling with healthy minds. I can't play football or any sport due to my back being fucked from my last job where they didn't give a fuck about me.

Why wont you date a girl who likes Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars?

I like Ed sheeran sorry. I probably would have slept with you as well.

 

[mistermagic]

Does your back prevent from doing sport permanently? Going running is great to clear your head. Playing football is pretty rough psychologically if you have a bad game while you can run at any pace you like (you can even stop).

 

[Andy Proctor]

Because everybody goes on about them as if there legends when there bog standard crap that's in the charts now. The real legends are the Beatles Michael Jackson Elvis Whitney Houston ECT. Plus I heat all that crap music on signal radio all day then get wankers putting it on the jukebox at the Berwick every weekend. You wouldn't want sleep with me you don't even know what I look like. I look like Rick waller.

 

[Andy Proctor]

It prevents me from doing sport over a long period of time I might get away with doing it occassionary but all the time no chance. I only run fast if the ice cream van comes down the street bring back ginasse.

 

[Leo]

watch what you're doing....these ice cream vans can be dangerous....

 

[Monkey!]

Because everybody goes on about them as if there legends when there bog standard crap that's in the charts now. The real legends are the Beatles Michael Jackson Elvis Whitney Houston ECT. Plus I heat all that crap music on signal radio all day then get wankers putting it on the jukebox at the Berwick every weekend. You wouldn't want sleep with me you don't even know what I look like. I look like Rick waller.

I've looked you up on twitter. (Stalker)

 

[Andy Proctor]

I'm not on Twitter much only have 2 photos on there. Alot more on Facebook and usually go on there most days.

 

[Richard Cranium]

If you can’t do much sports for a long period of time just try getting out and walking, even take some of the music you do like with you and clear your head. If I ever have a shit day where I feel I just need an hour or two away from all the stress and everything I pick up my headphones and take the dog on a long walk.

 

[Dave-Vale]

Don’t really have anywhere to air this without upsetting people in my personal life and I apologise profusely in advance if others don’t share the opinion, like it or think I’m a massive idiot for saying it.

Is anybody else totally fed up of this whole drive to make mental health more known etc..? By now, if you don’t think it’s a thing then I don’t give a fuck and neither should anybody else.

I am somebody that has major mental health issues and have been fighting for more than a decade. I have only recently (within the last few years) told people close to me part of the extent of my issues.

I honestly think this drive to talk about it just makes more people think they have a major problem, these people then try to get help for their “problems” and make it harder for those who genuinely need help to get it.

It sounds terrible but it really bothers me when I constantly see people on social media sharing mental health related things as though it’s some sort of badge of honour.

Again, I apologise if this upsets anybody as this is not my intention, I’m also not suggesting anybody here is exaggerating or lying about their issues.

 

[Look Out There Are Llamas]

I don't think It's the drive for mental health awareness, certainly I know people whose reaction to things would be tough "love" and still don't really have a concept about what exactlt the issues are. And obviously I have no issue with someone publicly talking about their own issues on Facebook, or anything like that.

Saying that, I'm seeing quite a lot of things that give the appearance of lol I am depressed and anxious circle jerking. I agree that it seems like a badge of honour type thing. The thing that really grates me is memes about suicide tagging a group of people like "Lol so true *laugh face emoji*". There's someone I know who does this a lot, a few days ago there was a thing "one box has £5m, the other kills you, do you gamble?" and he's tagging the usual people (all attractive women) with "Lol this is win win *laugh cry emoji*". Maybe that is his way of dealing with issues, but It's perhaps not the way I would ever approach it and gives the appearance of being lol look at me. Maybe it is a branch of dark humour I don't understand?

 

[Dave-Vale]

I don't think It's the drive for mental health awareness, certainly I know people whose reaction to things would be tough "love" and still don't really have a concept about what exactlt the issues are. And obviously I have no issue with someone publicly talking about their own issues on Facebook, or anything like that.

Saying that, I'm seeing quite a lot of things that give the appearance of lol I am depressed and anxious circle jerking. I agree that it seems like a badge of honour type thing. The thing that really grates me is memes about suicide tagging a group of people like "Lol so true *laugh face emoji*". There's someone I know who does this a lot, a few days ago there was a thing "one box has £5m, the other kills you, do you gamble?" and he's tagging the usual people (all attractive women) with "Lol this is win win *laugh cry emoji*". Maybe that is his way of dealing with issues, but It's perhaps not the way I would ever approach it and gives the appearance of being lol look at me. Maybe it is a branch of dark humour I don't understand?

I’m really glad that somebody gets what I mean.

The depressed and anxious circle jerking thing is exactly what I mean. I have a couple of guys who I know that both share things about mental health all day, everyday and it really, really irritates me. Personally, I don’t really want anybody to know about any aspect of my health, physical or mental other than my immediate family and friends. Although, most don’t really know or understand.

I feel like people think it’s cool and popular to be mentally ill (the “LOLZZ it’s me” tagging in memes etc..) and that all of the press around getting the message out there has helped that along significantly.

I know there are people that don’t get it, and still have the tough love approach. You only have to scroll through comments on certain posts on social media to see that there are arseholes that don’t think it’s real. I just don’t understand why, if you have a mental illness, you’d feel the need to constantly try and prove to theses doubters it’s real. I don’t have the time or energy to argue with these people or have a need to prove anything to them when I have medical evidence to prove otherwise.

 

[Abertawe]

Anxiety is...

I'm pretty sure these attention seekers don't suffer from anxiety and if they do it's probably anxiety from not getting attention.

 

[Dave-Vale]

Anxiety is...

I'm pretty sure these attention seekers don't suffer from anxiety and if they do it's probably anxiety from not getting attention.

Yes, this sort of trash pisses me off, too.

I have a couple of people on my Facebook who share stuff to do with depression/anxiety all the time but they’re the same people whose other posts and activities don’t really suggest they are actually clinically anxious and depressed.

 

[Etienne Vermeer]

Well the WHO says being trans isn't a mental illness anymore, so that's nice. Now I just have anxiety which is mostly fuelled by other people rather than myself.

 

[Dave-Vale]

Well the WHO says being trans isn't a mental illness anymore, so that's nice. Now I just have anxiety which is mostly fuelled by other people rather than myself.

I hope you don’t think I’m being funny or anything but I’ve never understood those who are trans. I’m not at all against it, I just really don’t understand it. I guess it’s hard to explain how it feels to not feel like you’re the correct gender. I might have to do some reading about it.

Funnily enough, I proper enjoyed Queer Eye on Netflix and there was a trans guy on there and even one of the Queer Eye dudes just couldn’t understand it either.

 

[Etienne Vermeer]

I hope you don’t think I’m being funny or anything but I’ve never understood those who are trans. I’m not at all against it, I just really don’t understand it. I guess it’s hard to explain how it feels to not feel like you’re the correct gender. I might have to do some reading about it.

Funnily enough, I proper enjoyed Queer Eye on Netflix and there was a trans guy on there and even one of the Queer Eye dudes just couldn’t understand it either.

I'm okay with people not understanding and admitting as such, it's the wanton hate and ignorance I have a hard time with.

I get it though, I totally wouldn't understand either if I weren't myself. It's a... unique experience

 

[Dave-Vale]

I'm okay with people not understanding and admitting as such, it's the wanton hate and ignorance I have a hard time with.

I get it though, I totally wouldn't understand either if I weren't myself. It's a... unique experience

No hate from me at all.

I’ve recently starts on Sertraline. Tried Citalopran and Fluoxetine before and neither did anything for me.

Anybody got any experience with Sertraline? Already getting similar side effects I had with the other two. Grinding my teeth, weird feeling in my throat and weird anxious feeling.

 

[Andy Proctor]

Im pissed off was on a waiting list for 3 months for counselling and i had 2 sessions with healthy minds when they decided this treatment isnt right for me so im now on a waiting list for 3 months again but with another company. What are you meant do in the mean time when your feeling really down and desperate for somebody to talk too.

 

[TractorBoys]

Im pissed off was on a waiting list for 3 months for counselling and i had 2 sessions with healthy minds when they decided this treatment isnt right for me so im now on a waiting list for 3 months again but with another company. What are you meant do in the mean time when your feeling really down and desperate for somebody to talk too.

I appreciate this isn't an option for some people, and it doesn't change the fact that public waiting lists are shameful, but since going private I have never looked back. Costs me around £150 a month plus prescriptions but I have had 12 months of stability now at 27. Haven't achieved that since I was 15.

 

[Abertawe]

 

[Andy Proctor]

I appreciate this isn't an option for some people, and it doesn't change the fact that public waiting lists are shameful, but since going private I have never looked back. Costs me around £150 a month plus prescriptions but I have had 12 months of stability now at 27. Haven't achieved that since I was 15.

Glad it looks like you sorted yourself out

 

[TractorBoys]

Glad it looks like you sorted yourself out

Bipolar Disorder type 2, Borderline Personality Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder and drug and alcohol disorders is my official title, what a mouthful! However, close to a year of largely clean living now.

I also don't seem to have 'cycled' in the last 12 months either so the Bipolar diagnosis may be dropped as 12 months without a clear episode is very rare. I'll remain on antiphyscotics for the rest of my life, though.

Onwards and upwards.

 

[FishyMackem]

Officially finished my last round of CBT today. A small step but I'm feeling tons better.

 

[SamScfc]

Hi all I just wanted to ask an opinion really, I've not used this forum much recently...

I'm absolutely knackered as I write this so it's pretty hard for me to word.

For a while now I've thought I'd a degree of anxiety/depression but tried to ignore it. But today I've took a few depression self assessments and they seem to rank pretty high on the depression scale.

I won't go massively into the details but basically I find it hard to concentrate on things, I can't put my phone away for more than half an hour, I feel very anxious; for example if I do something good I feel like I need to go out of my way to tell people to make myself feel better.

I go through these stages where I get really motivated, I'll read all the books, watch all the videos, write all sorts of things down, become more determined than ever, but it never lasts long and I become more frustrated with myself.

I hate my job but don't have the guts to get out, my job is very easy, it pays quite well but I want more than that out of life, I have a passion to become a football coach and see as much of the world as I can but I end up settling for what I have now and think I should be grateful for it.

I have days where I'm quite happy, I've just come back from a holiday and was really happy and suddenly here I am writing this.

I don't like really like my personality, I hate that I'm quite a shy guy and not very confident, where as when I'm with my mates I'm totally different. Plus I feel tired and have no energy constantly.

I'm pretty sure I need to talk to my GP but need a second opinion.

 

[FishyMackem]

It's your call but I would definitely talk to your GP or somebody. There is no harm in speaking out and being open to someone about it as it means you're not dealing with it alone and you are taking steps to working out what it is. The worst that can happen is they diagnose you with something but then they will prescribe whatever help it is you need to overcome it or manage it.

 

[Etienne Vermeer]

Hi all I just wanted to ask an opinion really, I've not used this forum much recently...

I'm absolutely knackered as I write this so it's pretty hard for me to word.

For a while now I've thought I'd a degree of anxiety/depression but tried to ignore it. But today I've took a few depression self assessments and they seem to rank pretty high on the depression scale.

I won't go massively into the details but basically I find it hard to concentrate on things, I can't put my phone away for more than half an hour, I feel very anxious; for example if I do something good I feel like I need to go out of my way to tell people to make myself feel better.

I go through these stages where I get really motivated, I'll read all the books, watch all the videos, write all sorts of things down, become more determined than ever, but it never lasts long and I become more frustrated with myself.

I hate my job but don't have the guts to get out, my job is very easy, it pays quite well but I want more than that out of life, I have a passion to become a football coach and see as much of the world as I can but I end up settling for what I have now and think I should be grateful for it.

I have days where I'm quite happy, I've just come back from a holiday and was really happy and suddenly here I am writing this.

I don't like really like my personality, I hate that I'm quite a shy guy and not very confident, where as when I'm with my mates I'm totally different. Plus I feel tired and have no energy constantly.

I'm pretty sure I need to talk to my GP but need a second opinion.

Absolutely talk to a doctor. I know taking the first step sucks because you're admitting a problem, but you'll feel a weight off your shoulders, and you'll get the help you need. Keeping things to yourself will just eat you alive.

 

[Andy Proctor]

I had a counselling appointment a week and a half ago and I was told record anytime somebody said something positive about you but nobody has all I get it negative stuff and people slagging me off. I've had enough now if nobody has anything good say about me then I don't see the point in being alive. If there's not a policeman at my door in the next couple of hours then that's it with me not as if anybody will care. They will probably only care when they see how much debt I'm leaving them

 

[Redpelt]

I've never really spoke about this ,well not in any real depth ,but I lost my best friend two years ago through illness ,he had his initial diagnosis and 4 weeks later he was just a memory.I felt bereft of emotion ,listless and genuinely disinterested in any form of social interaction,it was almost like living in my own bubble and I pushed my family and friends outside of that bubble.

Its just that I've known him since infant school and we were literally joined at the hip ,I feel like I've lost part of me ,I've lost the only person that truly fucking got me. I still go out with the rest of the lads but there's this massive hole in his absence and I can sometimes hear myself cranking up this piercing scream inside my head almost like its provoking me into producing something similar in pitch to this shrill I lock inside for the whole pub to hear.

I mean I go the local gym and I've a punch bag in the basement which I knock fuck out of regularly but nothing I do seems to release this pent up anger ,frustration, just plain fucking hurt.

The reason I'm posting this is the other day I found myself stopped at traffic lights and I just slumped myself over the wheel and wept uncontrollably ,people behind me were beeping but I was frozen I just simply never had the will to pull away.

I have my wife for comfort and I'm constantly surrounded by people who care about me but I still feel alone and isolated ,its like when he died he took a part of me that made me fearless away.

 

[Big Bird]

Might as well write some stuff down while I'm here...

When I was 18 I was at my computer reading old TFF. Felt a huge head rush and woke up on the floor having passed out. Kept that to myself for a while but dropped out of college and stopped going to work as ever since that day I've felt different. Feels like brain fog all day every day. I feel less intelligent and can't hold a conversation because I genuinely can't think of anything to say. Wake up tired no matter how much sleep.

Went to the doctor and had a blood test. They couldn't find anything wrong so I just sort of cracked on day to day while feeling crap but I could at least operate.

Last couple of years have worsened however, find myself getting very anxious. My brain feels like it's irreparably damaged and I struggle with some sense of realism. For example if I think about space and the fact the earth is billions of years old I genuinely have to hold onto whatever is around me because I feel like I'm going to pass out or fall over. Very often have to go and lie down. Also bad when driving or a passenger in a car on the motorway. Go into a zone where I think about how quick everyone's actually going and my brain seems to fill with panic and dread.

Want to go to the doctor but worried I'll be declared insane or something and be locked up away from my kids. Also convinced myself they'll decide it's been so long since this episode that they'll put it down to me conjuring something up in my head. I however know its something physical and have been struggling every day since.

My dad's epileptic - considered this could be attributed to what I experienced but surely I'd have had a similar episode in the past 12 years.

Feel like it's reached crunch time. Need to bring more money in but worried my brain in its current state won't let me retain any new information or allow me to blend with new people. Pretty sure everyone at work things I'm the quiet weirdo because I just get my head down and crack on each day.

 

[Petersfield]

Hello, this isnt a reply to any thread but for everyone. This is an attempt to bring a broader perspective, and i hope a deeper understanding of where you are, and who you are.

When doctors train,they study normal functioning of the body, so they have something to go by. This is not true in mental health where they only study mental ill health. There are studies on what mental health is, not many though. Having mental health problems may mean you feel alone with it, and there is something fundamentally wrong or bad. There is no need to feel like that.

To cut a long story short, studies into positive mental health show that people with perfect mental health are as numerous as Olympic gold medal winners in any country. In Britain thats about 30 in 65 million. If you want to learn about what mental health is, as opposed to ill health then buy this book. Its called "Life and how to survive it", By Robin Skynner and John Cleese. If you want a pathway, this is it, i highly reccomend it, its written for the layman and is very funny.

Secondly, and more importantly there is "Who you are". Carl Jung did research into personality types and said that peoples reaction to everyday life is not random, but follows a pattern. This led to psychologists developing this into the Myers Briggs Foundation which is on the internet. A questionairre will determine your type. Honesty, and your first answer is always best.

My personality type states that i am an introvert, one of the most introverted. You probably think thats bad, not so, i like being introverted. Thats not to say i cant be the life and soul of a party, i can, for a while, and rarely, but my batteries quickly become depleted and i want to go home, where i shut myself away, sometimes for weeks, to recuperate and recharge. I like going to London, when i get on the street, i notice everything, the traffic, the bloke over there, the timing needed to cross the road, the figure in a window across the street, who i need to dodge, etc, its all exhausting.

My type live in our heads, thoughts never stop, ever. Isnt this all worth knowing? And those that live around you?. If you want to be quiet for a while that doesnt mean you are rejecting people, and its good that they know it, you need to tell them. My type is both a blessing and a curse. One blessing is that i can talk to a stranger for ten minutes and know all there is to know about them, with a 95 per cent accuracy. I know that because i worked in the NHS in mental health for over thirty years.

What you think is bad or wrong in your personality, and how you live your life is probably wrong, maybe very wrong. It will be worth finding out.