**The Mental Health Thread**

DrToffnar said:
I feel you man. When my anxiety disorder started up some 7 years ago now, the depersonalisation was THE WORST thing about it. Completely consumed me for a good year or so.

The most savage thing of all is that even though I consider myself relatively anxiety free these days, I can offer very little advise to those who still suffer...

What I can say though is that you should just get on with your life. If your depersonalisation makes you anxious about doing something, absolutely 100% do it. My own personal disorder was undoubtedly lengthened by at least 3 years because I ACTIVELY avoided situations which I thought may trigger an attack or extended bout of realised depersonalisation.

It becomes self fulfilling prophecy after a while. You start to dodge the odd social occasion or day out because you don't feel up to it, then EVERY event like that ends up messing with your head.

It's hard and brutal and completely unfair and you WILL feel ***** at times, but just suffer through it and get on with things :)
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Thanks for the info and support. I have 100% tried to carry on living life as much as normal. Sadly it cost me a 5 year relationship before i sought help but slowly getting there.. I've had it for 18 months now. DId you do anything 'special' to get through it or does it just slowly go away?

My DP has not stopped me from doing anything even though it tries too. I really shouldnt be working but in a way im glad i dont get sick pay as it forces me to work or lose my home and become homeless. I think if i ended up on the sick id sit in the house and slowly become a recluse and it would take over and win. It ain't beating me that easily though. Felt suicidal most of today but feeling ok now. Some things scare the hell out of me but i force myself to do them. I'm not a quitter. It IS the most horrendous experience ever. PTSD is a walk in the park compared to DP.

Really happy that are you feeling better too :)
 
ninjabib said:
Thanks for the info and support. I have 100% tried to carry on living life as much as normal. Sadly it cost me a 5 year relationship before i sought help but slowly getting there.. I've had it for 18 months now. DId you do anything 'special' to get through it or does it just slowly go away?

My DP has not stopped me from doing anything even though it tries too. I really shouldnt be working but in a way im glad i dont get sick pay as it forces me to work or lose my home and become homeless. I think if i ended up on the sick id sit in the house and slowly become a recluse and it would take over and win. It ain't beating me that easily though. Felt suicidal most of today but feeling ok now. Some things scare the hell out of me but i force myself to do them. I'm not a quitter. It IS the most horrendous experience ever. PTSD is a walk in the park compared to DP.

Really happy that are you feeling better too :)
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Good on you my friend!

As I said, I can't really give you any solid advise other then keep doing exactly what you're doing. Keep yourself busy and when the feelings come don't engage you're fight or flight. Just sit through it as neutral as possible and let it do what it needs to do. The minute you start putting those feelings on a pedestal, you immediately victimise yourself and empower the disorder. Accept it as a part of who you are and just let things play out. With regards to the horrible brain frog of DP, that's something that WILL eventually lift. Your brains in a state of ill health at the moment and it's trying to heal itself (as ironic as that may seem). In time, you'll find yourself thinking "huh, I haven't felt the fog or the anxiety these past few hours"... "...few days" "... few months".

As much as it pains me to say, there is no clock ticking down the time limit to recovery and it seems to vary from person to person. As I said in a previous post, it starts with acceptance of the disorder. That's how you pave the way for any semblance of recovery :)
 
DrToffnar said:
Good on you my friend!

As I said, I can't really give you any solid advise other then keep doing exactly what you're doing. Keep yourself busy and when the feelings come don't engage you're fight or flight. Just sit through it as neutral as possible and let it do what it needs to do. The minute you start putting those feelings on a pedestal, you immediately victimise yourself and empower the disorder. Accept it as a part of who you are and just let things play out. With regards to the horrible brain frog of DP, that's something that WILL eventually lift. Your brains in a state of ill health at the moment and it's trying to heal itself (as ironic as that may seem). In time, you'll find yourself thinking "huh, I haven't felt the fog or the anxiety these past few hours"... "...few days" "... few months".

As much as it pains me to say, there is no clock ticking down the time limit to recovery and it seems to vary from person to person. As I said in a previous post, it starts with acceptance of the disorder. That's how you pave the way for any semblance of recovery :)
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This is a great post love it, feel in a very low mood today been great for 3 weeks, taking this read onboard today your right . Nearly home time .
 
Yes thanks Dr Toff. For me the brian fog is what upsets me. I was having a nice night at a friends birthday the other night, stood at that bar, felt ok, DP took over and instantly i could remember very little of my 37 years of existance. MY therapist said that when things like this happen along with the migraines although is unpleasant it's a sign of the mind trying to heal itself so just roll with it. He's taught me some grounding tehcniques now which help too. I just want it gone but we have to be patient.
 
Eurofighter said:
Mental health issues are weird. I have Schizophrenia but that DP sounds freaky.
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It's the worst mental disorder i've experienced. Much more brutal than anxiety, depression and PTSD which are the other 3 ive had. Essentially it is the ultimate version of 'fight or flight'. Your mind cannot cope with the trauma you have experienced so it shuts down on reality.

My symptoms are :

-nearly 100% memory loss. If i stop thinking about something for a second in the middle of doing it i will forget to finish it.

-Poor Cognitive ability - When i am in a DP spell i will be unable to answer any question, even something as simple as 2+2. I would have to use my fingers.

-Time - i can be driving say 10 miles and 5 miles in start wondering where i am and how did i get there. Time barely exists.

-YOu feel like you are going crazy, am i real? are you real? Do my hands belong to me?

-THe weirdest one for me is the out of body experience. When it kicks in i blink and then i can see my external body as a physical vessel. I am about 5 foot behind and above myself watching my body carry out tasks like a robot. It can barely function. I get angry and try and claw my way back into my body in this vision but i cannot. This is the scariest thing. The 'imposter' version of me just being all zombie like.

-Speech - when i am in DP i slur my words and dribble and my mouth starts salivating. Not nice for other people hahah.

-Complete lack of emotion - literally nothing.

-Dizzyness constatly feels like i am drunk or walking on the moon. COnstant fear of collapse.

Now i've been in therapy for 6 months and only live half the time like this whereas before therapy i spent 90% of my time in a state of DP. I really wouldnt wish this on my worst enemy.
 
Sounds bad. My illness was horrible for quite a few years but I have got quite a bit better now. It's awful but you have to put up with it. Try and keep your job(I didn't).

You will get better.
 
I've been to work everyday since my accident/brain injury which caused all this. Like you say you have to keep on keeping on.

I am glad to hear you are improving. I've never had Schziophrenia but i can't imagine that its very nice. Sorry to hear you lost your job. Have you found something now?
 
Hey all,

As anyone had an experience with requesting to work from home? I honestly think it's something my job role would allow for (Attending work HQ one day a week to pick up stuff). I also think it would be good for me mental health wise, I'm just not sure if it's something my boss would go for, it's a small company and he's young so might not understand my reasons for requesting it (He knows I suffer with mental health issues). I've found a example letter via the mind.org website, but the website and letter quotes mental health disability and the protection of the Equality Act and I'm not sure if that's applicable?

Thanks in advance,

James.
 
Hi James,

Best bet would be to simply have the chat with your boss. Is there any precedent in your company for working from home? Is it set up for it? Best bet isnt to go in guns blazing with the mind.org template, more likely to get peoples backs up than just approaching them openly and honestly. More and more companies are moving to models that allow people to work from home - saves them money at the end of the day. Depending on your mental health it can be hugely beneficial, but if you suffer from anxiety it can make it worse - you end up locked in your home and have less interaction with people. Every situation is unique to the individual, so do whats best for you.

All the best,

Matt
 
Bar said:
Hi James,

Best bet would be to simply have the chat with your boss. Is there any precedent in your company for working from home? Is it set up for it? Best bet isnt to go in guns blazing with the mind.org template, more likely to get peoples backs up than just approaching them openly and honestly. More and more companies are moving to models that allow people to work from home - saves them money at the end of the day. Depending on your mental health it can be hugely beneficial, but if you suffer from anxiety it can make it worse - you end up locked in your home and have less interaction with people. Every situation is unique to the individual, so do whats best for you.

All the best,

Matt
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Hi Matt,

Thank you for your reply.

No one else works from home with my current employer but as I said it's a small company, very small infact only 9 staff and other people's job role wouldn't really allow for it. I think my role does however, with attending HQ one day a week.

I get what your saying regarding the anxiety and staying at home but I think by not having to face the commute, early morning/late evening or tiredness I could get out more to social things and even get myself some excerise.

I will try the less formal road first and lay out my view of how it benefits both the company and myself and just see what happens.

Thanks J.

*Edit*

When I say social events, I don't mean party's and the like, as that's where I feel most anxious. I mean like small group things like a maker space or something.
 
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So much misdiagnosis in the NHS it's unreal. It's a real shame, it seems that in the UK once you're in the mental health circles you're there for life. Just the impression I have anyway.
 
Diddums said:
So much misdiagnosis in the NHS it's unreal. It's a real shame, it seems that in the UK once you're in the mental health circles you're there for life. Just the impression I have anyway.
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Pretty much, from what I've seen. My partner was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder aged 19 and no one told her. 10 years later we found out, and it's probably had an invisible (negative) impact on countless other assessments...
 
Diddums said:
So much misdiagnosis in the NHS it's unreal. It's a real shame, it seems that in the UK once you're in the mental health circles you're there for life. Just the impression I have anyway.
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The issue really isn't the fault of the NHS, it's mental health diagnosis in general. It's not easily measurable or quantifiable, many illnesses overlap with symptoms. It's often trial and error to get right, the trick is not giving up and finding a doctor that cares enough not to give up on you too.
 
Not a very helpful post guys but what does DP stand for so I can try put things into context? I obviously can't search it's meaning from work :eek:
 
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