Newbie

Good Evening @Julz4 ,

I've sent you a quick email (2 actually). Hope you see them 😁

I'm just acknowledging my human side LOL. Hope you are well.

Looking to hear from you,

tyme

That's so great to hear @Julz4 . To have the little bit of angst removed definitely helps! It's true that meds do take some time to kick in. Don't expect instantaneous miracles. It may also take time to find the med that suits you.

In the meanwhile, do you have supports which can equip you with skills to manage emotions etc?

For me, meds played a huge part in calming me so that I could engage in therapy. It wasn't the meds that ultimately 'fixed' me, but it allowed me to focus on psychotherapy. I couldn't do this before meds because I couldn't even get out of bed, let alone have the energy to engage in therapy!

Whatever it is, congratulations for reaching out - here on the forums as well as to you GP. This is a huge leap! Well done!

tyme

Hi @Julz4

I just wanted to reach out and welcome you to the forums - it’s great to have you here 💜

I’m so sorry to hear about everything that’s been happening for you and as I read this part of your story, I could hear such a profound sense of shock, fear and disbelief - not only in relation to your recent diagnosis, but also in relation to what this may mean for your future 💜

In my experience, there are so many different myths and stereotypes in relation to the mental health conditions that people live with and as such, it can be incredibly confusing when our experiences are so vastly different to how we’ve come to understand what living with depression ‘should’ look like 💜

As such, I just ever so gently wanted to reassure you that people often experience the same mental health conditions differently and an absence of certain behaviours and / or symptoms, doesn’t make our experiences any less valid or important 💜

As I sat here thinking about this part of your story, I began to think about some of my own experiences in relation to living with major depressive disorder and similar to what you described, one day I was making my way through life and the following day, my world came crashing down around me.

As such, I suddenly found myself catapulted into some sort of ‘twilight zone’ where the world around me no longer made any sense and I became a stranger to myself.

Every day felt like a fight for survival and I was terrified that I would never find my way through the turmoil and darkness that had become my life. However, in time and with the necessary care and support, life gradually became easier and small glimmers of light began to shine through what was otherwise an incredibly bleak and lonely time 💜

Although I still live with major depressive disorder, I can honestly say that I’m in a much healthier place today, compared to where I was some years ago and as such, I definitely believe that change and recovery are possible 😊

I’m so sorry to hear about the death of your father and just from what you’ve described, it sounds as though you’ve experienced some deeply distressing and significant life events 💜

Also, just while I remember, one of the things that really helped me when I was new to the forums and still finding my way around, was that if you would like to chat with another forum member, or reply to one of their posts, place @ in front of their username just like I did at the start of my post to you i.e. @Julz4 that way, they will receive a message that you have contacted them 😊

Please remember that you’re always welcome to reach out here whenever you need to 💜

I look forward to seeing you around the forums and talking with you again 💜

Take kind and gentle care of yourself,

ShiningStar 💜