Fear

Hey there @Jandie ,

Welcome to the forums! It is understandable you want to reach out to speak to others about their experiences. It takes a lot of courage to do this.

Thank you for sharing what's been happening for you.

For me, I lived in the 'corporate world' and was really ashamed to have been admitted to hospital. Not to mention family - this was unheard of! I found it incredibly difficult to open up as mental health was such a taboo.

By connecting on these anonymous forums, it allowed me to start opening up and sharing what was happening for me. I honestly, really felt heard and understood - and I didn't need to have people looking down on me.

I hope you find the forums helpful as part of your recovery.

You deserve it 🙂

Hi @Jandie A huge warm welcome to the forum. Happy you found us. I too struggle daily with anxiety and at times depression appears in the mix. Life events 11 years ago changed the projectory of my life and changed me from an outgoing confident woman to now quite the introvert. Anxiety is my constant companion and some days quite debilitating. I have tried various medications without success. I see a psychologist also occasionally and simply try to get through each day the best I can. Do you have any particular tools for helping you through your day? 🙏

Hi @April8 @Krishna ,

Great to see you pass by.

I'm sorry to hear you feel lonely @April8 . I hope you will feel a deep sense of connection and belonging as you connect on these forums.

@Jandie @April8 , feel free to introduce yourself Welcome! Introduce yourself here 🙂

I am a 42 year old mother of four children.

I am not sure what’s going on for me at the moment but believe it’s work related burn out and stress.

I am a perfectionist and can’t believe how I haven’t been able to push through and work it out.

I am in my last year of social worker and work in the human services field. So shame and embarrassment is huge for me. The coping strategies I teach my clients aren’t working for me.

I haven’t been able to return to work and feel like I am in a fight with a tiger, but not tiger present. Guess that’s anxiety.

I am completely overwhelmed with my life and feel exhausted and a burden to my family.

I touch base with my GP on Monday and see a psychologist tomorrow.

I know things aren’t right tho.

Hi @April8 and welcome. It is a very lonely experience having anxiety but please know there are those of us here on the forum who truly understand 🙏

Hey @April8 ,

That sure sounds tough @April8 . Sometimes, we really are our own worst critic. I'm glad you will touch base with your GP and psychologist. Hopefully, you can gain some more insight into what's happening for you.

Do you have any supports around you?

Hi @April8 Just a tip when replying to a member. Type @ and a drop down list will appear and click on the members name. They will receive a notification of your reply. My anxiety was very much as you have described when it first appeared, like there was a tiger lurking somewhere in my space. Please consider discussing the effect of hormones with your GP. I was working full time and raising a family and life was very stressful at the time and perimenopause appeared at 46 and this is when my anxiety arrived as well. It was a whole combination of factors. Finding time to relax, breathe and look after you is crucial. I have found meditation and mindfulness very helpful on my journey through this.

@April8 I can totally understand how incredibly difficult it is to 'always be the strong one'. Thing is, none of us can ever be 100% on top of things, 100% coping, or 100% happy/content, all of the time. We all need help sometimes - it's literally how humans evolved, to be cooperative and share everything, including our distress.

If your kids know something is wrong, maybe it would be less stressful for them if you shared with them about how you feel? And at the same time teach them that it's okay to be not okay, and show them that everyone feels crappy at times, but as long as we talk about it and ask for help when we need it, we will be able to get the support we need. Just some food for thought, anyhow.

Also a quick tip - if you type the @ symbol followed by the name of a member (or choose from the drop down list), it'll show up in blue and that member will get a notification that you've replied. You can find some more tips & tricks for navigating the forums here.