MAD[Mightily Anxious & Depressed] seeking any support

PS You are most welcome to use the FITH idea, she would be tickled pink that others can get some mileage from it!

Calm, faith and working. Good things to have going for you. When you are feeling in the sh- remind yourself: this too will pass. Try working on adding some self-compassion to the mix. It was one of the things that made a huge difference to me last year after I did an Acceptance and Commitment therapy course with Eastern CASA. There are good reasons why we struggle, it is just that often we don't have enough puzzle pieces to show us the picture of why until much later. In the meantime be gentle with yourself. 🙂

Hi Annabelle,

I think you are doing incredibly well if you hold down a job 2 days a week. I have bipolar (mostly at the depressive end of the scale) and I struggle to make meals too. (Strangely if I'm cooking for someone else who's having a hard time it's much easier for me to cook for my family, is that strange?) I haven't been able to work in paid employment since before my son was born (over 17 years ago), even before that I struggled.

I think that having to hide a MI takes a huge amount of energy too. I don't know that "normal" even exists - I think we all have our issues and those of us (like you) who admit them are more honest. I've known families who put on a wonderful show for others but underneath it all there's a deep level of dysfunction.

It's good to have you joining in. Hopefully you'll find it helpful too. Take care.

Best regards,

Kristin

Well said ml. Thanks. We really need to hear those messages, as there is so much negativity around which seems to eat away at our sense of self and inherent value.

Thanx kristin,

I usually get a lot of self-compassion, acceptance, and self-caring from my religion. So thankyou for wishing well for me. I'm Buddhist, which suits me. I have had a meditation practice for a while. Becoming calm and keeping calm is part of that.

Also there is a goddess (kind of) who I can turn to for loving-kindness and compassion. Guan Yin or Guan Shi Yin, bless her.

Hi Alessa (is that ok to shorten your name? I realise i've been doing it a bit with various people, and I hate having mine shortened!),

Yes I've just scratched the surface with it, but it has made a huge difference. You are so right - it is such a relief to realise you don't need to fight with yourself over the pain, anxiety, etc.

If he does do another one next year can you post it on here please? I'm about 1.5hours drive from Hawthron (or any inner Melbourne) but it would be worth the drive.

Best regards,

Kristin

Hi Kristin

You are doing really good things on here, I see the way you're helping people. Sharing your wisdom in a down to earth way is one of the best methods of helping others I think, especially as you're speaking from experience. I like your counter cultural reference, I can relate to that 🙂 If you can keep normalising what are actually not abnormal experiences[!] as you say, then it will improve for everyone. Thank you again.

Hi there,

Thank you for your beautiful encouraging message. I really appreciate it !

To be honest the more I understand about mental illness the more I am convinced that MI is actually a completely normal and healthy response to terrible circumstances. MIs don't occur in a vacuum, and just because we don't consciously hold all the pieces at any given time in our lives doesn't mean that there isn't a very good reason for the illness(es).

For example I have been suffering from severe and chronic depression since I was 16, I'm now 51. Up until 5 years ago I had a bunch of pieces to a puzzle that never fit together in a picture which made sense of my depression. After the trauma of the 2009 Victorian bushfires a memory that I have remembered all my life blew my world to pieces - because I finally actually understood it with an adult view. I had never even realised before that the memory had always been in a mental "glass box" beheld with a child's-eye view. This was a central piece, and I have been putting pieces together in a new way ever since.

It hasn't been forensics, that's too scientific. It's more like collage: gentle, sometimes painful, often surprisingly beautiful and poignant, and definitely a journey. One of the gifts has been the realisation of how much we have to offer each other and the world with a profoundly counter-cultural world-view.

Kind regards,

Kristin

Have a look at the book ``Breaking the Patterns of Depression'' by Michael Yapko. It is amazing and has changed my life! I am a scientist who is VERY skeptical of any advice which isn't backed up by logic and hard evidence. On the other hand, I am ruled by my emotions which are NOT logical! These two sides of me cause a lot of havoc in my brain :-). This book is really easy to read, does not talk down to the reader, and makes lots and lots of sense. But most importantly, working through the book can turn you into a happy sane person - my sister and I are living proof! Please give it a go - good luck!