Extreme stress

As @utopia said @janedoe2

That is the way to go -

I think stress itself is a normal part of life - but not extreme stress - and choosing not to get involved in whatever situations cause extreme stress is a start - and of course - it seems this time it has kept you out of hospital

We need to pick our stressors - some we can manage - some we can learn to manage - some we avoid

I think this is one thing the forum is about - learning how to manage stress among other things

Well done

I have not spoken with you before but let me say "Hi" and wish you the best day possible

Dec

@janedoe2 thanks for sharing your experience with us. That sounds like it must have been a pretty scary situation for you, but glad you are feeling a bit better now. Good on you for making a choice to look after your own mental health. I hope you continue to feel better and better in the future.

Take care,,

Rooney10

Hi dear @janedoe2,

I find I hardly ever suffer from extreme stress, if I do I was told by my psychiatrist I can take a little more medication at home, without needing to go to Hospital. My anti-psychotoc blocks/ cuts out my auditory hallucinations or mother's voice, so I am fortunate. But there are certain triggers for me that can make me hear my mother's voice again like lack of sleep, a violent police show I may be watching or an abusive text, call or e-mail from my mother. Recently I received some abusive texts and that can upset me naturally and cause me to hear her voice. Also I can get flashbacks from the abuse.

Sleep is really important, I recall I was mentally well til 26, when sadly my brother was murdered and my baby was born. My baby was 4 mths old when sadly I was depressed over my sibling and suffering from maternal exhaustion, nursing my baby at all hours of day and night like a good mum I was. And I was afraid the extreme stress of my brother dying would dry up my breast milk but it didn't. Anyway I did not sleep for a week, and after 2 days a normal person who does not sleep can get psychotic symptoms, so after a week of staying awake and not sleeping, I suddenly hallucinated after thinking of my mother's unloving words and then I heard the tape of her verbal abuse in my mother's voice sadly. And hallucinating every second is extreme stress. But I continued breastfeeding because me Psychologist recommended it which was silly. I shoul'd've put my baby on the bottle and taken an anti psychotic. I did ask for help howevor and a referral to a mother and baby unit and rang the Department of Families for help, but nothing was done. Which was very negligent on their part. The Department of Families didn't get back to me and I struggled to cope with no family support for over a month and then I called again.

I went on an anti psychotic but the side effects were worse than the symptoms, so I continued to breast -feed for a year still hearing my mother's voice. I was a good mother and never took out my stress on my child. Fortunately I did not suffer from all the symptoms and I was still in reality and knew the voices were not real. Finally after years of hallucinating I tried some anti psychotic medications but I nearly died on some of them and was admitted to hospital with 50 blood sugar level. You can go into a coma at 20 bgl and it was the highest in hospital on record. So Doctors stopped the anti psychotic. Finally after trying several anti psychotics I found the right one and it stopped the voices. And I was discharged from the Psychiatrist. So sleep is really important.

So I live a happy and relaxed life on the anti psychotic that worked for me. I even get euphoria now, a pleasant side effect. I wish I'd put my baby on the bottle earlier and not listened to that silly psychologist.

I find that if I get worried, I have some vegemite on toast and the B vitamins in it calm me right down. My Dad who has schizo- affective says he is low in one of the B vitamins and the Doctor can give you an injection of the B vitamin lacking to help. Yes my Auntie takes a B vitamin suppliment and she has lived beyond 86 and hasn't hallucinated. She doesn't sleep and has insomnia too, so B vitamins are very good for you.

Also Banana really helps if you are depressed or sad or worried. It's the nutrients in it that help counter stress. Certain foods really help alleviate stress.

Sleep is very important or we can relapse.

Positive emotional experiences are important.

And couselling, support from friends and taking medication is essential for dealing with stress and illness.

Hi @BambiFawn

Thanks for your informative post - and thanks for trusting us with so much very personal history

People need to be sensible giving advice about breast feeding - I could not breast feed my children and there were so many comments - but still - you did get onto the right anti-psychotic for you

And - did your brother die soon after you gave birth? - no wonder you were battling away so hard then - I understand a little about sibling grief - or maybe more than most - but that is a very hard thing to battle with at any time esp when breast feeding

About your mother's voice - from what I gather auditory hallucinations mean it sounds as if your mother is in the same room ranting or saying whatever. I have not had that but I have my mother's voice too - always mixed messages and criticism - she passed some years ago and so this is all getting less but there are times when I wish I could go back and discuss things with her but this was never possible

Still I have found - myself and from what I have read here and in other places - our mother's voice is the hardest one to overcome - I call them "mother tapes" - our mother's voice is the first one we hear when we are in the womb and it would be wonderful if our memories were of a kind and caring mother but I do think that when our mothers are carping at us, criticizing us - being verbally abusvie - etc - then depending on ourselves - we can actually hear them or just have the ideas they so ignorantly shoved on us

I do think you are a fairly new member but you seem to be very active as well and so this is a good thing - and I would like to take this chance to welcome you to the forum family

Dec

I have a habit of responding to pressure by instantly stressing (work!) .. my gut bloats, my neck and shoulders spasm, I can hardly breathe ... today I got so bad that by the time I got home I thought my mind would snap. I have read up on all the management techniques but I am such a damned hard learner that as soon as the pressure builds a little I forget all the things I have told myself to do ... what I want to know is this - is there a magic bullet or a trick to remembering what to do the minute I need it?