New to this

Hi @JCC. Welcome to the forum. Sorry you have been so down. I relate to having depression and anxiety over a long period of time and being unable to work because of it for extended periods of time. Feel free to share more details of your story as you feel comfortable. I hope the forums can be a helpful place for you, as it has been for me. Wishing you well.

Hi @JCC

Welcome to the Forums - it's great to have you be a part of our community.

I am sorry to hear about your setbacks with depression and anxiety...but good on you for speaking to the doctor. It sounds like you are feeling a bit reluctant about taking the time off? I imagine it must feel a bit stange if you haven't had a break for some time, but I hope it is a restful time for you, just to focus on yourself and your recovery goals. Have you found your employer to be helpful and understanding about it all? Again, welcome to the forums. Please know that as a community, we are here for you.

All the best, Mosaic.

Wow @JCC, it sounds like you are being so proactive in looking after yourself in the face of your depression and anxiety, in both starting a new medication today and contemplating therapy... Do you have an idea about what might be helpful for you if you did start therapy again? Are there particular approaches or strategies that you have found useful in the past?

Earlier in the year @chookmojo shared similar feelings of frustration about wanting to get more out of life despite her anxiety in this discussion. She also started a new medication around that time. Perhaps you have some insights to share @chookmojo?

I'm curious about your dreams and desires @JCC, would you be willing to share a bit about them with us?

Given that you're feeling isolated (it must be really hard when your family's interstate!) it's great to see so many people who can relate to your situation coming out to support you.

Take care,

Shimmer 🙂

Hey @JCC its great that you are taking actions to get your life going in a better direction. That part is so important!

Only four or five months ago I was doing about as bad as I had been in over a decade, and now I am doing better than I ever have in my life, and like you this is after around 25 years of anxiety and some other diagnoses, though not depression in my case.

I was right at the end of my tether, so frustrated that I struggled with simple day to day stuff and couldn't get far enough ahead of the anxiety to do much of anything that I enjoyed. And dreams? I haven't really bothered much with dreams because just being normal seemed out of reach for so long. Now I am taking some baby steps in the right direction. At a snails pace. But movement where for years there was only wheel spinning, effort and struggle going nowhere. I'll take it!

Just posting on these forums when I was at a low ebb gave me so much impetus to take positive actions, and having people who wanted to hear how I was doing gave me the motivation to try harder so I would have something to report back. The folks here are an excellent cheer squad, they build you up when you are down and celebrate your successes with you.

I hope your new meds and therapy go well and make a positive difference for you. Let us know how they, and life are going as you progress along.

Hi @JCC and welcome to the forum,

I am sorry to hear that you are struggling with such sadness and I encourage you to be patient with the new medication and seeking therapy. As you are aware, it can take so long to feel even a little brighter about life, but stick with it and you will come through.

I can fully relate to not being able to work as I was forced to quit full time employment at the end of 2013. It has taken awhile to adjust to a different lifestyle, but I have now developed my own little business where I make soap and body care products, greeting cards, jewellery and other crafty stuff and sell them (when I feel able to) at the local markets. I now see this 'forced' retirement as a positive thing as it has freed me to follow my arty, creative interests and I can run it all on my own timeline so if I feel low and unable to cope, I just rest and only work when I can.

It's so helpful to try new strategies for coping as well. Best of wishes and I look forward to 'seeing' you around the forum

Hugs (((())))

Abiel