World Mental Health Day

Hi all,

It was World Mental Health Day yesterday my time, today US time, so I thought this might be a good opportunity to ask how everyone is faring?

How are you holding up, mentally and emotionally? This might be a good chance to have a caring support thread, and look after our feelings, as well as our guts.

I'll start: struggling with bad fatigue and totally sick of it, and quite lonely because I don't have the stamina to spend the time with people that I'd like to. And quite worried about my cat (who is my at-home friend), who is ill and may need surgery in the next week or so. Sick of hurting; sick of being exhausted; totally overwhelmed and teary at the number of things I need to keep working through, and because I can't go to bed and sleep all day, the way my body wants to.

Aware that I'm not looking after my mental health properly; that I should be more social and should be doing more exercise, but right now... so tired...


Who's next?


Ivy.

Ivy,
I completely understand there are so many days where I have so much pain, fatigue and just so depressed that I can not even get out of the bed or if I do manage to get up seems I make it to the couch and thats it. I thank God for my laptop because with it. I wouldn't have any social contact with anyone except my kids and Hubby. I try to keep hanging in there, telling myself that it will get better and I am sure that there are alot of other people in this world that are probably alot worse off than me.

Hope things get better for you really soon.

I hesitate to label it as depression, because most of the time I'm my usual smart-ass self, but there are days, like today, where it just gets to be too much and I have myself a good cry.

I'm in a similar situation to Ivy's. Doing pretty bad physically, and it's taking its toll on me mentally. Listening to wistful music and thinking about my old dog seems to have broken the dam, because I can't stop crying now.

I really hope your cat gets better. I know how important our little furry companions can be.

Thanks for the thread Ivy. I feel fortunate that I am not in what I call my "dark place" and have been out for a while. Despite some anger and stress at my new job, I am working hard at keeping the sadness away and reveling in what I have. I wish everyone a way out of sadness and depression and hopewe all can find a way to celebrate the small successes.

ps Thank Paul Sniper Simon

Hi All,
I'm sorry everyone is having such a hard time. It's so hard to separate depression and physical illness! I haven't been feeling well for the past month and it is really taking its toll on me emotionally. I'm tired of the fatigue; I'm tired of the pain; I'm tired of trying to figure out what to eat or not eat; but the hardest thing is that I'm tired trying to be brave and connect with others. Even talking with my adult kids who I adore more than anything in the world is a chore right now. I was in remission for the past couple of years, so I know what feeling well is like. I want it back and I'm not adapting well to my sick self!!! I'm working and going through the motions of life, but that's about it.

I know I have PTSD because I am always getting flashes of the hospital and nurses that cared for me. Sometimes I'm reliving conversations during my walks around after surgery, sometimes it is when the doctors came to see me. Then there are other things that are more abstract; remembering how my body felt watching tv there. These images and feelings pop up at the oddest times and when they do I sometimes tear up or have to look at a wall to relive them for a minute or 2. The recovery also affected me. The first week home was especially difficult. Movies or shows on TV would set me off. I can usually watch the most gruesome or weird sci-fi stuff with little reaction but several things we tried to watch scared the hell out of me at the time even though they weren't scary movies and we had to stop them. A few weeks later I was able to get back to it. Just a few weeks ago there was a new TV show where the Dr had to treat a brain aneurysm and I got to see almost the same procedure that happened to me. I teared up again. After, the woman in this show was talking and doing fine and that made me very angry because I had to spend 3 days in the neuro ICU in the worst pain of my life. AND yes I know it was just TV, but it does little to help validate all that I've been through. My boyfriend and I looked at each other and he said GEESS don't you wish it was that easy for you? If anyone I know that I told my story to saw this show they would think I was exaggerating. Smells, sounds, colors, so many things can set off a series of flashbacks.

and yea I am talking to a shrink
NY VEGGIE