Daily Anxiety and Depression

[Big_Bluefish]

I have long had GAD and more recently have been diagnosed with depression. The last two years have been hell. I find that I am anxious every second of every day, especially at work. On the weekends, I find it hard to leave my house or to get any household tasks done. I mostly lie on the couch with my eyes closed. This is especially difficult because I have a wife and two children. I have tried what seems every kind of medication, have been doing weekly therapy, and have attended three partial hospitalization programs in the two years. They tell me I have treatment-resistant depression, and I recently started a course of Ketamine at a clinic.

When the anxiety gets to a point that it overwhelms me, I cry. This can happen almost every day.

I'm looking for any advice or words of encouragement. Has anybody experienced anything like this, and if so, have they found anything to be helpful?

Thanks in advance.

[Beevee]

Yes, I have had a very similar experience but things improved greatly when I gave up trying all manner of things to get better and just let myself fall into any physical or emotional state.

The key to recovery is to accept all the symptoms of anxiety and depression and to stop trying to make yourself feel better. Be OK about not feeling OK.

I learnt all this by reading and practising the teachings of Dr Claire Weekes.

Most sufferers do not understand that anxiety is a paradox and that the biggest reason for being trapped in the never ending fear-adrenalin -fear cycle is because they do not accept the symptoms and want to be rid of them as quickly as possible because of their fear / intense dislike of them.

[Big_Bluefish in reply to Beevee]

Thank you. It doesn't sound easy, but perhaps I need to give it a try.

[Beevee in reply to Big_Bluefish]

It is hard at first but as with anything that requires practice, you get better at it.The important thing to remember that acceptance isn't something that you try. It's not a doing thing.

Acceptance is all about developing a genuine attitude of not caring about the symptoms. They will still hang around for a while but you just carry on with your day, gently focusing on other things instead of yourself. Same as when you might have a very bad cold. You feel crap but you resign yourself to feeling lousy, don't think too much about the symptoms and go about your business.

All the above is entirely possible and like a journey of discovery. If I can recover, so can you 😊

[Beevee in reply to Beevee]

Look up Dr Claire Weekes, learn about anxiety and depression [depletion is a more accurate description], how it happens, how it manifests, common symptoms, the chronological order in which the disorder happens and how to reverse that process by developing the attitude i have described until it becomes second nature. If its just the symptoms of anxiety and depression you are struggling with, recovery is then just a matter of time. It's all in her book called Essential Help for Your Nerves. The title might be different beyond the UK.

[Grandmaof3 in reply to Beevee]

Claire Weekes book and videos are great for anxiety sufferers. I highly recommend!

[Big_Bluefish in reply to Grandmaof3]

Thank you!!!!!!!!

[Beevee in reply to Grandmaof3]

The best! I have no doubt that her book saved my bacon! Knowledge gleaned from her book is key, genuine acceptance and allowing time to pass does the rest.

[Big_Bluefish in reply to Beevee]

This is so helpful. Thank you.

[PeterHook]

Hi,

Firstly let me tell you that I've been through it and you have every bit of sympathy and compassion. Know that you're not alone.

I have very little time to message today but I would ask that you look into a few things which have helped me to varying degrees over the years.... Look into mindfulness based meditation (check out Youtube). Ditto for affirmations etc but definitely look up YouTube for "Panic Attack Talk Down" - the one from the channel called relax for a while (all lower case) is particularly good. Look into Allie Boothroyd's Yoga Nidra on same site.

Take magnesium and Rescue Remedy (they help some people and if you're one of them, you'll be glad you tried it though it didn't work for me).

Once you start to understand what is happening during the anxious response it will help you prevent SOME attacks and recognize them sooner so you can work on prevention.

I really would like to talk more but have a very pressing engagement. You ARE in the right place for peer help though! Sending you positive vibes (and keep yourself away from ALL negativity -news, people, music, films- don't trigger yourself). BE IN NATURE and PRACTISE GRATITUDE!

[Big_Bluefish in reply to PeterHook]

Your caring is much appreciated. I hope we can stay in touch.