Hi

[Tesh710]

I'm a stay at home mother of a 5 and 3yr old. I was very happy being at home then all of a sudden something changes about 5 months ago. I started having debilitating anxiety that has taken over my life. I initially tried to avoid medication, but eventually gave in. I was on citalopram 3 months with good days and bad. Then I was switched to trintellix which has been working well for a month until my period came and I started feeling anxious and extremely depressed. I eat well, work out, meditate and do counselling, but I'm starting to feel hopeless.

[Starrlight]

Hi Tesh! I can relate. Stay at home mom with debilitating anxiety and depression. I try to do all the right things but nothing not even meds work. I was hopeful recently with some control over panic attacks but now I have become hopeless feeling again. I know it’s hard and so sorry you are going through the struggle. Feel free to pm me any time you want to talk.

[HelloPanda23 in reply to Starrlight]

How did your anxiety start, and what do your thoughts revolve around? I can do my best to help you as best as I can, may you please tell me your situation though?

[HelloPanda23]

I got some pretty bad anxiety as well, taken over my life for about a month. In this whole month, I've probably had an even amount of bad and good days. I got a few advises for you, but first, you need to know what you enjoyed doing before this anxiety kicked in. If you enjoyed watching TV shows, try to find one that engages you in pretty deeply. Second off, if you don't mind, please tell me what has caused this anxiety. Is it GAD, HA, or is it an anxiety disorder based on a specific situation? Mine started off due to me drinking my first redbull and having a panic attack as a result. After that day, my anxiety was pretty bad, but I was able to manage it to a great extent and have many great days. In some days it got terrible, but recently, it was horrible. I got HA over ALS and scared myself to death, thinking I was going to die soon. This made me feel depressed, and I couldn't find anything that would make me happy or glad to be alive. As a result, I let the sadness sink in and had many panic attacks in the result. This lasted for 3-5 days and it was a living hell, I didn't eat anything, would wake up every morning with a headache and would end up throwing up on the spot. I also couldn't eat even if I tried, and so I went through pretty bad days. Recently got much better, I talked to someone close to me about it and I also have calmed myself down drastically. If I can know the reasons behind why your anxiety occurs, I might be able to help you. I myself still go through anxiety, but for the past 10 hours, I've been feeling like I used to when anxiety didn't circulate in my thoughts 24/7.

[Tesh710 in reply to HelloPanda23]

I think it was the stress of planning our trip to Mexico in November and it has spiraled since. I've gotten pretty good at not following unhelpful thoughts, but when my hormones are whacky it makes it harder. My worst thoughts ate 'I'll be like this forever' and 'what if I go crazy'

[HelloPanda23 in reply to Tesh710]

What type of things were you interested, shows, games, news articles? Which one do you think you especially enjoyed most until anxiety and depression started to bother you? What kept you happy and great when you stayed home?

[Tesh710 in reply to HelloPanda23]

I continue to do my normal routines n things that made me happy I just do it while sad.

[HelloPanda23 in reply to Tesh710]

You may be feeling depressed. Have you tried anti depressants?

[Cicinoodle in reply to HelloPanda23]

Please, anti depressants should be so easily offered, they can be dangerous for some.

[HelloPanda23 in reply to Cicinoodle]

I know but she’s already given different medicines a try, I don’t think it’ll hurt to try antidepressants. I wish I could help with depression, but I don’t go through it and so the only advice I have on that is either guided meditation/hypnosis, or meds.

[Ch1970]

Hi tesh

Very similar here - I have 2 kids and am on meds and have counselling. It’s been on and off for a good news years.

Let me know if you would like anything further

[Cicinoodle]

Motherhood is the most stressful job on the planet when done right.

I wouldn't be so hard on yourself as long as the kids are happy and thriving. Take a day off and have dad or parent watch them. You will get a whole new lease on life again and be a more relaxed and loving Mom, they will benefit too.