Hello everyone in the community, my name is Ray and I've struggled with anxiety and depression my whole life so far. I'm 20 years old and thought a great group of people online like yourselves would be a great way to connect and feel less alone.
So, I've been to therapy before and thought I had gotten past my depression, at least to the point to where it was manageable. I was totally wrong, since I stopped going (Around 2016) It's slowly but steadily gotten more out of hand. I totally isolate myself, I feel like my friends don't like me anymore, I've lost all interest in my life, and I have no energy to do anything anymore, not to mention my family and I are struggling financially. Because of this happening I've been thinking about going back to therapy but, my dad has been out of work for a long time now because of some back/neck issues from work and he cant afford to send me to therapy, and I certainly cant afford it working a basic full time retail job. I have no outlets either. I used to play drums but I cant now because my dads home all the time and they're loud, and I cant play basketball 8 months out of the year because its always snowing here in NY. Just feel stuck and have no clue what to do. Any advice would help no matter what it is, thanks guys!!!
Written by
tryingmybest98
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Welcome to our supportive community. Well done for taking a brave step out of your comfort zone to reach out for help. Hopefully, you will find folks here are only too willing to come alongside you and share from their personal journeys and experiences.
You are obviously having a difficult time right now, I would suggest you have a chat with your GP/doctor and get some advice, maybe a medication review, and possibly a referral to a local mental health team. I note that you live in USA. Here in the UK we do have mental health charities, that offer low-cost talking therapies to folks on low income. Could you possibly do some research online or local library or community facility to see if there is anything similar? Are you in college, if so, there should be counsellors and student support on campus?
In regards to basketball, is there any community indoor facilities or even college facilities that allow the public to use? Also, could you check eBay for a second-hand electronic/digital drum set that you can plug earphones into for you just to play and hear? Just a few thoughts!
Thank you! It's so cool to get replies from you guys and I know this is going to help me a tons already, I'll definitely look into everything you suggested. I'm trying hard but I think I can totally try harder. Again, thank you!
MAS Nurse has suggested various pathways for you to take. It is not uncommon to have a recurring Mental Health problem after several years. Your situation seems troublesome if you cannot afford a treatment pathway now. However you will need a further course of medications to help you in the initial stages of your problem. A GP, Doctor will need to be seem for a script.
You could consider looking back to the CBT you had and, revise what was explained to you then. You will hopefully help yourself and be able to control your own condition. If that is not possible try and talk to someone you trust, however understand sometimes people can be unable to handle mental health generally, so be selective. If that is not possible a further course of CBT may be needed
Can you put into practice what you learned before, we can become lapsed and we revert to earlier times, Revision can help
Hi tryingmybest98 NY is actually one of the better states for mental health care. Here is a link to your state's NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) - naminys.org/ . Each state has a NAMI, and thru them you can find various resources, including a calendar of depression and/or bipolar support groups in various regions of the state. Also the site lists a helpline. They will surely know how to direct you to all the help available in your state for treatment, even housing, better employment, etc. If you are in Albany or near it-- i can even help you more by directing you to the mental illness support group i used to go to when i lived there- they helped me a lot in my darkest time/suicide attempt back in 2006. Let me know if you're interested in that. I now live in Colorado, which is another state that's good with resources. In between NY and CO i lived 12 years in TX , which is almost the bottom of the 50 states for mental health help. So anyway the fact that you're in NY is somewhat of a positive. I know what it's like to lose interest in everything so it's hard to stop isolating, but if you can, try to go for a walk sometimes in the sun- winter and darkness can sometimes make moods worse. For me, my faith is a huge help, so i often turn to Church for comfort- Mass and praying etc. Physical activity can definitely raise endorphins, so hopefully there is a rec center or something cheap near you where you can play basketball indoors. Meetup.com is another way to connect with people of similar situations or interests - you probably already know about it, but in case you don't- it's just a site where you can join groups of people and go to their events. Any interest you can think of , is there. Dining out, dancing, walking, game nights- and i have seen depression support groups on there. I pray you are able to get good help and feel better
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