The "I'm not doing so well" thread

[Frankenorange]

Where to turn when you've tried everything? I'm at an all time low after a series of events (basically the last 12 months).

Can't get a GP appointment for love nor money.
Was seeing a private councillor who said that they didn't think they were helping and cancelled my appointments.

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I'm generally a positive person, but now I'm trying to find excuses not to get out of bed in the morning.

Talking about this is a step in the right direction and that shows you still have a strong desire to feel better. Do try and keep that up

Is it not possible to get an emergency appointment? . Our surgery has 2 time periods where you can ring and get a same day slot at the end of the day. Maybe this is uncommon?

Is it possible to change surgery? . This might be uncommon, too , but we can choose from 3. We can only register at one of them but there is a choice. Surgeries have all the docs listed and what they specialise in so maybe you can find a better doc?

I have had my share of problems. Some things i was born with and some i have introduced, or someone else has!. One thing that was never mentioned in all of my sessions, doc visits, etc was the effect of diet on mood.
This is just my own experience, but give it some thought. I found that i was pre-diabetic and was having a slow insulin response following eating foods like high carb stuff, for example, so to hopefully keep full blown diabetes at bay i got really strict on what i eat.
What has blown my little mind is how much better i feel mentally. A regular healthy diet was actually causing serious shifts in mood and living was very unpleasant for myself and my wife. I wasn't made aware of any of this, but there are alot of research papers out there about the interactions of blood sugar levels, foods, insulin, serotonin and anti-depressants.
Another thing that i have got into the habit of is making sure i am hitting the numbers with things like Magnesium, Choline, Vit D/B/C and so on. You wont know if your body is doing the right things with supplements/foods, without blood tests, but you gotta start somewhere.
It takes alot of effort, initially, and this is very hard with a head full of bees, but it could also really help and be worth the effort. Don't overshoot too often though as you can end up causing problems.

Try and keep your head up and don't do anything silly. Always try and pick the phone up, or find someone safe on the internet, to talk before hitting the booze etc

Big hugs to you.

 

[moonlite]

Talking about this is a step in the right direction and that shows you still have a strong desire to feel better. Do try and keep that up

Is it not possible to get an emergency appointment? . Our surgery has 2 time periods where you can ring and get a same day slot at the end of the day. Maybe this is uncommon?

Is it possible to change surgery? . This might be uncommon, too , but we can choose from 3. We can only register at one of them but there is a choice. Surgeries have all the docs listed and what they specialise in so maybe you can find a better doc?

I have had my share of problems. Some things i was born with and some i have introduced, or someone else has!. One thing that was never mentioned in all of my sessions, doc visits, etc was the effect of diet on mood.
This is just my own experience, but give it some thought. I found that i was pre-diabetic and was having a slow insulin response following eating foods like high carb stuff, for example, so to hopefully keep full blown diabetes at bay i got really strict on what i eat.
What has blown my little mind is how much better i feel mentally. A regular healthy diet was actually causing serious shifts in mood and living was very unpleasant for myself and my wife. I wasn't made aware of any of this, but there are alot of research papers out there about the interactions of blood sugar levels, foods, insulin, serotonin and anti-depressants.
Another thing that i have got into the habit of is making sure i am hitting the numbers with things like Magnesium, Choline, Vit D/B/C and so on. You wont know if your body is doing the right things with supplements/foods, without blood tests, but you gotta start somewhere.
It takes alot of effort, initially, and this is very hard with a head full of bees, but it could also really help and be worth the effort. Don't overshoot too often though as you can end up causing problems.

Try and keep your head up and don't do anything silly. Always try and pick the phone up, or find someone safe on the internet, to talk before hitting the booze etc

Big hugs to you.

All good advice, nicely put. And you know, riding your bike might seem an impossible task, but a 20-minute tool around outdoors (if it's not too inhospitably cold / wet) can do wonders -- not just by triggering some endorphins, but because it's achieving something and it leads to other good things, like having a shower after, and dealing with the resulting appetite, and sleeping better.

 

[legrandefromage]

My kettle is always ready and a change of house means that anyone can drop by without the (former) neighbours commenting

And then you can help me shift some wood....

 

[The History Man]

LGF has got wood.

 

[yakboy]

When you are at the bottom of the hole it's a long way looking up to the light and the sides seem incredibly steep. Taking pleasure in even the slightest thing is a small win. Not the solution to the problems by any means but a step in the right direction. Allowing yourself to be happy sometimes is hard to do in the modern world.

 

[al-onestare]

When you are at the bottom of the hole it's a long way looking up to the light and the sides seem incredibly steep. Taking pleasure in even the slightest thing is a small win. Not the solution to the problems by any means but a step in the right direction. Allowing yourself to be happy sometimes is hard to do in the modern world.

Yep, and breaking this down even further, breaking things down into incremental gains, no matter how small, is good way to make sense of what we can (and can't) do to rebuild or reevaluate.

 

[Frankenorange]

Another thing to pay attention to is not setting goals that are going to be really hard to meet/complete. Excercise and getting out is a very good thing but you dont have to set out to walk across Dartmoor, or ride LEJOG. Just go for a walk around the block and marvel at things like bird song, or how bricks have been laid. Stop and look at how leaves are put together and stuff like that. Make a fuss of a friendly dog. etc.

My wife found a local charity, many moons ago, that was close to where we lived then. They grew vegetables and had some animals and the farm was for challenged/unwell people to volunteer at. You could also go and just pet the animals and have a cuppa and biscuits. They were a lovely bunch and i went a few times and just sat there holding the fluffiest big rabbit you have ever seen. That was so helpful.

Horses and ponies(calm ones that are used to people) are excellent therapy tools. There are quite a few places using them to help people. Dog rescue places are also worth calling as they might want walkers/play buddies.