Constructive ways to deal. Suggestions?

[brituc1]

I'm new here and I was wondering if anyone had decent suggestions on dealing with depression and anxiety. For years I've been an on and off drinker/ pill popper. A few months ago I tried to stop all of that, started therapy (talk and drug), and finding hobbies & busy work to keep my mind occupied.

Trouble is I keep hitting bumps in the road and occasionally roll back downhill into old habits. Every time I try something new like video games, shopping, exercise, etc. I stay interested for a couple of weeks & get bored with it, so I have to find something new. As far as therapy goes I feel like I'm getting something from talking, but I haven't found the right meds yet to help. When I'm sober & lucid, my mind is always racing and I do everything possible to keep from leaving my apartment & I can't sleep much at all without a couple of drinks first. I won't go into specifics, but I'll say that I was diagnosed with OCD and PTSD. I'm posting in the suicide forum because, yes, I do think about it very often.

I'm sure once my shrink & I find the right meds that my mood will improve a little, but until then (and even after for that matter) does anyone that's in a similar situation to mine have any suggestions about coping and making it through the day with at least a lesser degree of anxiety and misery?

 

[dazzle11215]

i think you have a great attitude. it took ages for them to sort out the right meds for me. during that whole time i was very suicidal. even now that i'm on the right meds there are a few times a year i go off the rails. i just accept that it's part of having a mental illness (in my case i have ptsd and am bipolar).

i think in the early stages of recovery i tried to keep busy (like you), i surrounded myself with supportive people (friends) and posted here. lots. i also kept a detailed mood journal that i could share with my nurse, therapist and doctors.

i started to learn about what my triggers are. and there are always some. family. feeling isolated. therapy, sometimes. once i understood my triggers i was less likely to act on impulse, less likely to feel that i was simply crazy.

i started volunteering about 18 months ago. that has helped a lot. it feels good to help other people. i volunteer at a human rights group and also at a drop in centre for people with mental illness.

you will start to feel better, slowly at first, and not without setbacks. but make sure you have a good network of support and you will be okay. and it sounds like you are building that.

everyone around here is really nice. i hope you stick around and make some friends. the coffee house is a nice place to spend an hour reading and posting fun, distracting things. and the crisis section and this one are good if you are feeling really low.

welcome.

 

[Arthur523]

Hello there brituc, welcome to the forums, I'm Arthur. These forums have helped me cope with some of my personal issues and I hope they can help you as well.

My symptoms are similar to yours as in that I also suffer from depression/anxiety. Coincidentally, I have done (and still continue to do to this day) many similar things that you are doing, lol. I like keeping my mind occupied, and I also bounce around between multiple hobbies. I've found that any form of social interaction is helpful to me. You said that talking is therapeutic, so I'd recommend that you should continue to take part in some sort of socialization. Whether it be hanging out with friends, going to a local social club, or simply just talking on these forums or on facebook or something. Keeping social lessens feelings of loneliness, and feeling lonely can be quite depressing at times, especially if you have recently broken up with a significant other or stopped hanging out with friends. My doctor told me to try and keep my drinking to just a beer or two per night, and I've noticed that it is helpful in taking the edge off in social situations and whenever I just feel like relaxing at my house. I wish I could recommend some coping techniques for you, but I'm still in the midst of trying to find my own techniques as well.

I wish you luck in your journey to find a more peaceful you, and hang in there.

 

[brituc1]

Thanks for the advice. I think one of the reasons I'm having a tough time is that I've pretty much turned into a misanthrope. I ran off my friends a long time ago (they weren't the kind of friends you would ask to help you move anyway) and no one in my family is close to each other emotionally. Since I've eased up on the drugs and booze, I try everything I can to avoid people. I usually do my grocery shopping at night, but the other day I had to go in the daytime. The entire time my hands were clenched and I was gritting my teeth. That's why I'm trying this forum; its easier for me to talk to people without actually being around them. I've been browsing the threads and I think this place will be a good first step for me.

 

[She's Lost Control]

Musical instruments make great therapy.

I'm "too old" to do music :rolleyes: but playing on Fruity Loops, and on my bass and guitar and writing lyrics is my way of getting my despair and anger out.

My name in the forum refers to a song by Joy Division. Ian Curtis went out on a suicide.