Depression

[Izzy]

27 minutes ago, urban.spaceman said:

 

I’ve only been on them for a month so I’m just getting used to them methinks. Was on Shitalapram before and they were no good whatsoever. 

 

Had my second therapy session the other day, slow going. 

I'm sure you want results and to get better quickly mate, but try and be patient and trust the process if you can. Some people spend their entire adult life in therapy! 

 

For me it took 12 sessions before I knew I was better. Some sessions were slow going and sometimes I questioned what the fvck I was doing, but it was all worth it in the end...

[HighPeakFox]

36 minutes ago, Izzy said:

I'm sure you want results and to get better quickly mate, but try and be patient and trust the process if you can. Some people spend their entire adult life in therapy! 

 

For me it took 12 sessions before I knew I was better. Some sessions were slow going and sometimes I questioned what the fvck I was doing, but it was all worth it in the end...

Took me 17 years... 

[DANGEROUS TIGER]

Yep, depression is no joke. Some people probably don't even know they have it. I'm on medication, but I still feel depressed.

[Wymsey]

A heart-breaking story about a young Leicester man taking his own life, but also quite eye-opening in that it can happen to anyone..

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/sister-says-brother-who-took-2849772

[Costock_Fox]

5 minutes ago, Wymeswold fox said:

A heart-breaking story about a young Leicester man taking his own life, but also quite eye-opening in that it can happen to anyone..

https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/sister-says-brother-who-took-2849772

So sad.

[spacemunky]

New experience for me of late, night sweats. Pillow is soaked, I'm soaked and then when I finally do get up I'm freezing.

[Buce]

9 minutes ago, spacemunky said:

New experience for me of late, night sweats. Pillow is soaked, I'm soaked and then when I finally do get up I'm freezing.

 

Have you seen a GP?

 

It could be any one of a hundred things but best to know what.

[egg_fried_rice]

14 minutes ago, spacemunky said:

New experience for me of late, night sweats. Pillow is soaked, I'm soaked and then when I finally do get up I'm freezing.

Very common side effect for some anti-depressants - happened to me loads. Nothing to worry about, but it is bloody annoying. You have my sympathy!

[spacemunky]

Just now, Buce said:

 

Have you seen a GP?

 

It could be any one of a hundred things but best to know what.

Haven't been to see him since it started happening. 

 

I did see online that it could be a side effect from anti-depressants. Ive been taking them for a year now and this just started recently.

 

I should probably go in to see him but I'm hesitant since last I saw him things had been going so well. In the past 2 weeks I'm out of work and also started drinking again. 

 

Wait, I think I just realised the problem!

[Buce]

1 minute ago, spacemunky said:

Haven't been to see him since it started happening. 

 

I did see online that it could be a side effect from anti-depressants. Ive been taking them for a year now and this just started recently.

 

I should probably go in to see him but I'm hesitant since last I saw him things had been going so well. In the past 2 weeks I'm out of work and also started drinking again. 

 

Wait, I think I just realised the problem!

2

 

There you go then.

 

Still see him, just to be sure.

[Buce]

Green therapy: how gardening is helping to fight depression

 

Sydenham Garden feels out of step with its surroundings in urban south London. Fringed by houses on most sides, with a school on its doorstep, it is hard to imagine that this small patch of green space is bringing a new lease of life to people struggling with their mental health.

The site, run by the Sydenham Garden charity trust, is just under an acre and boasts a wellbeing centre with gardens, a nature reserve and activity rooms. Therapeutic gardening sessions are held weekly, and are run by experienced staff, who are in turn supported by a team of volunteers.

Christine Dow, 63, was originally referred to the garden by her GP to help overcome her depression. After a year of “green” therapy, she became a volunteer; for the past decade she has spent a few hours every week supporting others referred to the project.

“I’ve lived in Sydenham for 42 years and my husband was born here, but we never realised the garden was here,” she says.

“My GP referred me to the garden years ago when I had depression. It was quite mild, but he thought gardening would be good for me. He was right. I came here for a year and saw all the seasons change,” she recalls. “It’s an oasis of calm. You can come here and, for however long you are here, the outside world stays outside.”

During 2017-2018, Sydenham Garden received 313 patient referrals from health professionals. A typical referral will be between six and 12 months. “I know from our stats that people are going to get as good mental health benefits from us as talking therapies,” says Sydenham Garden director Tom Gallagher. “On top of that, you can also get physical, social and physiological benefits from gardening.”

The majority of people referred will score in the low wellbeing category – according to the Warwick-Edinburgh scale – when starting, but score in the moderate wellbeing category upon completion.

Sydenham Garden is part of a growing movement devoted to increasing the role that gardening and other forms of “green” therapy can play in patient recovery and rehabilitation settings.

It is one of the 1,500 organisations signed up to Growing Health, a national scheme set up seven years ago by the charity Garden Organic and the membership organisation Sustain, the alliance for better food and farming.

 

“Gardening is not for everyone,” says Maria Devereaux, a project officer at Sustain. “But, increasingly now, we’ve got evidence that even people who aren’t gardeners are able to reap the benefits of being outside, working with nature and all the things that come with it.”

Growing Health’s original remit was to evaluate research into how gardening can impact on health, but it also set out to discover how food growing and other green projects could work more closely with the health service.

From the evidence it collated, it found that simply viewing a green space through a window can help people relax and reduce stress levels. Other evidence confirmed that the physical activity of gardening can improve mental wellbeing.

Growing Health is also keen to spread best practice by publishing case studies illustrating how organisations got to where they are, and how they forged links with other services.

“Collating all that information together [means that] other projects can use it to work with the health service,” says Devereaux.

GPs have been keen for years to adopt various forms of “social prescribing” – referring patients to non-clinical activities in a bid to improve their physical or mental health, says Prof Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the Royal College of GPs.

“GPs and our teams will see over a million patients today across the country, and for some of them, the underlying reason they are visiting their GP is not principally medical,” she says. But it is only recently that the social prescribing option has been taken more seriously.

“Some people might mock the idea of recommending a gardening group or exercise class to patients, but learning new skills, meeting people and being active can have a really positive impact on a patient’s physical and emotional health and wellbeing,” says Stokes-Lampard.

Devereaux agrees: “It’s an exciting time; there are a lot of gardens out there and it’s about accessing those for people’s wellbeing.

 

Experience: ‘The real learning is connecting with people’

Becoming a community garden volunteer helped retired dancer Mikloth Bond manage mental illness. Interview by Debbie Andalo

I was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia 40 years ago. Two years ago I decided to look into gardening and get close to nature. That was me saying: “Well, mental health services haven’t worked.” It was time for me to take my own health in hand.

I wanted to connect with nature. I had an instinct that it would help my mental health if I could connect with the seasons, to live in nature’s time. I wanted to spend time with other gardeners, because they are special people.

I started as a volunteer for Spitalfields farm and it really inspired me. The gardeners would sit and talk about the plants and what they were doing and it just motivated me – I thought I’d like some of that.

When its funding ended I came to Core Landscapes, where I am a volunteer support worker twice a week. I support people on the project by just engaging with them, and in that way they support me. I’ve learned about different soils, how to do cuttings and how to plant seeds.

But that isn’t the real learning. The real learning is in connecting with people and becoming confident in yourself and just feeling part of nature; that is the real learning, especially for people with mental health issues.

I enjoy the company and look forward to going every week because it’s a close group, a group that care for one another and help each other and whose expectations of one another are not too great.

When you are gardening you get very involved, because of all the elements and the seasons. You can’t run away from it; you can’t feel superior. And by watching things grow, you realise that it isn’t always the fault of the plant if things don’t work – it’s about the seasons and the weather. It’s the same with mental health issues: it’s not always your fault.

I am also a peer support tutor at the Recovery College in Tower Hamlets, where I co-produce courses for students [recovering from mental ill health] and for health professionals as well.

I am hoping to combine my two roles in the future, as there is talk about co-producing a three-day horticultural course in partnership with Core Landscapes.

[Costock_Fox]

2 hours ago, Buce said:

Green therapy: how gardening is helping to fight depression

 

Sydenham Garden feels out of step with its surroundings in urban south London. Fringed by houses on most sides, with a school on its doorstep, it is hard to imagine that this small patch of green space is bringing a new lease of life to people struggling with their mental health.

The site, run by the Sydenham Garden charity trust, is just under an acre and boasts a wellbeing centre with gardens, a nature reserve and activity rooms. Therapeutic gardening sessions are held weekly, and are run by experienced staff, who are in turn supported by a team of volunteers.

Christine Dow, 63, was originally referred to the garden by her GP to help overcome her depression. After a year of “green” therapy, she became a volunteer; for the past decade she has spent a few hours every week supporting others referred to the project.

“I’ve lived in Sydenham for 42 years and my husband was born here, but we never realised the garden was here,” she says.

“My GP referred me to the garden years ago when I had depression. It was quite mild, but he thought gardening would be good for me. He was right. I came here for a year and saw all the seasons change,” she recalls. “It’s an oasis of calm. You can come here and, for however long you are here, the outside world stays outside.”

During 2017-2018, Sydenham Garden received 313 patient referrals from health professionals. A typical referral will be between six and 12 months. “I know from our stats that people are going to get as good mental health benefits from us as talking therapies,” says Sydenham Garden director Tom Gallagher. “On top of that, you can also get physical, social and physiological benefits from gardening.”

The majority of people referred will score in the low wellbeing category – according to the Warwick-Edinburgh scale – when starting, but score in the moderate wellbeing category upon completion.

Sydenham Garden is part of a growing movement devoted to increasing the role that gardening and other forms of “green” therapy can play in patient recovery and rehabilitation settings.

It is one of the 1,500 organisations signed up to Growing Health, a national scheme set up seven years ago by the charity Garden Organic and the membership organisation Sustain, the alliance for better food and farming.

 

“Gardening is not for everyone,” says Maria Devereaux, a project officer at Sustain. “But, increasingly now, we’ve got evidence that even people who aren’t gardeners are able to reap the benefits of being outside, working with nature and all the things that come with it.”

Growing Health’s original remit was to evaluate research into how gardening can impact on health, but it also set out to discover how food growing and other green projects could work more closely with the health service.

From the evidence it collated, it found that simply viewing a green space through a window can help people relax and reduce stress levels. Other evidence confirmed that the physical activity of gardening can improve mental wellbeing.

Growing Health is also keen to spread best practice by publishing case studies illustrating how organisations got to where they are, and how they forged links with other services.

“Collating all that information together [means that] other projects can use it to work with the health service,” says Devereaux.

GPs have been keen for years to adopt various forms of “social prescribing” – referring patients to non-clinical activities in a bid to improve their physical or mental health, says Prof Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the Royal College of GPs.

“GPs and our teams will see over a million patients today across the country, and for some of them, the underlying reason they are visiting their GP is not principally medical,” she says. But it is only recently that the social prescribing option has been taken more seriously.

“Some people might mock the idea of recommending a gardening group or exercise class to patients, but learning new skills, meeting people and being active can have a really positive impact on a patient’s physical and emotional health and wellbeing,” says Stokes-Lampard.

Devereaux agrees: “It’s an exciting time; there are a lot of gardens out there and it’s about accessing those for people’s wellbeing.

 

Experience: ‘The real learning is connecting with people’

Becoming a community garden volunteer helped retired dancer Mikloth Bond manage mental illness. Interview by Debbie Andalo

I was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia 40 years ago. Two years ago I decided to look into gardening and get close to nature. That was me saying: “Well, mental health services haven’t worked.” It was time for me to take my own health in hand.

I wanted to connect with nature. I had an instinct that it would help my mental health if I could connect with the seasons, to live in nature’s time. I wanted to spend time with other gardeners, because they are special people.

I started as a volunteer for Spitalfields farm and it really inspired me. The gardeners would sit and talk about the plants and what they were doing and it just motivated me – I thought I’d like some of that.

When its funding ended I came to Core Landscapes, where I am a volunteer support worker twice a week. I support people on the project by just engaging with them, and in that way they support me. I’ve learned about different soils, how to do cuttings and how to plant seeds.

But that isn’t the real learning. The real learning is in connecting with people and becoming confident in yourself and just feeling part of nature; that is the real learning, especially for people with mental health issues.

I enjoy the company and look forward to going every week because it’s a close group, a group that care for one another and help each other and whose expectations of one another are not too great.

When you are gardening you get very involved, because of all the elements and the seasons. You can’t run away from it; you can’t feel superior. And by watching things grow, you realise that it isn’t always the fault of the plant if things don’t work – it’s about the seasons and the weather. It’s the same with mental health issues: it’s not always your fault.

I am also a peer support tutor at the Recovery College in Tower Hamlets, where I co-produce courses for students [recovering from mental ill health] and for health professionals as well.

I am hoping to combine my two roles in the future, as there is talk about co-producing a three-day horticultural course in partnership with Core Landscapes.

Someone is looking for a free lawn mow.

[Milo]

As it's mental health awareness week, I thought I'd post this and see if it is something that some of you maybe want to ask if your workplace provide - (I am in no way touting for business, btw - Google a provider near your work that delivers this)!  But it has gone under the radar a little and I know a lot of people are not aware such a thing exists... 

 

My company has started delivering a course called Mental Health First Aid - it's a bit of a crap title, tbh - but the course is excellent.

 

It is run either over one day or two days (the 2 day course is better) and designed for companies who are interested in their staff welfare. Just like the traditional first aider required in the workplace, the idea is that companies will have a mental health first aider who is aware of the potential issues surrounding mental health in the workplace. 

 

The 2 day course looks at:

 

Starting a conversation

What is first aid for mental health

Identifying conditions and triggers

Mental health workplace first aid action plan

PTSD

Eating disorders

Alcohol and drugs

Stress

Self Harm

Psychosis

Depression and Anxiety

 

Its a full on information fest of a course and I've seen businesses transformed, it really opens up peoples views on how to make things a bit better - Ideally a few people from each department attend and that drives the change within the business.

 

Companies know that they have to do something to create a better working environment and to acknowledge the issues that people face whilst in work. It's usually in the employers interest to have a healthy workforce - both physically and mentally.

 

Clearly this is not a magic wand and you are not qualified as any sort of counsellor after completing the course, but the increased awareness within a company can reap massive benefits regarding positive culture change.

 

I think it is the sort of thing that may be commonplace in workplaces in years to come, and hopefully it will create an environment where people are able to open up about work or non-work issues before they become damaging.  

 

 

Just thought I'd share!

[Buce]

18 minutes ago, Milo said:

As it's mental health awareness week, I thought I'd post this and see if it is something that some of you maybe want to ask if your workplace provide - (I am in no way touting for business, btw - Google a provider near your work that delivers this)!  But it has gone under the radar a little and I know a lot of people are not aware such a thing exists... 

 

My company has started delivering a course called Mental Health First Aid - it's a bit of a crap title, tbh - but the course is excellent.

 

It is run either over one day or two days (the 2 day course is better) and designed for companies who are interested in their staff welfare. Just like the traditional first aider required in the workplace, the idea is that companies will have a mental health first aider who is aware of the potential issues surrounding mental health in the workplace. 

 

The 2 day course looks at:

 

Starting a conversation

What is first aid for mental health

Identifying conditions and triggers

Mental health workplace first aid action plan

PTSD

Eating disorders

Alcohol and drugs

Stress

Self Harm

Psychosis

Depression and Anxiety

 

Its a full on information fest of a course and I've seen businesses transformed, it really opens up peoples views on how to make things a bit better - Ideally a few people from each department attend and that drives the change within the business.

 

Companies know that they have to do something to create a better working environment and to acknowledge the issues that people face whilst in work. It's usually in the employers interest to have a healthy workforce - both physically and mentally.

 

Clearly this is not a magic wand and you are not qualified as any sort of counsellor after completing the course, but the increased awareness within a company can reap massive benefits regarding positive culture change.

 

I think it is the sort of thing that may be commonplace in workplaces in years to come, and hopefully it will create an environment where people are able to open up about work or non-work issues before they become damaging.  

 

 

Just thought I'd share!

 

Are the alcohol and drugs supplied by the company or do you have to bring your own?

 

Asking for a friend.

[Milo]

9 minutes ago, Buce said:

 

Are the alcohol and drugs supplied by the company or do you have to bring your own?

 

Asking for a friend.

Haha, nope, we only supply the donuts...

[String fellow]

I wish there was a cure for the depression caused by reading about the horrific treatment many farm animals have to endure before they are eventually murdered. 

[Buce]

14 minutes ago, String fellow said:

I wish there was a cure for the depression caused by reading about the horrific treatment many farm animals have to endure before they are eventually murdered. 

 

Becoming vegan helps - at least you know you are not personally contributing to their suffering.

[Costock_Fox]

10 hours ago, Buce said:

 

Becoming vegan helps - at least you know you are not personally contributing to their suffering.

But that suffering transfers to you when you realise you can only eat lettuce.

[urban.spaceman]

Anxiety’s sky high again. It always seems to hit you by surprise while simultaneously you realise it’s been coming for days. The bastard. 

[ajthefox]

About 18 months ago in the aftermath of a weekend with friends I broke down reading a letter an ex (and at the time still a very good friend) had written to me for my last birthday when we were together. I was stressed and suffering, mostly alone, and went to the doctor. At the time I was fairly sure I did not have depression because my job was stressing me out so much and I thought it was that stress compounding personal issues that was upsetting me. The Doctor didn't interrogate what I was saying and ended up telling me to ring a number if I needed to.

 

Long story short, the stress has gone but I've since self harmed a couple times and twice thought about drowning myself in the last couple of weeks, despite the fact that I completed a 9 year journey towards becoming an Architect (something I had dreamed of doing since my early teens) in October. After breaking down and telling all my closest friends (and later my parents) that I had wanted to kill myself I was then diagnosed with depression on Tuesday by my GP and have cried more times since Saturday morning than I can remember. I've now got just under 4 weeks off work and am now staying back home with my parents in Leicester with my oldest friends around me. Telling my mum and dad was the single hardest thing I've ever done but after spending hours spilling my guts to them over several days I feel like I am in a better place and they're glad because they knew something was up.

 

I can't even get a phone call appointment on the NHS Mental Health Service until late June and would likely be waiting 6 months or more to see someone face to face if they deem the fvcked up shite in my head worth face to face counselling. Massively frustrating to have someone tell you that you can't speak to a professional about all the stuff that goes on in your head for 6 months but whatever. I'm fortunate enough to have parents who can probably afford to send me private (for a few sessions at least) to help get me through this. 

 

The good news is that my friends, my parents and my sister have all been incredible and all but one of the healthcare professionals have been really lovely too. My work have been quite understanding too, which was a relief. In addition, the holiday I went on with my mates to Valencia was personally and professionally life affirming and I am already starting to make positive changes.

 

If anyone wasn't aware, there is a mini-series on the beeb that started yesterday with Nadiya Hussain (former bake off winner) on anxiety and has two more from David Harewood on Psychosis and Alastair Campbell on Depression. I'll be watching and from what I've seen so far I recommend anyone else feeling the same does.

 

Thanks to everyone for keeping this thread going. Peace and love all.

 

 

TL:DR - I've got depression. If you feel like shit just tell whoever you can, they will understand and they will help you.

Edited 16 May 2019 by ajthefox

[egg_fried_rice]

@ajthefox what an incredibly tough situation that sounds like. You must've been hurting so much.

 

There was a real sense of relief in that post and from what you've written it sounds like you've got a handle on things and are moving in the right direction - checked in with medical professionals, planning an outlet to talk through what you're feeling, and surrounding yourself with people who clearly love you. That's no small feat coming from the situation you found yourself in - you deserve huge credit for that.

 

I'm sure you'll have some more ups and downs along the way, and despite some upsetting content it makes me happy to read posts like yours where people have moved themselves onto the healing path from such a dark place.

 

You certainly deserve help and happiness and I think you will achieve it.

 

Oh and I can totally empathise with frustrations around mental health services in the NHS - it's a joke but those areas are criminally underfunded. Great that your folks can help out and I'm sure they want to more than anything else - your mental and physical health are the most worthy things to spend your money on.

[TaggertvsWise]

I have only recently started recognising my symptoms and confronting them. Sometimes I just think “****ing man up and crack on” sometimes I just want to drink myself to oblivion, sometimes I feel ok (usually when I have had some sort of positive recognition at home or work) but all of the time I can’t think of anything worse than talking about it. Therefore, this mental health awareness week is driving me insane and making me feel more isolated, is anyone else feeling this? I just told an image of Nadia Hussain on TV to “**** off” when talking about her anxiety...  ?

[gw_leics772]

3 hours ago, ajthefox said:

About 18 months ago in the aftermath of a weekend with friends I broke down reading a letter an ex (and at the time still a very good friend) had written to me for my last birthday when we were together. I was stressed and suffering, mostly alone, and went to the doctor. At the time I was fairly sure I did not have depression because my job was stressing me out so much and I thought it was that stress compounding personal issues that was upsetting me. The Doctor didn't interrogate what I was saying and ended up telling me to ring a number if I needed to.

 

Long story short, the stress has gone but I've since self harmed a couple times and twice thought about drowning myself in the last couple of weeks, despite the fact that I completed a 9 year journey towards becoming an Architect (something I had dreamed of doing since my early teens) in October. After breaking down and telling all my closest friends (and later my parents) that I had wanted to kill myself I was then diagnosed with depression on Tuesday by my GP and have cried more times since Saturday morning than I can remember. I've now got just under 4 weeks off work and am now staying back home with my parents in Leicester with my oldest friends around me. Telling my mum and dad was the single hardest thing I've ever done but after spending hours spilling my guts to them over several days I feel like I am in a better place and they're glad because they knew something was up.

 

I can't even get a phone call appointment on the NHS Mental Health Service until late June and would likely be waiting 6 months or more to see someone face to face if they deem the fvcked up shite in my head worth face to face counselling. Massively frustrating to have someone tell you that you can't speak to a professional about all the stuff that goes on in your head for 6 months but whatever. I'm fortunate enough to have parents who can probably afford to send me private (for a few sessions at least) to help get me through this. 

 

The good news is that my friends, my parents and my sister have all been incredible and all but one of the healthcare professionals have been really lovely too. My work have been quite understanding too, which was a relief. In addition, the holiday I went on with my mates to Valencia was personally and professionally life affirming and I am already starting to make positive changes.

 

If anyone wasn't aware, there is a mini-series on the beeb that started yesterday with Nadiya Hussain (former bake off winner) on anxiety and has two more from David Harewood on Psychosis and Alastair Campbell on Depression. I'll be watching and from what I've seen so far I recommend anyone else feeling the same does.

 

Thanks to everyone for keeping this thread going. Peace and love all.

 

 

TL:DR - I've got depression. If you feel like shit just tell whoever you can, they will understand and they will help you.

There is a service that i cant for the life of remember the name, go back some pages ive wrote a lot.

Take the private counselling but get on the waiting list and swap when you are eligible for the free counsellig (after waiting a few weeks but not as long as 6 months.

[Buce]

49 minutes ago, TaggertvsWise said:

I have only recently started recognising my symptoms and confronting them. Sometimes I just think “****ing man up and crack on” sometimes I just want to drink myself to oblivion, sometimes I feel ok (usually when I have had some sort of positive recognition at home or work) but all of the time I can’t think of anything worse than talking about it. Therefore, this mental health awareness week is driving me insane and making me feel more isolated, is anyone else feeling this? I just told an image of Nadia Hussain on TV to “**** off” when talking about her anxiety...  ?

 

 

Positive recognition is always welcome but you don't have to be reliant on others for it.

 

This might not help right now if you're feeling shitty, but the next time you're feeling upbeat, sit down with a pen and paper and write down all the things that are good about you; all the things you've achieved; all the times you've made someone happy; all the times you've stood by a mate; all the acts of kindness you've bestowed on others. And when you've done, get it laminated and put it where you know to find it. Then any time you're feeling worthless and anxious, get it out and read it and remind yourself what a top bloke you really are.

[Izzy]

Sometimes I find this thread and other people's depression and suffering overwhelming.

 

Today I delivered a training course and one of the young women on it was very quiet. I tried to get her to engage but she just sat in silence. During the lunch break I took her outside for a chat and she opened up and told me she wanted to kill herself. 

 

We talked for about 90 minutes while the other delegates waited to start and it resulted in her getting collected by her parents and taken to hospital. She cried, I cried, her parents cried and it was all too much. I just about kept it together for the afternoon session but it was playing on my mind.

 

So many people suffering in silence it scares me.

 

Edited 16 May 2019 by Izzy