Mental Wellness Support Group

[Butters]

It’s hard getting diagnosed with anything head related, and that just make treatment and therapy all the harder.

Today, I’m riding a high. I’ve been out in the sunshine, digging, tilling, sowing and watering. I’ve got a wheel barrow full of rock and stone I’ve removed from the vegetable patch. A bit of heavy lifting and I’ve got enough paving slabs for a hodgepodge paved seating area. My feet hurt, my back aches, my fingers are sore and my skin feels firm from a kiss of sun. I can honestly say it’s the best that I’ve felt in years.

I can’t quite shake the underlying anxiety, but I haven’t noticed it for a few hours. And the hefty foot of depression is off my back for a while.

 

[Refuge]

^ It's pretty cool isn't it? We have friends with an avocado farm and whilst they were away we decided to mow their lawn. That is 20 acres. Hubby on one mower and myself on the other. I just recall sitting on their patio overlooking the Glasshouse Mountains, exhausted but loving the physical honesty of a hard day's work.

 

[Butters]

^ It's pretty cool isn't it? We have friends with an avocado farm and whilst they were away we decided to mow their lawn. That is 20 acres. Hubby on one mower and myself on the other. I just recall sitting on their patio overlooking the Glasshouse Mountains, exhausted but loving the physical honesty of a hard day's work.

That sounds really cool. I had to look up the Glasshouse Mountains, and they look pretty awesome too.

There’s a lot to be said for physical exertion and the mental state. I get the advice about it so often that I don’t hear it anymore. I don’t suppose it helps that I live somewhere where rain is the default weather, the Lakes have to get their water from somewhere.

 

[Sibyl]

The more I think about my mental health and possible issues I may have, the more I think I may also be blessed with a touch of schizophrenia on top of everything else.

I really need to research the condition on my own, first, but as soon as I'm able to place myself with a therapist I think it's something I'll ask about.

Oh, joy, I sense that I'll be taking the MMPI...again.

I seem to have won the jackpot as far as MH issues go.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

Do what you need to do to feel better. ((HUGS))

 

[Butters]

I’ve been very up lately. Getting on with stuff. Gardening, being creative, learning new stuff. Happy. Today though, I have to do something that has been causing me stress for quite a while now, and I’m shaking. Full on wannathrowup anxiety attack and I’m not sure that I can do it.

I’m running a deep hot bath full of bubbles to see if that helps.

Dang,

 

[TribbleFeeder]

I finally am on a medication that helps me with my schizophrenia, it’s called Latuda. I really like it but I can’t drink with it and it’s been a battle for me.

I feel great when I take it at night and can fall asleep without having any alcohol but that’s just not the case all the time. It’s led me to not taking it on nights when I’m having a drink, or more realistically, a few drinks. Then the next morning I wake up having terrible anxiety because I missed a dose.

I know the simple solution is just to stop drinking. I wish it was that easy for me. I’m just so reliant on alcohol to cope with my symptoms because I’ve been unmedicated for so long. I know I just have to trust that the Latuda will help me.

I have an appt with my psychiatrist today. I’m thinking of asking her if I can have something for the added anxiety that I can take with it.

I don’t know what the fuck to do. This sucks.

 

[Sibyl]

One of the reasons I haven't had a drink in around five or six years is that it interfered with the medication I used to take. I was never a heavy drinker or even a regular drinker, but whenever I had any, it would essentially erase the effects of my medication. It took me too long to realize what was happening.

Now, when I did drink, it would only be a couple or three times a year, but it would always be the "finish off the bottle" or 12-pack type of drinking...but even after I stopped doing that, like if I had a few sips of a beer, it would be as if I hadn't had my medication for weeks and I would get extremely depressed or, worse, show signs of psychosis. The only signs of psychosis that I'd shown before taking Risperidone were ruminations and slight paranoia, but I feel that my paranoia was justified so I'm pretty upset that I was prescribed Risperidone. That drug fucked my life up for many years.

I wasn't a heavy drinker, no, but I've still learned to deal with life without drinking. Then again, I also know my family's history of substance abuse. I have an addictive personality, myself. Everyone is different.

Schizophrenia is something I mentioned above and is yet another thing I'd like to talk to a therapist about. I'm not sure if I'm showing signs of it or if those signs are simply overlapping from depression and anxiety.

Good luck. I hope you're able to get all of those puzzle pieces to fit!

 

[Butters]

I’m fond of a wee tipple myself. It sucks to be on medication that doesn’t mix.

 

[TribbleFeeder]

It does suck.

Scribble I wish I had your willpower. It’s great that you stay away from the booze. It’s such a difficult task for me. When I mix it with my Latuda it makes me feel so sick and overtired.

I had a glass of champagne one time when I had taken it a few hours prior and the result was pretty bad. Almost instantly I felt woozy and then couldn’t drive myself home. Usually one glass of champagne does nothing for me. Apparently it lowers your blood pressure when you drink with it and it can be dangerous to mix them. I don’t want to end up in the hospital or worse.

 

[Sibyl]

No! We don't want that, either!

When my blood sugar gets high (too often) I feel that way.

You do whatever is best for you. As I said, I have an addictive personality and I am addicted to something highly reviled on this forum and by most of the public. I need to quit, but it's hard. So very difficult.

I don't have willpower. I gave up something I didn't do often and generally only did to lower my inhibitions. Not quite the same, but I gave up alcohol like a friend of mine who hates cheese gives up cheese every Lint.

Sorry. I wish I could provide more inspiration.

 

[Gary Mitchell]

It does suck.

Scribble I wish I had your willpower. It’s great that you stay away from the booze. It’s such a difficult task for me. When I mix it with my Latuda it makes me feel so sick and overtired.

I had a glass of champagne one time when I had taken it a few hours prior and the result was pretty bad. Almost instantly I felt woozy and then couldn’t drive myself home. Usually one glass of champagne does nothing for me. Apparently it lowers your blood pressure when you drink with it and it can be dangerous to mix them. I don’t want to end up in the hospital or worse.

No! We don't want that, either!

When my blood sugar gets high (too often) I feel that way.

You do whatever is best for you. As I said, I have an addictive personality and I am addicted to something highly reviled on this forum and by most of the public. I need to quit, but it's hard. So very difficult.

I don't have willpower. I gave up something I didn't do often and generally only did to lower my inhibitions. Not quite the same, but I gave up alcohol like a friend of mine who hates cheese gives up cheese every Lint.

Sorry. I wish I could provide more inspiration.

Please take care of yourselves.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

Does my finding a guy I cultivated a friendship with rather than meeting guys at church or other places mean I didn't try to find better options? I'm having to deal with something regarding my dad and his views on how I didn't try and I'm writing out something to Dad...
ETA: Is Dad seeing me and my prospects through a father's eyes?

 

[Sibyl]

Do you love him? Then it doesn't matter where and how you met and, no offense to your dad, but it's none of his business.

My two cents.

 

[TribbleFeeder]

I met my husband on a street corner. You can’t help who you fall for and where it happens. I truly believe it all happens the way it should.

If you don’t think he’s everything you deserve, that’s the only reason you should question it.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

I really do wonder if my dad sees me realistically now. I think he overestimates my prospects. I've found a man who loves me and I love him, and...we get each other. I don't have to play a role as I suspect I would have with the guys who didn't ask me out in college because they went to Dad first instead of me first.

 

[Avro Arrow]

I think that I've mentioned on the board before that I am unable to drink either. Of course, I was never a big drinker to begin with, so it honestly didn't affect me that much. I can't stand beer, and never really liked wine that much either, so the occasional vodka cooler was pretty much the extent of it, maybe two or three times a year. My parents were both teetotalers, and my SAD kept me away from bars and parties, so alcohol really was never a big part of my life.

Of course, if they ever tell me I can no longer have chocolate, then that's a different story!

@TribbleFeeder , I hope you're able to find a path that works for you. Best wishes.

 

[TribbleFeeder]

I think that I've mentioned on the board before that I am unable to drink either. Of course, I was never a big drinker to begin with, so it honestly didn't affect me that much. I can't stand beer, and never really liked wine that much either, so the occasional vodka cooler was pretty much the extent of it, maybe two or three times a year. My parents were both teetotalers, and my SAD kept me away from bars and parties, so alcohol really was never a big part of my life.

Of course, if they ever tell me I can no longer have chocolate, then that's a different story!

@TribbleFeeder , I hope you're able to find a path that works for you. Best wishes.

Thanks so much, Avro. I really appreciate it. I’m glad you’ve been able to stay away from the bottle. It doesn’t cause anything but trouble when it comes to mental health.

I didn’t have a drink tonight and I took my medicine. I’m waiting for it to kick in so I can sleep. Baby steps I guess.

 

[Refuge]

The thing is if you enjoy a drink and it was your self-medication before prescribed ones are offered it can be something that is missed. There's almost a kind of ritual part of it all too. You're with friends or it's that comforting part of a meal. Even holding the blessed glass. I recall when hubby was on meds he had this doctor who put him on an old school medication, yet it did help him sleep and he didn't find it clashed with a modest amount of booze.

Personally I have just drunk less and less over the last few years. Never a huge drinker but still enjoyed it when I did. First to go was red wine it gave me a headache with just one glass. Even the good stuff Then I started to hate Chardonnay - too buttery. So that left Sauv Blanc but I can't drink that anymore. So from time to time it's Margaritas and my other poison is bubbly. It might sound weird but I actually enjoy lemonade lime and bitters, or ginger ale, or dealcoholized bubbly but in glass flutes or grown up glasses. I'll even have a pot of tea on the table when we eat for some meals because it's nice to have something.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

If you're in a state or country that allows it, you should try marijuana edibles. The Indica strain of doob is great for helping you sleep.
ETA: If you try the fruit jelly candies, do not take the whole dose! 10 mg of cannabis will knock you on your butt!!