Lived Experience Forum

[tyme]

Heaps of self-talk @James8 

Through my MBT therapy, we practiced being able to sit with unpleasantness and to mentalise the other person so that we wouldn't get to the point of escalation.

My episodes are so so rare now. They used to be every hour or so where I'd flip from one extreme to another. Life was chaotic back then.

[Hope2Recovery]

Hi @James8,

I am sorry to hear you are going through this, I was diagnosed with anxiety, depression and panic attacks. Rest assured you are not alone and recovery is possible. I can not go anywhere near large crowds, especially shopping centres, I get a major panic attack! I understand when you say isolated, I feel the same sometimes. I engage myself with things I enjoy, the things that bring me joy, it can be something as simple as watching a movie, being in the present moment, going out in nature, and meditation taking deep breaths. All these things helped me a lot. Also, I avoid large crowds at certain times, I know early mornings are quieter than afternoons in most places. Occasionally I message a few friends to say "Hi, even though they are always too busy to do anything. I try to occupy myself everyday, that keeps my mind off things. Hope you start to feel better soon, take care. 

[HelloKitty1981]

@James8  Just back on my shift for the week and wanted to check in with you and say hi😁. Hope you are feeling better and can see you also managed to chat with a few different people online in the forum, which is wonderful to see and be able to get insight from other people and their experiences as well. 

One of the best things I found was finding my people, like me who know and get living with mental health concerns, the daily grind and how like most of us, we are in it for the long game, they way and the example I think of is tennis players.

The battle back and forth, winning and losing, trying out new shots to get things across the line, the rally battle between yourself, body, brain and anyone else, the highs from overcoming obstacles and the lows from struggle, frustration or things just not working out the way we thought it would. For every victory point, it can be easy or a battle, we don't and won't always win or go to plan but we just keep trying to give it our all.

In time we come to realise, not every loss is a real loss in the long game of things, it is how we are driven to be resilient, and how its a lesson that is hard but teaches us their is always hope and what living with mental health issues in recovery will always look different and be different for each person.

One of the biggest reasons I became a peer is because I wished I would have had someone to talk to about my own feelings and issues back when I first started to realise I didn't feel the same as friends or colleagues in my high school years. The relief that someone actually gets it!

Connection to others in which ever way u can find it, sports, work, friends, online, chat groups, gaming, community. When you feel connected to others, you feel, seen, heard and validated.😎