Hello 👋

[Meredyth49]

Hi, 

I thought I would become more active here, for support and connection with others. 

I am not sure what else to say. 

I have a few dx, it is early days in all this for me although I recognise now I probably had some stuff for many years, but I had many coping strategies then. Now it has become a lot more difficult to manage and maintain my wellness on all levels.

I have formed a few local supports too which are gold. Online is good though as sometimes a lot happens outside of 9-5, so nice to have here to come to if I need it. 

The peer group chat tonight was nice, thank you everyone. 

[tyme]

Hey @Meredyth49 ,

Glad to have you with us! 

It would be great to continue sharing strategies about wellness and pretty much how people cope in general.

Most, if not all, members here have been impacted by Mental Health in one way or another.

It's important we make space to share both the challenges and the celebrations 🙂

[Meredyth49]

Thank you.

Yes, it has impacted all of my life in many ways from family, friends and workplace for me. 

It is a very complex situation at times. 

I have experienced both sides of the coin - from being a support to others and now needing some support myself. It's fascinating and also sometimes terrifying experience all at once. 

"The world" has come a long way, but still a long way to go in many respects - in terms of medical, pharma, treatment, therapies.

It is still very sad that stigma, discrimination, misinformation and unawareness exist, considering so many people are impacted, both directly and indirectly these days.

I'm glad to be living today, yesterday was a struggle but tomorrow is another day. 

I like to learn something new every day, as a small way to help my mind focus. That is usually some bit of information, I watch a lot of YouTube currently. It's a treasure trove for me. 

Hopefully doing small steps can add up to make positive difference somehow, someway.

[MJG017]

Hi @Meredyth49.  I hope you get as much out of becoming more active here as I have found.

I've only been looking into my own issues finally after just doing my best to deal/avoid them for so long.  So much of them go back to early childhood.  I think it's the same for a lot of us.  We develop these habits/reactions/thoughts that are so difficult to change as we get older.  Eventually though those coping mechanisms we used for all those years become far less effective... for various reasons.  Forming that support around us, whether local or online feels so vital to starting to look after our health, mental and physical.  As someone told me not so long ago.... "Welcome to our tribe."

[Alisse]

Hi @Meredyth49 

I'm glad you’re reaching out for support and connection. The Sane forums are full of people who understand and are here to listen.

It sounds like you've created a valuable network of local support, well done! I'm sure this is a wonderful resource for both you and your community.

I hear you’re managing multiple mental health diagnoses. Even though it's early days, you’ve shown so much awareness in recognising both your struggles and the coping strategies that you've used over the years.

Please try not to judge yourself for how you managed in the past. You did the best you could, and it takes strength to acknowledge those coping mechanisms. As Maya Angelou said, "When you know better, you do better."

I’ve been on a similar journey of multiply diagnoses, grappling with bipolar disorder, PTSD, anxiety, depression, and OCD.

For a long time, I leaned on unhelpful coping strategies, with alcohol becoming a significant issue. It took years of support, detox, and rehabilitation to overcome it, but I’m now five years sober.

Prioritising my mental health and nurturing myself has become essential. I practice yoga, spend time in nature, and use grounding and mindfulness techniques to keep my stress levels manageable.

Helpful coping strategies are now part of my daily routine.

Example:  When I feel overwhelmed, I take a moment to recognise what’s happening in my body, go outside, walk barefoot on the grass, and use breathing exercises and havening techniques to calm myself.

Here’s a resource on havening techniques that you may find helpful: https://www.havening.org/.

Maintaining wellness can be challenging, especially with mental health concerns. But practices like good sleep, a balanced diet, regular exercise, and connecting with others can make a difference.

I also find that self-compassion, kindness, gratitude and self-care are invaluable for a holistic approach to wellbeing.

I hope some of these suggestions resonate with you, but remember to explore what feels right for your unique path. Be gentle with yourself.

Kindly Alisse

[Meredyth49]

Thank you @MJG017 @Alisse @tyme 

It's 12.29pm and I just woke up. 

I just took my day meds. 

This is "new normal" for me at this time. 

@Alisse 100% relate. My current dx is - one dx me with Bipolar about a year ago. Now another dx with Major Depressive Disorder. Both are from psychiatrists, who also gave me the meds I am on now. 

I am not dx with other stuff, but experience and impacted by a lot more than what they have dx me with currently. I have quite a lot of anxiety, ocd, CPTSD. Off record a lot, on record not so much. 

Although I'm very articulate and verbose, idk why it's so hard for me to explain my symptoms. I just dissociate a huge amount as well, which probably doesn't help me. 

I have ok cognition and insight which really helps me a lot strengthwise but then certain people use these strengths against me, which is very frustrating. It's really foul and disgusting really. I go for help then treated that way. 

I present to hospital when it gets too bad for me to handle anymore. I get triggered and overwhelmed very easily at this point - I think daily about SH and SI. The last 6 months I presented 3 times to hospital.

I tell them if I came every time I am too unwell to cope that I would be showing up daily. I only go when it's really really bad. Otherwise I use my coping strategies and distraction is my main thing. Sometimes I lose control of my mind though for literally big chunks of time. 7-8 hours is average for me.  

I've experienced an amount of minimalisation and dismissive attitude and behaviour from certain medical factions. This has added a lot more to my trauma and stress unfortunately. Really medical misconduct level. 

I am trying to be careful with what I say here. Please let me know so I can edit if necessary. 

Thank you for reading my post and welcoming me. It means a lot to me right now. 

Edited to correct the time which I typed wrong. Thank you @tyme for letting me know. 

[SkySeeker22]

Hi @Meredyth49 

Well done on reaching out here for support and connection with others. The community is very active and there's always someone here to chat with.

I'm so sorry to hear that the treatment you have received in some instances has been less than sub par. It can sometimes feel like the "professionals" have no idea how to deal with someone with complex mental health issues and just want us to go away.

I understand how hard it can be to articulate symptoms when asked about them... would writing symptoms down be an option here to get what you are experiencing across in a different way?

Are you finding the meds you are on are helping with your symptoms?

Warm regards

SkySeeker22

[tyme]

Do you mean 12:29 in the afternoon? @Meredyth49 

Or do you mean midnight? If so, I don't know how you do it!

I can see how hard things can be for you. At the same time, I like your resilient spirit.

[Meredyth49]

@tyme Sorry my bad, I meant to say 12.29pm, which is middle of the day. I got to sleep last night at 2am. That's with taking my nightly med. 

[tyme]

Is this a new med?

For me, I have to take my med at a certain time to allow myself the time to get sleepy. e.g. I take it around 6-7pm to get sleepy by 11pm. If I take it later (like last night), I don't get to sleep until 3am or so. LOL Like last night.

We could have had a forums' party! @Meredyth49