World Mental Health Day

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glenwilson

glenwilson

NRU Heed
NRU Member
15 Mar 2012
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Falkirk, United Kingdom
Mental health encompasses so many things including depression, anxiety and so on. Unlike a broken bone, strained muscle or other disease it is easy to ignore or not realise that it is affecting you.

Personally I had a point about 20 years ago after various things had happened that I woke up one Monday morning and just could not face work or anything else. My sleep patterns had been screwed and various other symptoms were obvious to everyone else but me. Also, nobody else mentioned it either!

I went to the doctor and was advised to go swimming! I got home and felt let down and fobbed off. I phoned up and got to see a different doctor. He was great. I ended up on Prozac for a while and also had some therapy sessions. The Prozac did help settle things down but the therapy and counselling helped to understand triggers and how to deal with them. He also suggested using relaxation tapes (yes it was real cassette tapes then) and they do help to give you some time to concentrate on yourself and relax.

It took awhile but things eventually got back to balance. I now understand that we can all have days where you wake up and feel like shite for no apparent reason. That doesn't mean that the depression is back it really is just a bad day. I still use relaxation 'tapes' occasionally if I have trouble sleeping after travelling.

The main thing is that we get lots of pressure from all sorts of directions, work, relationship, health concerns, financial pressures etc. It doesn't matter what age you are either - old and young can be affected. We don't always realise the effect that it can have on us so it is something to bear in mind. If you do think you have mental health issues go and get help as it can change your life for the better. Also confiding with people helps to let people close to you support and understand too.
 
Thank you for posting.

Talking about any mental condition is still such a delicate subject for many people and yet it’s so common. Sadly, it’s also felt by some to be shameful and a sign of weakness, adding to the burden. This is truly heartbreaking. I have luckily not been affected myself so far but I have friends/colleagues who have and their stories have similarities to yours. Some have been fortunate to have a good contact with various healthcare professionals, others less lucky (at least initially). I have tried to be of some (probably limited) help by just listening and not giving any unsolicited advice.

It’s strange and sad that this subject is still almost taboo.

Lastly, Trump et al’s disgraceful shaming of victims of sexual assault (some suffering from PTSD) etc. is just jaw-dropping...
 
As you say it is such a personal thing that can manifest itself in so many varied ways and each individual is different. With more physical and disease based health issues there are generally a do this then this and then this and you are cured/fixed (a bit generalised) but with mental health it isn't that simple. Some people need meds and others need just therapy and others will need a combination of both. Some of the stories I have seen today also show that you also need the right doctors and therapists too. The first doctor I saw was almost saying just pull yourself together. The second one actually helped by referring me. I did have people saying there was something wrong and didn't listen initially. If I saw the same in someone else then I would probably try and help but accept that it is up to the person themselves generally to seek help. Obviously there are some circumstances where there may be a more urgent need for intervention.

The Trump thing baffles me. I get that potentially there could be some women who do accuse for malicious reasons. However, for Dr Ford to come forward and go through the trauma of giving evidence under those circumstances and still be receiving death threats makes it unlikely that there was any other motive behind it. I really wonder how many of the republicans believe what they say and I really wonder how they can honestly make any argument along the lines of 'I think she was assaulted but got the wrong guy'. The whole Trump regime seems to need an intervention. I cannot see how they can look at themselves in a mirror and say 'Yep, x is the right thing to do.'

I can still remember the dentist's face who tortured me when I was a kid. I couldn't tell you what day it was buy I know it was a Monday and the appointment was 09:00!! So I am pretty sure that those women will remember who it was that tried to rape them.
 
Probably should have said that it did take about six months before I was able to go back to work - it wasn’t an instant take a tablet, listen to a tape and feel great thing. Prozac takes a while to work and it is a gradual change to how you feel. HR and the people I worked with were understanding too.
 

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