Posted: Jul 03, 2013 12:02 pm
talkietoaster wrote:
Thank for your post Fallible.
I will be attending a doctors appointment today to see if I can be refered to the counselling / psychological services the NHS gives to people.
Ah, this is probably the kind of service I work for. People are referred to our counselling practice through the NHS. Incidentally my husband has just been through what you are in the process of finding out about. He was quite readily offered therapy as well as medication, and has opted for the belt and braces approach I mentioned above. He is taking a low dose antidepressant (Citalopram) and begins a course of CBT later this month. The waiting list in our area seems to be about 6 weeks, I don't know what your experience will be.
I have had a hard time for the last 4 years in life (also some past issues), it seems I have been in a permanent state of feeling extremely down, feeling like I have to force myself to work (work helps to distract my mind), I can get extremely sad but I seem to push myself through it (but I do feel happiness with my wife and son, but it seems to revert back to feeling down). I did pay for some counselling privately (did seem to help my mood) but couldn't afforded for a while until fiancial matters got back on track. However, i feel if I can get a free service for a time with some therapy it may help my situation.
Definitely. Do you know what you would prefer? The main ones are counselling (Person-Centred) and CBT. Certainly I have seen some people undergo big changes for the better through therapy, but I think it's useful to bear in mind that no one thing works for everybody. One of the main things that you can bring which will enable your recovery will be your willingness to engage, especially with CBT, I doubt this will be a problem for you.
It's strange to feel like if I take tablets I have somehow failed.
Well it's really not all that strange, I often have people tell me when I ask that they aren't taking medication because they want to sort it out by themselves - like they just need to give themselves a kick up the arse and not be so weak. I talk to them about how if they had a physical condition they wouldn't feel weak for taking their medication. If they have an infection they take antibiotics, for example. That seems to make sense to some of them and they reconsider tablets.
However, after my wife highlighted my mood and then I took it on myself to monitor my mood with a dairy, it seems best I try to get some help. Hopefully I've recognised my problem earlier than others or that my feelings are on the lower end of the scale.
This is what makes me think you won't have any problems with motivation in getting better. Although you're low and that affects your motivation, you are already taking it upon yourself to implement things to help you gain a better understanding of your condition and therefore move forward. Good for you, talkie.
[/quote]Your post was helpful to put the tablets into perspective.
They can definitely be useful and sometimes literally a life-saver. They don't make you leap about with euphoria or change who you are (this is something some of my clients are concerned about). The mainstream ones just level out your mood so you don't experience the crashing lows. Of course there are side-effects. My husband experienced restless legs, short-term increased anxiety (a few days) and an occasional day of feeling tweaked, but these subsided quickly and he is beginning to feel a bit more like himself. Anyway I wish you every success with your progress, and if there's anything I can help with let me know.