If I'm being honest I'm pretty sure I have an anxiety disorder... but I've never been diagnosed so am not medicated (although I suspect I probably should be).

I just deal... not easy, not nice... most days are pretty difficult but that's my approach.

I don't think there will ever be a time when I get past my experience and don't look back. I agree that my tendency to become mentally unstable when I'm stressed and tired and haven't eaten (for 3 days) is something that I will have to deal with for the rest of my life. But I think that everyone in the world has issues that they have to deal with on a daily basis. Be it an addictive personality, jealousy, body image, anger problems... No one is perfect, and if they think they are, that's an issue in itself.


About the approval seeking of your therapist...I can totally relate. In fact I think that's part of the heeling process. When I had my manic episode, I lost my conscience*. Where in the past, I used to sort of have an internal dialog with myself, telling me how to behave and think, I stopped trusting my own mind. I had so much respect for my therapist/psychiatrist that when I would have that internal dialog, I pictured myself talking to her. I pictured her approving of my life choices and guiding me towards healthy behaviors. I've recently stopped doing that and have re-united my conscience with an image of myself. When my conscience tells me, "Amanda, you need to get your a#$ off the couch and go workout because I believe in you..." that isn't my psychiatrist, husband, parent.... its me saying that.

*Conscience = An inner feeling or voice viewed as acting as a guide to the rightness or wrongness of one's behavior.

Maybe. There are people who wouldn't function without meds though.

you are right. i wonder what those antipsychiatry supporters would say if they knew how many people committed suicide due to severe mood swings.

I have real bad anxiety. More than likely being Generalized anxiety disorder (soon to be verified). I'll sometimes have it were I'll sit for around an hour and think over the same thing over and over again. I'll then get so stressed, I get (quite often) really bad chest/heart pains, as well as going giddy. This is mixed with my OCD though, making me do things I can't help but do, I then get really annoyed about doing it, making me stressed and loop.

The worst of it, is just when I'm on my own. I'll think of something stupid and sick, and then not be able to drop it. Even though the thought disgusts me, I just can't let it go. I'll also have times where, if I want to think, say, do, read, write and more something, I'd have to either re-think it over and over, or say it outloud (to myself or others) over and over. I'll sit there then finding it hard to swallow until it just goes through. Then I'll go back to doing what I was doing until it happens again. I have to all the time, sit and say aloud when I'm doing, or what I'm going to do, to make sure it's correct. If I make a mistake when I'm saying it, I get really stressed out too.

I get stressed easily though, which doesn't help, and brings on this horrid pain. I'll over-worry about things as well, make sure I do certain checks to make sure I'm 'safe', or then blame myself when the smallest thing happens.

I don't know how to go about being 'checked out' and finally sort it out, as it really is slowly taking over many aspects of my life, and its slowly started to leak out to when I'm with other people, rather than just on my own. Tried booking a doctors appointment, but it'll take like 3 weeks to be seen. :/

Ok I'm putting my two cents in. Insulin is required to sustain life. Your body produces it naturally to balance the blood sugar and assist with fat storage. If someone doesn't produce it, the cells aren't sensitive to it, or the insulin is not effective injecting insulin is the only way to maintain balance in the body. Insulin is not a good example to use in this instance to make your point.

I have depression, which I am currently be treated for (successfully at the moment, and I have not been depressed for several months--yay!) I am on medication for it. I also have some anxiety issues (generalized anxiety, most likely). I have had disordered eating my whole life (you name it, I've had it--all 3 of the main ones). I am also autistic, but I don't see that as a "mental illness".

I have OCD and have done since I was 11, I am now 20, it's so hard to cope with, I have the type where it's all about rituals and doing stuff a certain amount of times :( I have had cbt therapy but stopped going as it didn't help, I am on anti depressants to help it but I don't think it's doing much :(

Clinical depression.

I suffer with severe depression, bdd(body dysmorphic disorder) and anorexia. Though, exercising daily helps with my depression so it's always going to be a crucial part of my life, aside from other obvious reasons. I've found also when I'm in an okay state of mind, I want to recover and put recovery first moreso, I try alot harder. My bdd hasn't gotten any better though but hopefully it will one day.

I like our new world order - Everyone has a label......sorry to sound synical.......

No, but I do here things like Yoga Nidra (guided mediation) help. They are using it on the troops with PTSD. I have done a session myself and it helped with stress. You may want to look into it. There are also free Yoga Nidra pod casts in iTunes.

I used to have a long list of issues stemming from my childhood. i was put on all sorts of medication and i did years of extensive therapy. including CBT/DBT. I really hated the fact that i had meds, i felt weak, and i didn't feel like me. I decided to replace all of the meds and crap in exchange for a cleaner diet and constant exercise. I must say, best choice i have ever made, not to mention, you can't get in any branch of military on the meds i was taking. But that didn't have much of an influence, i genuinely despised the fact i was taking medication.

I love that this topic was brought up! Mental health badly needs to be de-stigmatized. I've only struggled with depression and eating disorders, but my mom had paranoid schizophrenia. So while growing up, my family doctor always made a point of reminding me that it's quite possible for me or my brother to develop something, too. So far, I've been quite lucky. But as I get older, I try to remind myself that a healthy lifestyle means a lot more than just weight. Increasing natural endorphins through exercise, minimizing stress, avoiding mood-altering drugs, and eating the right foods - especially those with lots of omegas! - not only make us fit, but make us more functional on a day to day basis.

So Cheers to everyone who'se doing their best to live healthy with a mental illness!

Until you, yourself, have experienced mental illness, I doubt you will ever understand.

I think it's really great that you brought this up too. I think if people talked about it more, there would be less of a stigma associated with it. And getting something out in the open is probably the first step in making it better.

I too have been dealing with depression for many years.
As to the people who say the drugs are a crutch, well even if that were so, without them, we couldn't walk well enough to get where we need to go.

Some days it's all I can do to force myself out of bed in the morning.
Yes, it's hard to add exercise and taking care of yourself into the mix. When you are IN the depression, taking care of yourself is the least of your thoughts.

Happy to say, new meds, little adjunct kick to the effexor, and I'm feeling pretty darn good.
Hope the same for the rest of you.
C

bump - this a very good topic.

my mother was diagnosed with bipolar and depression
i was a troubled teen so i was an inpatient - but i don't remember the diagnosis.
i don't take meds - i don't have insurance - so no $$$ for psychiatric help

Reading this thread has been really helpful to me....I went to the doctor's today wondering if I had a problem....been feeling very flat for at least a month and there have been days where I've struggled to get out of bed and not wanted to go to work (has happened a couple of days in the last month where I've taken sick leave). I've suggested it to my mum a while back that I thought I might have mild depression, but she scoffed and said, "You'll be fine."

Doctor pretty much said (after taking a history of my feelings and other background history) that "Yes, you likely have a form of mild depression. But, it's ok, because it's very common...about 30% of the population deal with depression." I felt so embarrassed that I just go so emotional in his clinic while I was giving him my history. For now, I'm going to try to deal with it by getting back to the gym, eating right, keeping up my interest in hobbies...but it's really nice to be able to feel comfortable enough to post on this thread and not feel judged (except for a couple of the 'joking' comments that I don't think should be made in a thread like this).