Mental Health

[Stan]

2 hours ago, Danny said:

How's everyone doing?

My heads not been too bad recently, OCD is simmering and I've been arguing a lot less than I used to. Almost feeling at peace, almost  New job is relaxing too, so can't complain.

Been getting stuck into my comedy which has been good, has literally taken over my life in a good way...have managed to transfer my obsessive argumentative nature into obsessively writing jokes, a lot shit, some good, and one or two doing really well so far.

Hows the new dads/old dads new kids crew? @JOSHBRFC @DeadLinesman @Batard @Bluewolf?

Hows the exercise gone @Tommy?

And anyone I've not @'ed 

Good to hear you're improving/feeling better.

With OCD, can it be totally eradicated or will there always be an element of it in your life?

[Tommy]

2 hours ago, Danny said:

Hows the exercise gone @Tommy?

I don't like your judgmental tone, young man! 

[IgnisExcubitor]

1 hour ago, Stan said:

Good to hear you're improving/feeling better.

With OCD, can it be totally eradicated or will there always be an element of it in your life?

A little element of it stays with you forever. Also, depends on how you are feeling. 

I have cured my behaviour of repeating little things, but if I am having a bad day, then I am stuck doing silly things. And I just cant stop my head from doing those things. You feel completely helpless. 

 

@topic

I remember there was a Blackburn fan who wrote about his problem in detail on the earlier forum. Was it @JOSHBRFC or @Danny? Wonder how he is coping if he is not one of these two?

[Danny]

8 hours ago, Stan said:

Good to hear you're improving/feeling better.

With OCD, can it be totally eradicated or will there always be an element of it in your life?

Depends person to person, I've had it since I was a kid. Mine has never disappeared completely, even when I've done well it's still there I've just found a way to ignore it.

[Bluewolf]

17 hours ago, Danny said:

Hows the new dads/old dads new kids crew? @JOSHBRFC @DeadLinesman @Batard @Bluewolf?

Been through a bit of a rough patch here health wise in the past month, each one of us in turn got this chest infection and whatever it was turned a bit nasty... The little one Mia had it as well, feel sorry for her being so little and not really being able to do much to help, The missus still has hers now but apart from that nasty bugger everyone is ok in all other respects mate thanks for asking.. 

[Stan]

11 hours ago, Bluewolf said:

Been through a bit of a rough patch here health wise in the past month, each one of us in turn got this chest infection and whatever it was turned a bit nasty... The little one Mia had it as well, feel sorry for her being so little and not really being able to do much to help, The missus still has hers now but apart from that nasty bugger everyone is ok in all other respects mate thanks for asking.. 

I can rub Vicks on you tonight if you want?

 

[Guest]

The wait on CBT is getting longer unfortunately. I've got to wait 3 months. I don't want to complain to much because from what I gather Britain has better mental Heath care than a lot of countries. But even if you are near suicide you don't get much support.

[Stan]

9 hours ago, Cannabis said:

Social Media has a lot to answer for. Not specifically having a pop at the creators such as Mark Zuckerberg etc but the very existence of social media has fucked with people without them even realising.

There is that side of the coin, which I agree with. But the other side of that coin is the fact social media can do a great job in raising awareness and helping with charities, fundraisers far better than it could before it existed. It gives people a voice (again, both good and bad sometimes with social media). Before social media, I'm guessing people were afraid to talk about it in person. Social media gives them some kind of outlet to do this. 

[Guest]

On 29/11/2018 at 22:12, Cannabis said:

Social Media has a lot to answer for. Not specifically having a pop at the creators such as Mark Zuckerberg etc but the very existence of social media has fucked with people without them even realising.

Its been a platform for people like Katy Hopkins speeding vile shit about depression.

[Dave]

I don't tend to stumble in this section but it's nice to read this thread, lads. We've all known each other for years now and this place can act as a nice break from the pressures of every day life. It's good to see how comfortable everybody is to talk about themselves in this thread.

[RandoEFC+]

I've come on leaps and bounds in the last couple of years. I probably wasn't that aware of it at the time but I was really depressed for the second year of my job in England. It really brought it home the other week when I was browsing through my Kindle library and I found a couple of books about fighting depression and how to get yourself into a positive state of mind.

Much better life now, better job which is going great, back on the Isle of Man so I see my family every week and live with friends instead of in my own flat. Another thing that has made a big difference was quitting smoking. It's a weird one as I was only really a smoker for a couple of years and I always sort of knew I was a long way from being past the point of no return with it, but I decided late October last year to quit and I've now had one cigarette in the last 13 months, which came when I got hammered on my birthday back in January. It's not that big a thing objectively but the fact I was able to change my lifestyle and sack that off so easily has become a real source of pride and strength for me.

[Batard]

On 28/11/2018 at 07:32, Danny said:

How's everyone doing?

My heads not been too bad recently, OCD is simmering and I've been arguing a lot less than I used to. Almost feeling at peace, almost  New job is relaxing too, so can't complain.

Been getting stuck into my comedy which has been good, has literally taken over my life in a good way...have managed to transfer my obsessive argumentative nature into obsessively writing jokes, a lot shit, some good, and one or two doing really well so far.

Hows the new dads/old dads new kids crew? @JOSHBRFC @DeadLinesman @Batard @Bluewolf?

Hows the exercise gone @Tommy?

And anyone I've not @'ed 

Alright mate, fucking exhausting but the best thing in the world. The lack of sleep sometimes and the constant worry of being able to provide for the family brings much stress and worry, but life would be so very boring if it was too comfortable.  

[Danny]

7 hours ago, RandoEFC said:

I've come on leaps and bounds in the last couple of years. I probably wasn't that aware of it at the time but I was really depressed for the second year of my job in England. It really brought it home the other week when I was browsing through my Kindle library and I found a couple of books about fighting depression and how to get yourself into a positive state of mind.

Much better life now, better job which is going great, back on the Isle of Man so I see my family every week and live with friends instead of in my own flat. Another thing that has made a big difference was quitting smoking. It's a weird one as I was only really a smoker for a couple of years and I always sort of knew I was a long way from being past the point of no return with it, but I decided late October last year to quit and I've now had one cigarette in the last 13 months, which came when I got hammered on my birthday back in January. It's not that big a thing objectively but the fact I was able to change my lifestyle and sack that off so easily has become a real source of pride and strength for me.

Never smoked myself but fair play coming off it, lifestyle changes are always the hardest because they're the things that sit under the surface that you don't ever take into account, like smoking or randomly plowing through a multi pack of crisps, demolishing fizzy drinks, never exercising etc.

 

 

[UNORTHODOX]

I have suffered with Agoraphobia and severe anxiety for 13 years, literally didnt leave the house at all for 6 years. Recently though i have been outside every day for the last 3 weeks.

I walked for 5 miles yesterday and didnt feel anxious at all this would have been impossible for me just a few months ago. Think i am finally whooping agoraphobia's arse once and for all.

[Guest]

I've got some CBT coming up in he new year. Work wise I'm OK but when I'm at home I get really overwhelmed by little things and so not a lot gets done.

[carefreeluke]

I remember seeing a therapist 3-4 years ago for anxiety and she encouraged me to keep a diary and write all my worries down at the end of each day. I was reluctant to do it at first (not a good sort of mood to be in if you are seeing a therapist and want to improve your health). Anyway, I had a lot on my mind at the time and I ended up doing it maybe for between 1-4 weeks. I wondered what the purpose of doing it was, I thought maybe the act of writing things down was a way of helping me come to terms with the worries or it was a way of leaving them on the page and it helped me to dwell and forget so to speak. Then, something like 2-3 weeks into doing it, I wondered what worries I had jotted down in that first week. A big sense of realisation and astonishment came when I couldn't remember the worries. I turned back to that first week and I couldn't believe I had been worrying about those things so much when at the time they seemed serious problems. The fact that I couldn't recall the worries from the past and how little of a problem they seemed in that moment (when I looked back) was a big realisation for me. I then clocked perhaps this was the purpose of the exercise.

[Pyfish+]

7 minutes ago, carefreeluke said:

I remember seeing a therapist 3-4 years ago for anxiety and she encouraged me to keep a diary and write all my worries down at the end of each day. I was reluctant to do it at first (not a good sort of mood to be in if you are seeing a therapist and want to improve your health). Anyway, I had a lot on my mind at the time and I ended up doing it maybe for between 1-4 weeks. I wondered what the purpose of doing it was, I thought maybe the act of writing things down was a way of helping me come to terms with the worries or it was a way of leaving them on the page and it helped me to dwell and forget so to speak. Then, something like 2-3 weeks into doing it, I wondered what worries I had jotted down in that first week. A big sense of realisation and astonishment came when I couldn't remember the worries. I turned back to that first week and I couldn't believe I had been worrying about those things so much when at the time they seemed serious problems. The fact that I couldn't recall the worries from the past and how little of a problem they seemed in that moment (when I looked back) was a big realisation for me. I then clocked perhaps this was the purpose of the exercise.

I got told to do a similar thing and I was the same as you; struggling to see the purpose. They say don't sweat the small stuff and this exercise certainly helps with that.

[nudge+]

13 minutes ago, carefreeluke said:

I remember seeing a therapist 3-4 years ago for anxiety and she encouraged me to keep a diary and write all my worries down at the end of each day. I was reluctant to do it at first (not a good sort of mood to be in if you are seeing a therapist and want to improve your health). Anyway, I had a lot on my mind at the time and I ended up doing it maybe for between 1-4 weeks. I wondered what the purpose of doing it was, I thought maybe the act of writing things down was a way of helping me come to terms with the worries or it was a way of leaving them on the page and it helped me to dwell and forget so to speak. Then, something like 2-3 weeks into doing it, I wondered what worries I had jotted down in that first week. A big sense of realisation and astonishment came when I couldn't remember the worries. I turned back to that first week and I couldn't believe I had been worrying about those things so much when at the time they seemed serious problems. The fact that I couldn't recall the worries from the past and how little of a problem they seemed in that moment (when I looked back) was a big realisation for me. I then clocked perhaps this was the purpose of the exercise.

Writing down one's worries/feelings/thoughts can have numerous purposes depending on one's condition. Understanding the irrationality of your thoughts (or worries in your case) is also one of them as it can definitely help to see things more realistically. It's generally used to help you understand your own thought processes, identify negative thought patterns and behaviours, recognise what triggers them, get the intrusive thoughts out to sort of 'unclutter' your mind instead of trying to block them,  etc.

[CaaC (John)+]

That's a bit like writing a diary, I would always have a diary right up until I retired from work 5 years ago and I still have them in a box somewhere in our bedroom and every now and then I will get them out and read back things I wrote around 1999, some of them are a bit nostalgic and sometimes a bit depressing where I was made redundant and then went on unemployment benefits, but then as the years rolled on and I gritted my teeth and carried on.

Times when I started doing security work around 1998, all the shift work that knackered me, 12/14 hours sometimes 7 days a week but I did it for the money, then working my way up to building management, and the relief of no long hours and shift work and just 5 days a week and I was happy.

Then came retirement which took me ages to get my head around then 4 years ago I ended up in a hospital with a virus that affected my breathing and that's where the hospital found out too that I had a heart failure problem where I am now on tablets every day for the rest of my life, I got all over that and then 2 years ago I ended up in hospital with a collapsed lung.

But the beauty of all of the latter is I can look back with a smile on my face knowing I have kicked on and still in the land of the living, stopped smoking 2 years coming up this Dec and also watching our grandsons growing up and the youngest, Kaiden, now 5 and at school and natters away like a beauty then the eldest grandson, Connor, 14 coming up has his first girlfriend so our daughter told us, she spied on him sending text messages with big XXXXX at the end, now THAT did make me laugh. 

The moral of all that above is simply life can be a bastard sometimes but if you have the inner strength and willpower then life just goes on and you can get the happy times, saying all that knowing my luck I will walk outside anytime and get hit by a bloody meteorite.          

[Pyfish+]

World Mental Health Day today. If any of you are struggling and just need to vent or anything, I'm always happy to listen and I'm not ashamed to admit I've had the shittiest year of my life so far so I've struggled too. Together, we are not alone  

[Panflute]

On 26/06/2019 at 14:31, nudge said:

Writing down one's worries/feelings/thoughts can have numerous purposes depending on one's condition. Understanding the irrationality of your thoughts (or worries in your case) is also one of them as it can definitely help to see things more realistically. It's generally used to help you understand your own thought processes, identify negative thought patterns and behaviours, recognise what triggers them, get the intrusive thoughts out to sort of 'unclutter' your mind instead of trying to block them,  etc.

It's especially helpful if you have the type of mind that lets your thoughts loop in endless circles even if you've 'debunked' them with other, rational thoughts. Once you write it down or type it out, it's almost as if a lot of those thoughts physically moved from your mind onto the paper/screen. Worth a try if you have anxieties that keep you from sleeping or other basic activities.

[Storts]

Bottled it.

[Danny]

@carefreeluke @nudge @Panflute

I had CBT for OCD a couple of years ago and it was great for managing OCD, vocalising intrusive thoughts takes a lot of power away from them. Diary keeping was good also as it acts as defence mechanism for whenever you worry about a certain issue going wrong, you can refer back to the diary and have proof that it wasn’t actually that bad, this will try to slowly reshape how you think. Being able to get into a position where you can recognise that you can choose whether or not to be anxious on a day is life changing.

Personally I think I respond better to more CBT based ways of dealing with my OCD, I read something a couple of years ago when I first posted this topic actually and it was about neural pathways and essentially viewing your mind like an open field with knee length grass. Your entire life you have taken the same route in your mind and often without realising, so if something goes wrong you react to it in the same way you always have which could be severe anxiety for example. So when something like morning/pre-work anxiety kicks in and you’re dreading going in to try and stop that you visualise the field and the neural pathway your brain is automatically trying to take which is heavily anxious and instead you walk down a new pathway, creating a calmer and more relaxing way to pass through it. This is meant to help you view the feelings of anxiety not as something that is almost permenant or even necessary for work, but as a pathway your brain has been taking you down for most of your life when you have began to worry about something and that if this visualisation works for you, it now allows you the chance to choose not to be anxious in the moment and become aware you can take the same journey to work, go through the same day and issues that naturally arise at work without feeling like going to work and having anxiety go hand in hand.

Not sure if I explained the above well enough or if it sounds wishy washy but point of it is that your brain automatically tries to make you anxious as that’s how it’s learnt to deal with specific situations, being able to understand and change that process means that even once you’ve started to feel anxious you can adjust your thought process and with that hopefully your anxiety 

[nudge+]

14 minutes ago, Danny said:

@carefreeluke @nudge @Panflute

I had CBT for OCD a couple of years ago and it was great for managing OCD, vocalising intrusive thoughts takes a lot of power away from them. Diary keeping was good also as it acts as defence mechanism for whenever you worry about a certain issue going wrong, you can refer back to the diary and have proof that it wasn’t actually that bad, this will try to slowly reshape how you think. Being able to get into a position where you can recognise that you can choose whether or not to be anxious on a day is life changing.

Personally I think I respond better to more CBT based ways of dealing with my OCD, I read something a couple of years ago when I first posted this topic actually and it was about neural pathways and essentially viewing your mind like an open field with knee length grass. Your entire life you have taken the same route in your mind and often without realising, so if something goes wrong you react to it in the same way you always have which could be severe anxiety for example. So when something like morning/pre-work anxiety kicks in and you’re dreading going in to try and stop that you visualise the field and the neural pathway your brain is automatically trying to take which is heavily anxious and instead you walk down a new pathway, creating a calmer and more relaxing way to pass through it. This is meant to help you view the feelings of anxiety not as something that is almost permenant or even necessary for work, but as a pathway your brain has been taking you down for most of your life when you have began to worry about something and that if this visualisation works for you, it now allows you the chance to choose not to be anxious in the moment and become aware you can take the same journey to work, go through the same day and issues that naturally arise at work without feeling like going to work and having anxiety go hand in hand.

Not sure if I explained the above well enough or if it sounds wishy washy but point of it is that your brain automatically tries to make you anxious as that’s how it’s learnt to deal with specific situations, being able to understand and change that process means that even once you’ve started to feel anxious you can adjust your thought process and with that hopefully your anxiety 

That's a nice analogy there; also glad it worked for you.

I got a bit of training in CBT among other forms of interventions many years ago and while I've been skeptical about many of them, I always loved CBT for how hands-on and no-nonsense it is in the sense of actively focusing on providing a person with tools to identify maladaptive irrational patterns of their own thoughts and teaching them effective strategies to correct them to something less distorted. Sort of brain-rewiring which is kind of cool on its own haha - not to mention its efficiency in treating a wide range of disorders.

[Dr. Gonzo]

What the fuck is CBT? I googled it and got this... https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=CBT

and that makes this thread particularly hilarious... but I'm fairly certain that's not what you guys are talking about.