Making myself feel bad

Mental health
1

Hello, 

I have severe anxiety, which suddenly hit me about a month ago. I haven't been able to get out the house much and I can't eat much at all.

Today I have flu and haven't been able to leave my bed. I make myself feel so bad about not getting up and doing anything, even though i know i need time to recover. I began anti-depressants 6 days ago and feel so ill from the side effects/loss of appetite. Yet i make myself feel more anxious/depressed because I can't get out?

I don't know what to do as I feel so weak and just want to be able to get out and do things but i cant  

help please  

2

have you considered therapy? it is a great alternative to meds - which as youve found out do often make people feel worse

3

Yes i have telephone cbt next tuesday & get 6 sessions. I also am trying cbt online & bought a book which im reading through. 

4

Hi, you sound very much like me, today I only got  out very briefly and that will be it because a lot needs doing in the house today and if I don't get on top of those things I will be stressed about that yet here I am staring ou of the window thinking i should be out facing my fears, I should be doing something'.

Thing is though we can't take on everything all at once and the truth is if you are ill and you go out you will likely feel worse anyway and possiby have a negative experience which is the last thing you need.

So even if you dragged yourself out of that bed and forced yourself out of the door you wouldn't gain anything from it.

I know it's horrible, I want to force myself out today but have all this laundry that has piled up, birthday prsents to wrap and then a lot of tidying to do so if I go out nothing gets done and I end up feeling even more like I can't cope.

I would have a chat with your doctor or pharmacist about the side effects of your medication, make sure it is only what is to be expected and that you can tolerate them, some people need to change, others can wait it out but if it gets too much and hinders you very badly it may be worth discussing the possibility of something different.

I hope your flu is better soon, remember you have to be kind to yourself as hard as that can be and that does mean accepting rest when you need it, the doing things and going out will still be there when you feel better but will be much harder if you push yourself with flu x

5

Well said

6

CBT is supposed to be very helpful.

Have you tried therapy in the past?

7

CBT does work for some,but don't be discouraged if it doesnt,ask for different therapy if it doesn't. It's a very mild form of therapy and it's always offered first as it's cheap and can work for some

8

have you tried it? I'm considering it

9

yes ive tried CBT, for me it wasnt very good, i prefer psychotherapy or CAT, they work better. different things work for different people though

10

Thank you!

11

I haven't had any therapy in the past as i've only begun to get help, but i'm hoping it works! x

12

I hope it does work for me I'm getting this on the NHS & not sure if they do any other types of therapy? I can't afford to pay for any either x

13

Hi, thanks for your response, you've made me feel a lot better

That's true, think i just always feel bad about it because everyone always puts pressure on going out and doing things. When I think i really need time to get better/eat better before I can go out. 

I did manage to drag myself out of bed and like you have been doing house work & sat outside for a little bit. 

I can feel my side effects lessening each day, apart from the loss of appetite but i've never been a big eater anyway. I'm living off smoothies and weight gain shakes at the moment  

Thank you for your advice

x

14

Yes the NHS do all kinds of therapy,they prefer to try CBT first as it's very cheap to train and deliver, but yes you can see psychologists, Psychotherapists and psychiatrists on the nhs