Recovery stories to give others hope ;)

I think its a great idea to talk about recoveries and the fact that there is light at the end of the tunnel we call depression.

I have have always battled anxiety and depression and been about as low as a person can get

I felt so disconnected with everyone and everything and wanted to be like everyone else "Normal".

Anyway to cut a long story short I was feeling extremely miserable and took myself a walk in the park.

On my way home I Saw my perfect neighbour I hoped she hadnt Seen me but she had and insisted on us walking home together.

She had a perfect husband, perfect kids. Immaculate home and the sort of looks and figure any woman would kill for.

I was feeling like I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. I smiled and put on a face the sort you do when people ask how you are and you give the automated response Thats expected of you.

When I asked how she was she said her house was being repossesed in the New Year, her husband was having an affair and she had tried to kill herself three weeks ago. 

I couldnt believe my ears because she seemed to have everything anyone could want. I dont know what promted her to confide in me that day but knowing others were struggling with thier issues made me feel less alone and more willing to take on my own demons.

I am taking things one step and one day at a time. Its a bit like a baby Learning to walk.Some days I feel like I have landed on my backside but the next day I get up and start again. Its not easy but gradually my good days are beating my bad.

When you accept that no-one and nothing in life is perfect and everyone gets depressed or down at times it makes  you feel less alone.

Happy Christmas

Jo xx

I do agree that it's important to highlight the fact that people can - and do - 'recover' from the difficulties and problems of depresson / anxiety. And it would be great to read about people's experiences of this ... this can be inspiring.

As for me, I've found my problem to be rather cyclical. Every few years something will trigger a bout of severe depression. Then time passes, and I 'recover'. I feel much better about myself ... and then, a year or two later, it all happens again.

My anxiety problem is more 'fixed'. I try to manage it by living a life that avoids those situations which cause me anxiety. It's when I fail at this - and when others force me to interact with the wider world - that I get severely depressed.

But for most of the time I'm okay. When I'm down, I hope to become okay again. I think true 'recovery' is not something that can happen for me. But I do think my life can certainly improve - and I hope this happens.

I'd appreciate others - who've gone thru similat things - to contribute and say whether they have actually managed to recover. This would certainly give me hope!

I had a long fight with depression.  Overdose, psychiatric hospital, lost job, house, relationship.  Never thought I would be where I am today.

Whenever I stopped anti depressants before depression always returned within a few months.

Last year over 10 months I slowly withdrew from Effexor.  So far 16 months without medication - longest it has ever been.  I am doing pretty well.  I battled and fought for so many years.  I am a senior citizen, and am not a strong person.  I get stressed very easily.  I get mild anxiety now, but not depressed.  Yes have ups and downs, but not that deep dark pit any more.

I consider myself a success story.

Anne

I think your idea is awesome and I agree with your reasons.

I have suffered from severe depression, panic attacks, anxiety and I have had some serious life pressures. However I have been fortunate to have not only asked meekly for help in the beginning after trying in vain to manage alone, but have later demanded help whenever I have needed it, once I realised it was available. LOL!

As a result of my expectations that help is required for me, I have been to a psychiatrist and counselling and had two very empathetic, caring GPs who have really worked with me to get every available treatment. My advice is you do not have to live a horrible, dark, scary, isolated life just because of a mental illness. It is not shameful. It is an illness from which you will recover. But you will need support from people who are trained to treat depression and anxiety.

I have had to try a few antidepressants before I got the right one for me. I have been hospitalised and taken high doses of benzodiazapam while becoming stable. Within 3 weeks of getting help I began to think like a normal person again and within a year I was completely happy and stable, regardless of all my personal pressures.

I went on to get a university degree, had a great career then set up and ran what became a multi million dollar business. I am now retired and have had a rewarding and fulfilling and successful life. For 30 years I have been taking antidepressants. The medication and supervision and counselling have allowed me to live a normal and exciting life.

I am only now weaning off prescription medication and hoping to manage on natural supplements. My life circumstances now mean I have no responsibilities beyond myself and my capable husband, and a life of leisure, so I feel I just may be able to take this next step.

Never give up. Never stop hoping or fighting to be well again. If you could have seen how bad I was and where I have ended up, you would be absolutely amazed. If I can do it....Anyone can!

Thanks for reading my story.

My trouble is I don't ask for help and I'm very independent so when I was 21 and my son was born I was a single mum, running the home and working 2 jobs and studying. It all took its toll,I didn't see the signs....just one day as I went to set out of the door to pick him up from nursery, I was overwhelmed with fear,couldn't step out of the house. I rang my friend who collected him and by the time she reached my house I was a complete mess. I'd had a nervous breakdown. I tried to get by over the coming weeks but I wasn't coping. It was alien to me. I always coped. I rang the hospital and my parents to come and get my son and spent the next 6 weeks in a lodge for people with a variety of different mental illnesses. I remember the staff being amazing but it was the other patients that really got me through. They where suffering in a way I could never imagine with mental illnesses that where with them for life yet they helped me. 

When I got well I was stronger and better than ever but more aware of myself and how I knew I was vulnerable to these things so I became gentler with myself, asked for help more,tried not to overwhelm myself.

Over the next 14 years, I was great, positive that I would never suffer like they again. I had a few little blips but caught them in time before they became anything serious. I was proud at my ability to do this. I was more content than ever.

The last 3 years I kind of forgot and with forgetting also made me forget to watch myself so yet again, I was working 2 jobs, running the home, looking after family as well as not giving myself to overcome and heal from personal experiences . I was like a robot. In control. Strong.

Looking back over the last 6 months. All the signs where there to warn me of my latest breakdown. I was just to busy to notice and then it happened. 20 weeks ago it hit again....more frightened and out if control than I had ever felt in my life. 24 hour anxiety. Fear of everything.

Here I am now. 20 weeks on and finally seing my way out of this. I'm having moments of joy and laughter and its getting better and better each day. It's been a long,frightening road. I honestly never thought I'd get back from this one but I am. I'm doing it. I'm getting there .

I just want people to know that we all think that this wont ever go away... That we will be the one that won't recover..,,,but there is always hope.

Thankyou so much for sharing you stories. I love reading them. Please keep them coming. And for all you guys at the worst stage of this...please do t ever ever give up because recovery or changes in the wry you think can literally change from one day to the next. Tomorrow could be that day xxx

Gillian your story makes me think about all the people I have known who suffer from anxiety and depression, and we have had similar characteristics to you. We consider ourselves weak and pathetic compared to the rest of the world, when we are in the abyss that is mental illness. Yet we have strong, capable and driven personalities which makes us overly independant, overly responsible and have high expectations of ourselves. We also have a tendency to be highly critical of ourselves for not being able to cope, when we actually take on and do more than most others. I envy the cruisy laid back people who care less about being responsible and independant than we do. Perhaps we are too demanding of our emotions and try so hard we can never measure up, and thats why we crash over and over. In my case I just kept taking the meds and needing psychiatric support, but I still wouldnt stop driving myself as hard as ever to be as good at everything as I could be.

Can you see a pattern?

Maybe the answer is to trust your body and mind to tell you when to chillout and take a rest before we get sick and to forgive ourselves for not performing to our own standards. Change our standards, lower the bar and pace ourselves and stop being so hard on ourselves when we fail. Life should be as easy as we can make it, if we want to stay healthy in mind.

Worth thinking about. How do others feel?