!TW: Anxiety!
Hi everyone, this is my first post here. I’m not coping lately and my anxiety has gotten worse over the past few months. I am very lonely. I am exhausted
Comments
I think this is my 6th year living with depression, and 3rd living with BPD. The feelings I’m having recently have been for almost 6 months, nothing works
Hey @Parzival,
Thank you for responding and sharing more about what you’re going through. It must be really challenging for you to have been living with depression and BPD for a long time. It would also be exhausting for you to have been experiencing these feelings for 6 months. It might be helpful for you to explore this page from SA Health on coping with BPD as it includes self-soothing strategies directed towards those struggling with BPD as well as other helpful tips. Another resource that you might find useful is this factsheet here about BPD which talks more about what BPD is, the myths around it and self-care methods that are more helpful for people with BPD.
An email was also sent out to you yesterday to check in. I am wondering if you had the chance to have a look at it yet?
Hey@Parzival
I am so sorry to hear you are going through a difficult time! Anxiety can be so incredibly draining and can really take all your energy. Thanks so much for taking the time to reach out!
Would you possibly like to chat a little more about what you are struggling with?
Hope you are holding up okay (and if not that's okay too)!
Hi all, thank u for your support. I don’t have any friends and don’t get out of the house much unless it’s for work or to see my therapist once a fortnight. And I am very insecure so I stay out of the way of people and keep my head down. I have almost zero fulfilment in life and no joy in past hobbies or activities. Coping strategies don’t work for me so I just isolate in my room for most of the week, bathing in my depression.
Hey @Parzival,
Welcome back! It is really good to hear from you again. It must be tough feeling like you’re bathing in your depression. It is understandable that you’re feeling alone and isolated too. How long have you been experiencing this for? In this article there are tips that include 11 things to do when you’re feeling lonely. Tip number 8 is probably one that stands out most for me. It discusses writing things down as a way of processing your emotions and battling loneliness. You might choose to write a poem or a song about how you’re feeling.
I imagine it would be hard to have lost interest in your past hobbies and activities and feel almost no fulfilment in life. Having these feelings would be extremely hard for anyone. Is there a day or time when things weren’t feeling this way? I can also see that coping strategies haven’t been very helpful for you. This can make it tough to cope when nothing is working. This article includes 10 coping strategies to deal with the hard stuff, which might give you some ideas of new strategies that may be helpful for you. ReachOut also offers 1:1 free and confidential Peer Chat sessions that I encourage you to connect with if you feel like talking to someone and receiving additional support.
An email has also been sent to you so please keep an eye out for it!
Hi again @Parzival
It is so good to hear more from you! Thank you so much for sharing more about yourself.
From what you have shared, it seems like you are feeling isolated and lost, is that right? Can I ask what are your current coping strategies at the moment? I hope that we can work together to find something that works better for you. For me, I like reading or going on a trip to a bakery or a cafe shop, I love doing these by myself more because I can take as much time as I need. I also want to say that it is okay to have some alone time in your room, but at the same time, sharing how you've been with your loved ones can be extremely fulfilling and I might help elevate some of the struggle you are experiencing right now. You also mentioned that you felt insecure, are you comfortable sharing more about that too? I might not know you too well, but from what I have read so far, you seem like a very kind person who can reflect on yourself, which is an excellent quality.
Please don't be too harsh on yourself and allow yourself to be loved and appreciated by your loved ones.
I hope to hear from you when you are ready to share more and work towards feeling a bit better than how you are feeling now. 🙂
Have a good day!
Hi @Parzival
Thank you for sharing how you're feeling at the moment, I think it's very brave of you and it is already a big step since you are acknowledging these feelings.
I see others have already mentioned speaking to a professional about it so I'm wondering if you have been doing anything to care for yourself, like exercising, drinking water, and getting enough sunlight. Those things are really important and can make you go a long way.
Just remember you are so not alone, so many others feel the same way you do
Hi @Parzival
Welcome to ReachOut! How are you?
Thank you so much for reaching out and sharing your story. I want you to know that you are not alone here and we are here to support you.
I am sorry that you haven't been your best in the past couple of months and if you don't mind sharing more, I am here to hear it. I also went through a period where it was so easy to trigger my anxiety and it took a while to calm it down. If you want some suggestions on how to cope, I can only tell you what works for me and hope that it will work for you too.
1. Deep breathing: it is an effective way to calm yourself down ASAP as it slows down your heart rate, it works tremendously whenever I am overstimulated and anxious.
2. Hobby: dedicate quality time to doing whatever you enjoy, whether that be reading, walking, journaling, or playing video games.
3. Ask for help: if you have someone you can trust and confide in, consider talking to them; sharing what is on your mind with others is effective and you may realise that you are never alone as there will be someone there for you.
This advice is very general but I hope that they help. I want to highlight again that many wonderful individuals are here to support you.
Hey @Parzival
Anxiety is also something that has been an ever present struggle in my life to. So I am certainly able to empathise with what you are dealing with.
If you wish, feel free to share whatever life problems you have on these forums. These forums are full of kind and supportive people. There are always people here to listen to your problems. If you want to open up, they'll listen. Your not alone. 🙂
Hi @Parzival
Welcome to the forums and I am sorry to hear you haven't been coping well lately.
I was wondering if there is anyone you have spoken to about this, friends, family, or doctor. They can be great support systems until you are coping better. If not do you have a pet or something you can spend time with, they can help you feel less lonely at times.
I was also wondering what sort self care and mechanism you are already using to help combat this. I have found that for self-care I like to really immerse myself in my hobbies and interests so for me that's reading and baking. I will also do a lot of journalling during this time and if it is a continuous subject that bothers me or increases my anxiety, I'll write down my worries and then rip the paper up into a thousand pieces. It just takes some weight off my shoulders.
With coping mechanisms, there are a lot of great ones, like breathing exercises, muscle relaxation, temperature changes etc. Even moving your body can help, simple stretches in bed or on the floor if you're feeling unmotivated can help.
I hope some of this helps
Hi @Parzival ,
Thank you for your post on the forums. I’m sorry to hear that things have been hard for you lately; I’m wondering if you would feel comfortable sharing more about what’s been happening for you?
Coming onto the forums and sharing things that are happening in your life can be very difficult, and I wanted to commend you on the strength and resilience you have shown.
No one should ever have to go through challenging experiences alone, and I wanted to know what support might look like for you, whether it is friends, family, or evening professional support such as a counsellor?
We have some great resources on anxiety that you might find helpful here. You'll also see some of the coping strategies that others have used to help them through really tough times with anxiety as well.
We wanted to let you know that we have sent you an email so please be on the lookout for that.
The community is here to support you, we hope to hear from you soon.
Hi @Parzival and thank you for reaching out and sharing your experience with us. It’s very brave of you to share what you are going through. Those feelings sound extremely challenging especially when you are experiencing anxiety. Can I ask if you have spoken to anyone you trust about how you’re feeling, such as a parent?
You are not alone. We would love to provide you some support during this journey and sharing your experience anonymously sounds like a great start. We are here to listen 🫶🏻
H i@Be_the_Light , I don't get to talk very much about it. I have no friends and I don't talk to my family about this.
@Parzival Have you got anyone in your family who you are close with that maybe isn't a parent? Who is the person you trust the most in your life? If this isn't the right approach, maybe professional resources would be the way to go. This may even help you identify who you can talk to and also how to approach it. It can be very challenging to open up especially when you are experiencing feelings of loneliness. Finding the right person to talk to that you feel comfortable with could really help. Have you had anyone in the past who has been a good support for you?
