Lived Experience Forum

[NellyMarree]

👋  Hi I am looking forward to contributing and finding new ideas to cope with life's challenges. Thank you for a community space that enables us to be authentic without prejudice.

    I am going through a medication change for epilepsy as my previous ones can create mood issues,  which I have only recently discovered... after 10 years of not feeling myself.The process has made me feel very low and I am struggling to control the destructive repetitive thoughts.

   I feel so alone in this even when surrounded by loved ones. The worst is not feeling like I am worthy to take up space in the world and I hide from others to protect them from my energy,  but I can't possibly make myself any smaller. 

    I have been through trauma and ongoing major depression which has left no confidence in my many abilities. I am hoping that the med change will be a first step in overcoming this. 

   If anyone has any suggestions for quieting my noisy mind it would be great as I am scaring myself with destructive thinking and finding it hard not to punish myself for them. 

    Thanks for reading and your time. 🌱

[Boppa]

Hi @NellyMarree, I'm sorry to hear you are struggling at the moment but glad you have found these forums.

I have always found therapy very useful for my anxiety & depression, that is a result of my CPTSD, and would recommend finding a psychologist if you can afford one with the limited subsidised visits we get each year.

YouTube can be surprisingly useful as well, there are good cognitive behavioural therapy ideas that are easy to follow and understand. David D. Burns has a good channel on Youtube and his book "Feeling Great" is one I'm reading at the moment and has helped many people get tools to help manage their anxiety.

IFS (Internal Family Systems) is a good therapy model I have used too and there is another great book about this called "No Bad Parts" by Richard Schwartz. There are also a number of IFS sessions on YouTube.

These are just a couple of ideas, I hope that you find some use in them.

I hope things improve and that you find your good place again soon.