Well, here goes

[rxtravaganza]

Hey folks,

I'm a 27-year old woman, originally from Montreal but now living in Iceland, and I began listening to this podcast back in March when I had a severe breakdown and setback in my mental health. I was in and out of psychiatric and/or psychological care since about the age of 13, was out for a long period in my early 20s and was diagnosed as bipolar when I was 22. My diagnosis has since been re-assessed as BPD and PTSD with severe manic episodes.

My last breakdown at the beginning of the year was triggered by tapering off my medication, a suggestion my last psych team in Canada gave me prior to me moving away for good. After six months of tapering off and quitting, the next six months were a steady decline where I fell into generalized depression, my anger and rage issues spun out of control and eventually led into the most extreme mania I've had in over five years. I crashed, went to the ER, got back on meds and straight into regular counselling.

I am now regularly seeing a therapist at a local rape & assault survivor centre, who specializes in dealing with long systematic cycles of abuse. My issues can pretty much be summed up as follows: alcoholic physically abusive and covertly incestuous father / psycho-sexual and intimacy assault by internet pedophile / multiple rapes / teenage alcoholism and drug addiction. You know, all that fun stuff.

Anyway, one of the things about being an expat in a tiny country is that it's very hard to find support groups to share stuff with and express my feelings, fears, hopes and just the stuff I wish I could discuss in a good heart-to-heart with folks around me. I don't speak the native tongue here very well yet and my counsellor hasn't been able to locate an English-language group for me. So here I am to take this forum as my unofficial, non-medical support group and hopefully learn and grow along with you kind-seeming people.

Nice waiting room. Great magazine selection.

[oak]

Hey!

Welcome. I am glad you used your voice to share. I appreciate that you shared.