YOU ARE NOT ALONE - A companion online community discussion board for The Mental Illness Happy Hour podcast with Paul Gilmartin

I haven't been in this terrible low place for a while. Trying to tell myself it's just a combination of being ill this past week, moving to a new environment at work, things happening regarding both of my sisters.

Feeling afraid that it's possible for it to get this bad again, and also feeling terrible shame about it.

Thank for you sharing. Let us know how you are doing.

River,
So sorry you are feeling so bad. Nothing to feel shame about. Things can get bad for us at times. I hope the next week will be better.

Hello RG,

I got knocked for a loop yesterday too. Couldn't believe it was happening and didn't quite understand why it was so bad. Probably a combination of things, like you mention. (Hay fever, oppressive weather, stayed up a bit late the night before, saw a film that brought back memories of a darker time, etc).

What's great about the podcasts is that we can see that so many "normal" and "successful" people have these internal struggles too, right?

Hey guys,

Thank you all for the kind replies.

You're right, snoringdog, it's easy to forget sometimes that we're not the only ones who struggle. I'm sorry you were/are going through a rough time too.

I'm still in a bit of a dark place, but I can at least reflect that I'm grateful that I was able to do enough positive things over the weekend (including two yoga classes) that I kept functioning and was able to work today.

rg

Do you do meditation class with the Yoga? I've been going for several months for one hour sessions during the week. Deep relaxation, followed by breathing, followed by meditation. It feels good. Have been concentrating the breathing when anxiety starts, or when the mind revs up.....

Not always successful, but it helps sometimes to slow things down a bit...

Hi,

I'm sorry that you are in a bad place right now... It sounds like you had a lot going on, so please don't be harsh on yourself... I think what you need right now is to tell yourself that it's OK to be feeling this way right now because of the circumstances and to give yourself some compassion. We're only human, we have ups and downs. Sometimes, we can't handle life and that's OK. Even if that feels weak, what's so wrong about feeling weak? Please give yourself a lot of slack and nurture yourself right now instead of trying to frantically "get back to normal." There's ABSOLUTELY NO REASON for you to feel ashamed of yourself!! You're human, just like the rest of us