Stress

pb21

I’m in a bit of a state and after some ideas/help. I suffer with anxiety and to a certain extent depression.

The last couple of weeks I have been really bad at work. Basically I am getting stressed/anxious that if I don’t do my work I am going to get sacked/made redundant and all the bad stuff that goes with that. I guess for normal people that would be the incentive and motivation to work harder but for me I become unable to concentrate and therefore get more stressed, ad infinitum... I'm ending the day feeling exhausted and kind of nauseous.

Does anyone have any tips for getting out of this vicious circle before it’s too late?

Thanks

Edit: Just to say I already take the SSRI Citalopram, which is supposed to help combat this kind of thinking! :roll:

Monty Dog

I suggest you go to one of the specialist forums for advise - my wife is a moderator on one and they're better placed to offer advice rather than a bunch of blokes interested in bikes.

May be worth seeking support from your employer - most big companies take a sympathetic view because they'd rather offer pro-active support than dealing with long-term sick leave, competency assessments etc. Your occupational health department may be able to get you access to counselling.

brianonyx

I found an experienced counsellor in cognitive behavioural therapy helped me a lot. She also introduced 'mindfulness' meditation techniques which helped hugely.

The GP was completely useless and it was only that a Doctor friend referred me privately to her tha I got back on track.

Bozman

My life has rolled along on rails(the easy life) but a few years back i had an anxiety attack when a little too much was going on.
The Doc told me that exercise would help and she bluntly told me to "snap out of it!".
The advice worked but i'd say that it was just good to talk to someone rather than bottle it up and man it out, plus it got me out on the bike more.
I don't know how or why these things happen but i haven't had it since and hopefully i won't get it again.

bompington

Two of the suggestions so far have been proven to be effective (as in better than drugs) - CBT and exercise. I don't claim to be an expert though so some of the others might be too.
And actually, even opening up to a bunch of blokes interested in bikes might help. All the best to you.

ratsbeyfus

Your story sounds very familiar. I have suffered terribly from anxiety on occasions all my life - resulting in me quitting a variety of different things when they just got too much. Sometimes, the results of this anxiety have been good - for example, it resulted in me quitting a job that I didn't really enjoy and changing my career to one much more suited to me. Often though, it's just crippling.

Anyhow, here's my two pence. CBT is fine, exercise is great, but drugs can also be brill. I was on Citalopram at first for anxiety, which worked ok, but occasionally I needed extra help to get through particularly anxious moments. See your GP, he/she may find a more suitable dose or a different drug (e.g. effexor - my new best friend) which works better for you. That may fix things in the short term. Hopefully, they'll also be able to get you on a course of CBT as well. Also, speak to your boss... you'll be amazed how many people suffer from anxiety/depression - especially people in management positions. Keep riding as well - use the stress to make you go faster!

I really hope you get better soon and find a way of managing the demons.

shouldbeinbed

+1 for counselling / therapy. Unravel the knots in your thinking

15peter20

Take strength from the amount of people who have (and will continue) to reply here to say "hey, me too!". You're not alone.

I've been on Citalopram for 6 months now - at times I felt I was going insane, as is evidenced by some of the threads I post on here. I started on 10mg, then 20mg, then 40mg and now 30mg. It's taken me a looooong time to find my level. Finally, I am getting there. Be aware that Citalopram can increase anxiety - it did for me.

Try not to fret over what other people are thinking about you - I'm sure you're feeling self conscious and that everyone is talking about how stressed you seem, when in actual fact, they're too wrapped up in their own problems.

Take a philosophical view - it might be a time to take positives from this, as distressing as it seems now, it might be just the wake up call you needed to make some changes in your life.

Don't be disheartened if you don't feel reassured by a Doctor. get a second opinion, then a third, then a fourth if necessary.

Get out on the bike, and keep posting on here if it helps.

Cheers

Captain Fagor

I have similar issues (albeit different, non-specific causation) and have had for some time. I am not keen on taking prescription drugs (or perhaps my symptoms haven't reached "critical" level), so I thought I would research the topic to self-help. In doing so, I personally benefited from reading these two books:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Healing-without ... 551&sr=8-1

This is a well-rounded book with lots of information and techniques for improving one's mental health. It sparked my interest in yoga and cardiac coherence, which I now dabble in. I'm also really tempted to try EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprogramming).

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Self-Help-Your- ... 746&sr=1-1

This book describes the "fear - adrenaline - fear" cycle which leads to anxiety attacks and depression, and recommends breaking the cycle by the following actions:

Face your fears
Accept your fears
Float past your fears
Let time pass.

Whatever route you take, best of luck.

snailracer

Drugs work for some, "talking" therapies (with counsellors or mates) works for others.

So here is some talk:

Most people are not very good at their job the majority of the time, maybe it's just your turn to "drag" a bit. In any company or organisation, at any one time, the top 20% essentially carry the other 80%. The bigger the organisation, the more extreme this ratio is. The reason you may be anxious is that you give a d@mn about how you perform in your job, and so, under normal conditions, you are probably a better employee than the majority who don't really care much (the majority of the time).

Everyone goes through bad (and good) spells. Follow the form of any "elite" sportsman - they have ups and downs. Football strikers have goalscoring droughts, no matter how famous or well-paid (and presumably well-motivated) they are. When they aren't scoring, they have kittens and are tortured by anxiety, which doesn't help them and is, ultimately, pointless. I once read Peter Shilton's biography: as England's first-choice goalkeeper for many years, you would have thought he would be the football equivalent of a concert pianist, immaculately prepared and honed for every performance, but, no, he admits that sometimes he just has bad days and doesn't know why.

Young people are often drilled with "earnestness" by their education and upbringing - nothing bad about that, but it does mean that when things do get sticky, which is inevitable in real life if not during their education, they are simply not prepared for it. So, you may not be reacting to your present situation very well, but that's not your fault, you may never have been taught how to deal with adversity, because most people aren't.

You will have ups and downs in your working life. Managers in a company, just like officers in an army, know that workforce morale swings up and down and adapt their operations to it - it's a fact of life in an organisation, "high" morale is not a given - on average, by definition, morale is average. Accept that your mood will pick up eventually, everyone gets the doldrums now and then.

pb21

Thanks for the replies guys, it does help to get other people perspectives and thoughts.

I will make an appointment to see my GP and hopefully can get some CBT sessions...

davelakers

http://www.panicfree.co.nz/

The best link I have ever clicked.

20 minutes after registering my interest I got a call from the website creator all the way from Auckland NZ.

The self treatment in that course completely changed my life and way of thinking after a few years of drugs (which did not work at all for me) and counselling (which did to a point)

MattC59

Whilst it may not be of much help, I sank into a similar cyclic state following the divorce of my practice wife (I now realise I dodged a bullet there !!!). The doctor suggested three possible courses of action. Prescription drugs, councelling or time off work. I didn't like the idea of drugs, time off work just seemed to be.... well.... time off work, so I opted for councelling, which worked a treat. I understand that it may not work for everyone, but it may help and go some way towards getting to the root cause of the issue ? I'd certainly recommend it as an option.

Good luck !!!

Matt

Chip \'oyler

I recommend you see a "Human Givens" therapist. After years of being on medication, various counselling etc I went to see a HG therapist near to me and she 'cured' me in two sessions!

Haven't needed medication since or had any depressive/anxiety relapses

http://www.hgi.org.uk/register/help.htm