The problem with enduring chronic mental illnesses is that if you have more than one, you can get into a vicious cycle.
I have a severe anxiety disorder, moderate depression and bipolar II (bipolar disorder without mania). When I’m having a difficult time with anxiety, for example, I can get depressed really easily, or my bipolar II can kick in, and I can get stuck in a rut between the gloomy downs and the super-intense middles.
Long story long, I’m having a very hard time with my mental illnesses–plural–right now.
My anxiety is still spiking, and over the past couple of days, I’ve been dealing with a significant amount of depression.
I will speak with my psychiatrist on Thursday (i.e. tomorrow), and I speak with my psychologist on Friday, so I have two appointments in two days in order to try and tamp this shit down.
In the interim, if I can sit up and type, I will try to man the blog, but right now I am struggling, big time, and I hope that you’ll understand that it’s impacting my ability to do my job.
Hey George. Long time lurker. I lived with undiagnosed anxiety for years. After diagnosis and trying a couple of different meds, I found beta blockers (like propranolol) work great for me. If you can’t get it prescribed locally, you can get it online. It’s safe, not a narcotic or anything like that and cheap compared to other meds. Beta blockers don’t cure anxiety. They stop the symptoms. According to google, “when you are anxious, your brain makes chemical messengers called adrenaline and noradrenaline. These make your heart rate faster and make you sweat or shake. Propranolol helps block the effects of these chemical messengers. This reduces the physical signs of anxiety.” I strongly suggest you try it for your anxiety if you haven’t. I couldn’t believe how well it worked for me. Hang in there and good luck.
Thank you for the advice. I’m working on the medication part, and I’ll look into them.