How’s Your Mental Health?

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This week is Mental Health Week and October 10 is World Mental Health Day. In support of this, I thought I’d share something I don’t usually talk too much about.

I always thought that there would be no way I would start taking anti-depressants because I had visions of being addicted to them and being totally zonked out and other misleading ideas.

There were times when I just didn’t want to get out of bed. I didn’t care how I looked or the house looked. Bill was taking care of the children more than I was. It even got so bad that while I was driving by myself, I began thinking how easy it would be to drive into a telegraph pole and just end it. But the feelings used to come and go so I didn’t think it was that bad.

So when the time came when I was no longer able to cope, I visited my GP. I still didn’t think I needed any help. I thought I was doing fine but DH insisted that I go and if anything, just get referred to a counsellor. After speaking to my GP and telling her what has been going on and how I had been feeling over the last couple of years, her words were “You should have come to see me years ago about this!”

So she assured me that I wouldn’t be the walking zombie that I had imagined and that when it comes time to stop taking the anti-depressants, she would help me through it. She assured me that it was just a chemical imbalance and after taking the anti-depressants, I should feel better.

She was right! Not only did I notice a change in myself, but Bill and the kids noticed the change as well. I just didn’t seem like the ticking time bomb I once was.

I was taking anti-depressants for about 2 years before coming off them to fall pregnant with Annabelle. Then I felt as though everything was falling down around me and the old thoughts were coming back, so this time I recognised the feelings and made an appointment with my GP again. I’ve been on them now for 16mths.

After reading (and seeing on the news) how many people take (or try to) their own lives because they suffer depression, it makes me wonder if they thought the same as me in regards to taking medication for their mental health. I felt as though I had somehow failed because I had to resort to medication. But I now know that just because I needed some help doesn’t make me a bad person. It doesn’t mean that I failed as a mother, wife or woman.

Help is available if you need it. Speak to your GP or contact organisations like Beyond Blue, HeadSpace, Inspire or Reach Out!

The help is there. Don’t suffer alone.

Technorati Tags: depression,anti-depressants

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ehon

One the thing that is lacking in our society, today, if you ask me, is hope. Tina, your story spells hope. You let people know that however dark it is at this end, there is light at the other, and thank you for posting this. Thank you!

i want you to realise that you did not fail because you chose the med. You actually won. You did. Think again and you'll know why. :)

Louisa

Hey Tina, thanks for your honesty in posting about this. So important and really great to hear from others who have been through it.

Petula

Thanks for sharing this... I hit a very low place during my last pregnancy and after having her. I think it was a combination of post-partum depression that led into my depression regarding my situation. (My separation from my husband began during my last pregnancy.) When I finally got my diagnosis for fibromyalgia one of the things they treat is the mental aspects of it -- a lot of depression comes from chronic illness and pain -- I now joke that I'm just fine because I'm medicated. Even though I joke about it I am sometimes ashamed to say that one of the pills is an anti-depressant. Thanks for sharing your story... It was great of you to encourage others to get the help they need and deserve. Getting help is SO worth it. Happy Mental Health Week.

Melissa

When I had my son, I got really bad Post-Partum Depression. I wasn't ashamed that I had by any stretch of the imagination (I talked to EVERYONE about it then and will talk to anyone about it now because it's really debilitating). I had the opposite reaction to you - I asked my OB/GYN and PCP and even the pediatrician if being put on an anti-depressant would help and whether they're addictive and whether I'd be the zombie. I asked to be put on a low dose and low and behold, the meds with therapy helped immensely! It's so important to get the help...