# howtosurvivenervousbreakdownblog " Feed howtosurvivenervousbreakdownblog " Comments Feed howtosurvivenervousbreakdownblog " recovery Tag Feed howtosurvivenervousbreakdownblog WordPress.com Skip to content howtosurvivenervousbreakdownblog Self help for overcoming nervous breakdown ( BUTTON ) Sidebar Search for : Search Recent Posts * doctors lack of knowledge of depression * My time in a psychiatric unit * Social media , Internet dating and mental health * Life Essence , the will to survive * How to survive nervous breakdown , further recovery Recent Comments still surviving diar … on My time in a psychiatric … Befriendinganxietyan … on My time in a psychiatric … still surviving diar … on Social media , Internet dating a … brightandstrong on Social media , Internet dating a … still surviving diar … on Social media , Internet dating a … Archives * February 2016 * January 2016 Categories * Uncategorized Meta * Register * Log in * Entries feed * Comments feed * WordPress.com recovery My time in a psychiatric unit February 17 , 2016February 17 , 2016 still surviving diariesanxiety , depression , Hospital , mental health , Mental institute , nervous breakdown , psychiatric unit , recovery , survival , Valium2 Comments love - quotes - and - sayings - for - him - romantic - cool - short - love - quotes - for - h im - download - short - quotes - about - love - for - him - wallpaper - hd In the middle of one of my worst nervous breakdowns I agreed to be admitted to a psychiatric unit . On entering the ward for the first time I saw lots of patients wondering and just pacing through the corridors with socks and slippers on . It was just like I had seen in films . My first thought was surely I can be sedated and be put to sleep for my whole stay until I wake up recovered . The reality soon kicked in . I was only 17 then and had little experience in life , anything like this . The first couple couple of days were like a dream as I smoked cigarettes heavily in a smoke clouded room contently staring through the TV in the corner . These wonderful little pills were given to me daily which at first served to numb my confusion , upset and anxiety . Walking around the corridors in the evenings was like walking on clouds being wrapped up in cotton wool . As the days went on those lovely little pills were rapidly reduced . The cold hard reality soon kicked in . Occasionally you would see as a patient just couldn ’ t cope with their own torment anymore . Dragged and carried in the air kicking and screaming back into their room , tears streaming down , such pain behind their eyes . I was assigned a key worker through my time there . To help me recover and face my anxiety and depression . Some key workers were good , some were bad , I ’ m convinced half of them would be a dribbling mess on the floor if they actually experienced our pain . No text book could show them our reality . My key worker told me to snap an elastic band around my wrist each time I had nasty thoughts or panic attacks . The band snapped after about an hour as I snapped it so hard . I knew I had to get through this and not rely on others . He wasn ’ t very good and luckily when I moved to another unit I had a key worker who was alot better . She sat with me through my darkest times . Days then weeks went past as I tried various antidepressants , kept my routine of 3 meals a day , and got used to the diverse range of other people around me with varying degrees of different mental illness . Some kept themselves to themselves , some were friends , we helped each other through . I still remember to this day the pride I felt at age 19 walking with my friends back to college about a year after leaving the unit and seeing my old key worker walk past and smile at me on the other side of the street . I ’ m not sure who was more proud , me or her . I was well again , I was out , I had made it . My time in a psychiatric unit Life Essence , the will to survive February 5 , 2016February 5 , 2016 still surviving diariesart , courage , depression , mental health , nervous breakdown , psychiatric unit , recovery , success story , survivalLeave a comment openmind Deep inside all of us is the will to survive . It just needs to be unlocked from your mind by that special moment , from a song , a book or that special person who can reach you and untap the courage within . Is it divine intervention , inner strength or just survival , call it what you will , I have experienced it for myself . Make or break I was once so ill with my depression when I was in a psychiatric unit that they couldn ’ t handle me . I had to be transferred to a bigger psychiatric unit . It was a dark day and there was o way out for me as far as I could see . I felt the staff at the previous hospital unit had failed me . How would this unit be any different ? The truth is No one can truly save you , you have to save yourself ! Some friends of my dad came to see me that evening on the day I was transferred there . They were talking to me , trying to help , but I didn ’ t want to listen . All I was interested in was looking around the garden for escape routes , but where would I escape to , anywhere but here . I started to calm down and finally listen to them . I am an artist and have always enjoyed drawing and painting . The words are still clearly in my mind today . . “ Just draw and paint , do your art . Fight , you can do this , fight and do your art , put all your energy into it , you can do it ” That special place in my mind had been reached beyond the dark fog . I had listened . The key had unlocked that part of my mind . From then on I spent hours in my room drawing and painting for the rest of my stay in the unit . It was one of the toughest times of my life , but the art had got me through . I fought back from that special place inside me . I guess what I am getting at here is don ’ t ever give up , fight , do what you need to do , to survive . Channel your energy from that dark place , it is just a matter of unlocking the courage within . It could be from art , music , poetry , lyrics or just listening to someone who can reach within you to live and fight . The same goes for not giving up on a friend , partner or family member who is very depressed or suicidal . I believe they can be reached , its just a matter of finding what works and triggers that spark inside . Check out my guide on surviving nervous breakdown here if you haven ’ t see it yet How to survive nervous breakdown I still have one of the first art pieces I did in the psychiatric ward at that time . See below . A3 paper with coloured pencils . Age 17 20160205 150122 Life Essence , the will to survive How to survive nervous breakdown , further recovery January 30 , 2016February 1 , 2016 still surviving diariesanxiety , depression , mental health , mind , nervous breakdown , recovery , self help , success story , voluntary workLeave a comment Now that you have read the second post of my blog , I want to go further into what you can do in your own road to recovery . If you have not yet read part 1 you can access here Part 1 You can access part 2 here Part 2 Mental Health Charity Mind mind logo I really would recommend contacting your local Mind . They really helped in my recovery and without them my recovery would have taken a lot longer . MIND have wellbeing centre ’ s around the country and you should have a centre within a reasonable distance from you . They offer a safe place to go through the week to come and try one of the various groups on at the centre . I also had a mentor for 12 weeks to help me achieve my goals who had been matched to me as someone who had recovered from similar mental health issues . I also went on to 2 courses on mental health through mind and I am now involved with a scheme called workshop in mind which has allowed me to get back into paid work at my own pace . Cognitive Behaviour Therapy - CBT I did find this helpful and it is a good idea to find out how long the waiting list is as I had to wait 6 months , it just depends where you live and how much demand there is in that area . It is all about working on your thoughts and changing negative patterns of thinking . Voluntary Work the - best - way - to - find - yourself - is - to - lose - yourself - in - the - service - of - oth ers - gandhi - quote . png I have done voluntary work before in my recovery or if I ’ ve been out of work for a while and lost confidence . I focused on work involving helping others which helped take my mind of me and give something back to the community . It did take perseverance getting the right volunteer jobs as I had to apply to a few as some were not very well run or weren ’ t as described when I went to discuss them . It is a great way to build confidence , meet people , try new things and get into paid work after , if you want . Hobbies , A positive obsession Having obsessive thoughts and worries are common place when you have a breakdown . I found it helped to really get back into my old hobby of toy figure collecting and model making . I was also enjoying art and pyrography at my local mind centre . I used that obsessive nature to have positive obsessions that I enjoyed . I would recommend trying to get back into an old hobby or finding a new hobby or interest , image1 - 520x245 Some examples are : * Collecting something , memorabilia ect * Painting , drawing * Sports * Gardening * Crafts * Family tree * Yoga * Martial arts Alcohol and Drugs stay away from alcohol at least for a good while until you are feeling a lot better . The antidepressants need to work in your recovery and alcohol as a depressant will counteract the antidepressant from working properly . If you are not taking any medication I would still refrain from alcohol until you are stable and feeling a lot better down the road . I would advise staying away from drugs in general as I have suffered bad experiences in the past . They especially do not mix with mental health problems . mindfullness , meditation and relaxation meditation - 6 I would look into some form of the above . It really helps with anxiety and helping to get perspective in life and reduce stress . There are plenty of books on these subjects available at the library or to buy . There are usually courses and groups you can find in your local area as well to teach you . Please feel free to ask me anything or comment below . Good luck on your path ! How to survive nervous breakdown , further recovery How to survive nervous breakdown , next steps January 25 , 2016January 29 , 2016 still surviving diariesacceptance , depression , goal setting , nervous breakdown , recovery , self help , success storyLeave a comment This follows on from the basic steps in recovery from my last blog post , it is important to follow the basics first in the last post here The dark depths of depression , how i survived it before you read the below . There is no magic pill MatrixBluePillRedPill When you have a breakdown you will repeatedly look for someone to fix you , like your family , your doctor , a self help book , there is no quick answer or shortcut . You just need to ride it out and will take as long as it takes . I just wanted to sleep and hope it would just disappear if I slept through it all . No such luck . It is a combination of different things that builds recovery from abreakdown , not just one thing . Acceptance This is important . Try to accept the feelings and anxiety and panic . Cry if you need to . What I mean by acceptance is say your going about your day and you have that horrible panic feeling inside , sweating , maybe shaking , your stomach is all knotted . Instead of saying oh god I can ’ t handle anymore of this . It ’ s too horrible , I can ’ t take it , say here it is again , these nasty sensations but I can still carry on with my day , they are horrible but they can ’ t kill me , so invite the feelings , accept , don ’ t run away . It wasn ’ t easy but it did help me to use this mind set . Just keep accepting , keep practising , get on with your day . This technique of acceptance is covered in the book “ Self help for your nerves ” by Author Claire Weeks . I would recommend it as it isn ’ t too complex when you may have low concentration . Take one day at a time Try to just think about one day at a time , you might have a really bad couple of days then a good day , you might even think you are recovered only to find you have another couple of bad days . This is normal , so try not to worry , just working on getting through today , tomorrow is a different day . How am I going to get through the day ? This really worried me , with the vast day ahead , nothing planned , everyone at work , too ill to do anything . I just wanted to sleep all day but even then you still can ’ t escape your thoughts and feelings . Make a simple to do list , keep occupied At the start of each day think of any small tasks you can do . Nice and simple stuff , even like get washed and dressed , go for a walk , do the washing up ect . Each time you do one , tick it off the list . This will give you a sense of accomplishment , however how small and it keeps you occupied . Examples are * Go for a walk or walk the dog * Go to shop for the milk * Gardening * See a friend * Do the washing up , or hoover the house * Laundry * Go swimming * Go to the library * Paint and decorate a room In the evening you could : * Watch tv or a dvd , netflix * Do a jigsaw , crossword or puzzle * Draw or colour in a colouring book for adults * Have a relaxing bath * Play a computer game * Read a book * Listen to music It really helped me to keep occupied and through my breakdown I moved house . A project to decorate the house really helped me . I also went swimming through the week which would help break up the day . Simple things like a jigsaw would be good in the evening as it can be relaxing and keeps you occupied . Exercise is important to help relieve anxiety , all that adrenalin with no where to go . It will also help with the depression and getting you out of the house . Swimming , taking a brisk walk and jogging are great for this . 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games Make a road to recovery plan My girlfriend thought one day in the early stages of my recovery to make a plan on the stages involved in recovery and what being fully recovered would mean . We called it road to recovery . I would recommend doing this with family , a partner or a friend . Simply decide on what being recovered would look like for you . It could be going back to full time work , or education , simply feeling well in yourself again , but be specific . Mine was getting well enough to go back into work and being happy in myself . It had 1 month , 3 months , 6 months up to a year . A year was being back into some form of work which was enough hours to support myself and be off benefits . I started by agreeing to swim , do activities on my to do list and attend the local mind centre . After that I looked into voluntary work and then started it . I then progressed on to do a small bit of part time work through a back to work scheme with MIND while I was on benefits . I then built up more work for myself and came off benefits . When you have a breakdown I like to see it like the path you were travelling down wasn ’ t right for you at that time , too much pressure , too many stressors at once , moving , job change , births , deaths , divorce or following the wrong career path . Your breakdown is like hitting a reset button on your life . Let ’ s strip it back and start again with a new healthier path ! resetbutton The dark depths of nervous breakdown , how I survived it ! Blog at WordPress.com . | The Minnow Theme . How to survive nervous breakdown , next steps The dark depths of nervous breakdown , how i survived it January 24 , 2016January 30 , 2016 still surviving diariesanxiety , depression , mental health , nervous breakdown , recovery , self help , success story1 Comment untitled I have had several nervous breakdowns over the years and they really can be one of the most unpleasant experiences in life that can shake you to your core . I want to emphasise however no matter how unpleasant it was , I survived and I ’ m still here . I want to share with you what it feels like and more importantly how I recovered . I ’ m not going to say the journey is easy , but it can be done and if I can do it , you can do it . If you are currently going through a nervous breakdown , know someone that is or have had one in the past , I ’ m sure you will be able to relate to the below . teen depression , tunnel What it feels like You generally loose all your appetite and will not want to eat anything . My girlfriend literally had to spoon feed me . Panic attacks are common and I experienced them frequently as my body was constantly on high alert with adrenaline constantly running through my body . Repeated worrying and negative thoughts going round and round your head all day are common place and I would have the same thoughts all day everyday . My thoughts were I ’ m too scared to get a job , I can ’ t work , I will never recover , my life is going to be horrible , I have no career I won ’ t to do . I can ’ t handle this . All of these nasty thoughts are connected with your body and each thought sets of more anxiety and panic within your body . I would have some calming thoughts which would calm my body then another scary thought would set off the panic feeling again . Nearly every single day I would cry and it was only occasionally that I wouldn ’ t . I would also hit my head with my hands from sheer frustration and from feeling rock bottom , like I had nothing to offer anyone . I would constantly need reassurance from my family and girlfriend about the future and to have hope my horrible thoughts about the future weren ’ t going to come true . Sleep was my only salvation at first . How to recover , the basics I ’ m going to mention the most Important steps first in this post . * See your doctor * Look at being put on an antidepressant * Tell your family and friends . You need to see your doctor to get sick notes if you are off from work or need to claim benefit while you are too ill to work . Also you can ask to be seen by the psychiatrist for the area who will know more than the doctor on how to look at your treatment . Referral does take a time however . You will have to press the doctor on this as I don ’ t believe they have a great knowledge on mental health as apposed to physical ailments . An antidepressant will help to stabilise your mood and will help with recovery . It can take a couple of weeks to kick in but it is worth trying . If you are on an antidepressant already , you may need to change to a different one or have a higher dose . To help with the anxiety and panic attacks the doctor can prescribe something to help take the edge off . Tell your family and close friends . Don ’ t feel ashamed . A breakdown can happen to anyone and I got great support from my family who really helped me through it and wish I had told close friends sooner . Anyone can suffer through mental illness through their life , it is very common . It is not the end of the world . Handling negative thoughts You will find you get Repeated scary horrible thoughts about yourself , about the future , about what you are experiencing . My thoughts were I can never work again . I will be scared , anxious and unhappy forever , my girlfriend will leave me , I can ’ t survive this , I hate jobs and will never cope with one again . All these thoughts were not real . I believed them 100 percent . Try not to believe them , just let them be there . None of my thoughts came true . It is just another part of the breakdown . Finally if you are feeling suicidal , tell someone , a friend or family member , a doctor , the Samaritans , self help forum . You can also go to your a and e hospital department or ask the doctor if their is a community mental health treatment team that can speak to you . Hospital admission to a psychiatric unit is also possible which can provide a safe environment for you , I did admit myself a couple of times to handle my breakdown but have also coped at home . . The dark depths of nervous breakdown , how i survived it Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com . Add your thoughts here ... ( optional ) Post to Cancel Reblog Post Close and accept Privacy & Cookies : This site uses cookies . By continuing to use this website , you agree to their use . To find out more , including how to control cookies , see here : Cookie Policy