[Ina]

I am more and more coming to the conclusion that the best thing for depressive people would be to get a smallholding on prescription...


Hey, doesn't that call for a petition?

[colliewoman]

I am more and more coming to the conclusion that the best thing for depressive people would be to get a smallholding on prescription...


Hey, doesn't that call for a petition?

DAVE!!!!!!

[renee]

I am more and more coming to the conclusion that the best thing for depressive people would be to get a smallholding on prescription...


 

I Denmark they have fresh air (courses in the countryside) on presciption -  in Sweden farms are enrolled in green care focussing on improved mental health through outdoor activities.

[happygolucky]

Sweden is so forward thinking in everything, I only have my garden, dogs and hens but hate to be inside all day, going out even when I feel rough is uplifting!!

[deepinthewoods]

I am more and more coming to the conclusion that the best thing for depressive people would be to get a smallholding on prescription...


Hey, doesn't that call for a petition?

well, i think ive commented before about the woeful treatment available for people suffering with mh, and the atos petitions and campaigns probably affect those with mh issues more than those with physical issues due to the nature of the test. the estimated stats say that about a third of those who dont appeal atos' decisions are mh sufferers who simply dont have enough strength to fight the process. it is easy to say oh well petitions dont make a difference and this may be true, but as ive said before, we have to at least try.

i think its amazing that all these people have 'come out' and its particularly interesting to note the proportion of volunteer moderators. well done, group hugs!!



DAVE!!!!!!

[Nickie]

Now I'm a bit scared.


I don't have depression as far as I know. However, having read all your responses I can see many similarities to how I often feel.


I did suffer from exhaustion a few years back, working on a really busy & stressful project. I finally went to the doctors on the advice of HR. He said I wasn't depressed just very sad (I can't even do that properly!)


Anyway, I've been ok since, gave up office work, had a couple of outdoor jobs working in riding stables/livery yards. We moved to up to this smallholding when OH got offered a relocation with work. Things have been ok for the first couple of years, although I know i'm turning into a hermit, not going out much & have put on lots of weight.


This past year has been horrible. The weather has been rough. I feel so lonely, but find that all my confidence & self worth has gone, which makes getting out & meeting new people hard. Even meeting up with my old best mates twice a year sends me into a tail spin now & requires massive amounts of planning! I seem to set myself strange targets for every small chore & then panic if it doesn't all go to plan or isn't perfect, everything needs to be done in the most efficient way & at breakneck speed - why I only go & sit on my arse when I'm finished! I can see the effect it has on one of my horses, poor little stress head, but I can't seem to stop. When I was ill recently I had to take things easy & only do the bear minimum & I could visibly see that horse take a big sigh of relief & relax.


I get to the stage where I'm sobbing uncontrollably, or I'm out of breath with my heart rate right up, hyperventilating  whilst feeding the animals, but I don't know why or how I got there.


I have had such a great life. I'm in a good place with lovely people. Some people would give their right arm to have what I have & yet still I'm not happy. I feel so ungrateful. I also feel so unhappy & tired all the time.


It's so frustrating to be able to see i'm losing it & yet not be able to change.


I don't know where I go from here, I guess it's like drinking, the first step is acknowledging you have a problem.


F'ing hell. I just read that back & there I go sobbing again. Enough of this shite I haven't even started the animals yet. I think today may be a struggle.

[plumseverywhere]

Hi Nickie

So sorry to hear that you've been struggling. Please don't feel ungrateful! You can't help how you feel. how long ago did you see the GP? did you feel confident in what he/she said? sometimes it takes more than one visit - they want to make sure its ongoing before handing out treatment as many have been condemned for being too quick to 'dish the pills' as they say.
Keep a diary. That way you have written down what you've felt and when but also if certain thigns trigger your mood. Especially useful for women who are not yet at menopausal age etc as hormones can cause havoc with moods.
Hyperventilating and stressful feelings could suggest anxiety too. I don't think you should give up on gp's first appt - go back. It doesn't sound right and why suffer when you could be getting help and feeling able to enjoy life 
Pm me if you need a chat ever x 

[deepinthewoods]

nickie, first off, its not shite, if thats how you feel, its how you feel, and your allowed to feel like that! ive got to second what plums has said, i think you should go back to your doc and explain exactly how you feel. good luck, theres life on the other side.x

[luckylady]

Its taken me 24 hours to pluck up the courage to write on this thread but here goes.  I started with depression at the age of 12 when I just couldn't stop crying and didn't know why.  My mother dismissed it as hormones understandably but these 'crying bouts' continued.  No-one took any notice and I became invisible and lost all confidence.  It wasn't until my early twenties that I recognised in myself that it mainly happened shortly after a big change in my life such as change of school, work, death in family, house move but even positive changes triggered it off, i.e. getting married etc. and it was taking longer and longer each time to pull myself out of it. It wasn't until a big move to the south that I plummeted out of control and was prescribed medication.  Prior to this I had been able to cope - just, though with hindsight I should have seen someone sooner.  On the outside I can function on a day to day basis but I see the signs creeping in where I am keen to become hermitlike.  I have learnt to push myself out of my comfort zone in more recent years but this is mainly to try my hardest to set an example to my daughter as encouragement for her to get the most out of life.  She displays the same hermitlike tendencies and I can't have that because of me although my other daughter is a go-getter of life so I don't know if I'm to blame really.
I'm not depressed at the moment and not on meds but I know that it will pull the rug from under me again at some point in the future and I now know how to recognise it.  For me the triggers are life altering events but for others it can be the monotony of life so smallholding, for me, is my saviour especially as I am now settled back in the north. 
The mind is a very complex canvas and each one is its own masterpiece. 
Nickie - get back to your GP.  Ask them to check your thyroid function.  It can cause depression, breathlessness, anxiety issues as well as weight gain and other symptoms you may just dismiss as nothing (been there!)  If its not this then at least you have flagged up depression with them and you can pursue it.

[Ina]

Dave and Plums are right. Took me years to accept that I had a problem... Back then I was lucky and had a few friends, especially one older one, who recognised  the symptoms, made an appointment for me, and bodily dragged me along. If it hadn't been for that, I don't think I'd be here now.

And I think there are still even GPs out there who are of the school "just pull yourself together - everybody has a bad time occasionally". One of those nice people prescribed an AD for me with the words "Well, this is a nice little pill...". Didn't even want a follow up appointment. Hence my suicide attempt a few months later... Fortunately, the next GP I went to was very different, otherwise I would have lost my confidence in them altogether!

[Ina]

She displays the same hermitlike tendencies and I can't have that because of me although my other daughter is a go-getter of life so I don't know if I'm to blame really.

No, you are not to blame! Your daughter is lucky that she has a mother who knows the score, and actively helps her rather than writing it all off as "hormones" as used to be done when we were younger...

[happygolucky]

I think its also natural to not feel full of life and happy ALL the time, particularly women who's hormones are UP and DOWN!!
My daughter persued her Doc time and time again, only to find she had Thyroid problems and now is feeling much much better on medication, that's something to check out too.
Another daughter has health issues that have caused major problems, not sure if they are being sorted but diet is a factor in her mental health as well as pushing herself too hard and having incredibly high standards and goals.
Another has an ongoing eating disorder and mood swings so, food certainly plays an extreamly important part in our mental state.
I feel strangely depressed at the moment, not sure why at all, its unusual for me but i think its the tale end of a bug.
One thing is to clear up the medical side, you could have something wrong Nickie......

[happygolucky]

And I cross posted, its great that we all are feeling more comfortable to share.
 

[Rosemary]

I think its also natural to not feel full of life and happy ALL the time, particularly women who's hormones are UP and DOWN!!

I think Sandy makes an excellent point here. I think we're all (but women in particular) are under pressure to "have everything" - house, career, kids, relationships and we put an awful lot of pressure on ourselves by tking on more and more until we're not really enjoying what we do / are. And we're under pressure to always be  and  - and sometimes we feel  and  and but feel guilty about it.

I'm at the stage of having raging hormones ore maybe receding hormones; I've never really suffered with PMT but I'm  certainly having a menopause. I read these posts and thought "maybe I am depressed" but I don't think I am - it's just the normal cycles that I'm going through.

My thoughts are with you if you are depressed; my sister has suffered from depression / anxiety all her adult life and it breaks my heart that she's missed so much because of it. My Mum was of the "if you feel bad, go and scrub your doorstep" brigade but she suffered from depression towards the end of her life.

On days when I don't feel great and feel a bit overwhelmed by "everything", I go and do something outside - doesn't matter what. So yes, I think smallholding is good for you - especially when the sun is shining like today, so I'm off outside.

See you all later 

[deepinthewoods]

i feel for my ex, who really suffers from bipolar, 5 suicide attempts, gone missing for days on end and shes spent 18months in hospital over the last 4 years, but her family of which theyre are loads just cant get their heads round it, think that making her a cup of tea will fix things when what she really needs is round the clock care. its an out dated old fashioned prejudice that is responsible for soooo many people thinking they cant talk about these problems. hopefully it is starting to change, after all if one of us had broken an ankle we would be right on here talking about it, with the offers of support etc.
i hope one day these prejudices will be removed, people will be able to talk openly AND recieve the proper health care they need and deserve.