Best Of

@AnonymousToe that sounds like a really sticky situation with your medication and feeling able to contact the doctors about it. Your health is most important and if you feel the side effects aren't going away or you're still feeling uneasy after a while, it might be best to seek some medical advice on what would be best for you, this could be from somewhere like NHS 111 or a pharmacist even. You might like to check out places like NHS Go which is an app for young people that gives information about health, rights and services nearby.

AnonymousToe wrote: »

I think I don’t belong here because my struggles are nothing compared to what a lot of the community is going through. I just feel like I’m wasting people’s time, because there are people out there who need and deserve support a lot more than I do. I don’t want to take that away from people by wasting space here.

I'll also reiterate what's been said above that your feelings are never too small to be shared here. We all experience our own hurt, even if we do feel as though others may be going through more than us, that doesn't invalidate our pain. What you're going through isn't insignificant or unimportant - you matter too.

We're all here to support one another with whatever we're going through, no matter how large or small those struggles may feel to us. You are never wasting our time and there is a place here for you .

AnonymousToe wrote: »

Hi @Gemma thank you. (When I click the link for the ‘helping each other’ thread you’ve shared, it says I don’t have permission to view it? Is that me doing something wrong?)

^Sorry about that! Seems like I shared an old link with you. We weaved some of this guidance into this thread here around not putting too much pressure on ourselves to support others when we're going through things ourselves.

We want you to be okay @River , I hate to think that you’re struggling in silence

I get it with the trying to reach out for help especially when the help you want doesn't get given or you don't feel like you deserve the help. But you deserve all the support and help that you need to get back on the right track. The healing process can be one of the hardest things to ever go through, especially if you feel like you never heal over time. Maybe we don't heal but we learn how to cope with our situations and put in strategies to help ourselves. I hope you are okay, and always remember I am here if you need someone anytime . My dm's are always open. (had to edit this)

Hi @AnonymousToe , I'm back - are you familiar with the 4Fs? That's Fight, Flight, Freeze and Fawn. They're natural reactions to stressful situations, but if you've been traumatised then one or more of them can become a coping mechanism that your brain resorts to even when it's not useful and/or there's no real danger (you probably know this stuff already but just in case!). Freeze can be feeling paralyzed, indecisive, numb, helpless, tired, depressed, dissociated, and various other things. Your anxious energy needs an outlet, but it's sort of locked in by immobility. Even though, like you say, it's really hard to move your body when you feel that way, and your mind sort of shuts down and all you want to do is stay still, moving as much as you can is a really good way of getting out of that state, as it is a way of grounding yourself, releasing the anxiety and getting more in touch with your body.

Somatic Experiencing Therapy is (as far as I know), centred around movement and building awareness and connection with your body, (as when you're often in Freeze response you may feel very disconnected with your body in general), in order to build emotional wellbeing and resilience. I assume it involves some talking as well, but I don't know how much yet - I've had so much talking therapy in the past, and although it was helpful to some extent, I could never progress very far. I feel like this was partly because I was sitting still and very much stuck in my head, which just encourages my body to shut down, and that makes talking about anything or being vulnerable really difficult. My last therapist did incorporate some movement into her sessions as well as sand tray and other things, but I didn't make as much use of them as I could have done because of my subconscious urge to stay still and shut down rather than open up, if that makes sense. That's why I'm thinking about trying Somatic Experiencing Therapy

I did a quick search on Youtube and there's lots of videos about the Freeze response (and indeed, all 4Fs), how to help yourself move out of it, etc. I recommend a book by Pete Walker called Complex PTSD: From Surviving To Thriving, whether you have CPTSD or not it's really informative about the 4Fs and the ways they can intertwine, etc.

Sorry this was so long, I hope it wasn't too much and that it helps in some way!