Posted by sweetmarie on August 20, 2001, at 5:45:45
Hi
Some of you will be aware of my situation - I left hospital after a long admission (4 months), and have done something of a nose-dive, having improved somewhat whilst I was in hospital.
I think that quite apart from the huge `wrench` from hospital to living alone, there are other factors helping to keep my mood low. None of the things that I had tried to get into place for post-discharge have worked out. The day-centre won`t take me on as a member until they have assessed me in 3 weeks time; the CPN (Community Psychiatric Nurse) has assessed me, but won`t be back to me with an `answer` for another 3 weeks, and the CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) will not start til October. So, the structure that I knew to be so important has not materialised.
As a result I`ve become convinced that I have missed the boat, and will inevitably return to `before`. However, I`m really trying to challenge this ... Not easy.
The only self-help book that I`ve ever rated is called `Self Help For Your Nerves`, published in 1962, when the term `nervous breakdown` was still in use. It`s very dated in lots of ways, but is really `no-nonsense` and completely brilliant. It was written by an Australian doctor (Dr Claire Weekes), and sold loads and loads of copies. Anyway, this is a passage from it:
"The road to recovery is beset with many temporary failures. It is like travelling across the foothills toward the mountains. You travel downhill so often that it is difficult to realize that, in spite of this, you are still climbing. This up and down aspect of recovery is exhausting and frustrating ... It is true that just when you think you have turned the corner and are feeling well, you can have one of your worst setbacks. You can waste much energy trying to discover why this happens. It may have been some trivial event that drew (the sufferer) back, but is it so important to find out?
The slipping back process is easy to understand. The past holds so many fearful memories for the (sufferer), even a slight setback will find a host of them ready to engulf him. It takes time to dull these memories. But after (the sufferer) has pulled himself out of a few such reverses, he despairs less readily, and confidence grows from each experience ... When you have achieved confidence by your own effort ... No future defeat can quite destroy it."
Just thought I`d share that.
If anyone can give me some words of encouragement, I`d appreciate it - I freely admit to feeling very needy at the minute.
Anna.
poster:sweetmarie
thread:75652
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010814/msgs/75652.html