You are not alone ❤️

@climbingmountains81 - thanks so much for sharing this message of hope and empathy.

Something you mentioned is that you shied away from certain communities for a while to protect yourself and that now you're learning how important community is for healing.

Will you share more about that? How have you found it worth it to not totally protect yourself and reach out for community for the benefit of your mental health? How has community contributed to your healing process?

@lisalucier sure! I think I would’ve preferred to keep protecting myself and doing it on my own to keep myself safe, but we just can’t heal that way. I’ve enjoyed being in therapy with a good counselor and I’ve been a part of a group that meets together regularly to go over a book I’ve gotten a lot of hope from called a Course in Miracles. Thinking of joining some other mental health support groups as I’m able as hopefully my symptoms improve enough. Also prioritizing good, safe, kind friendships. ❤️🫂🙏

Yes, community is so important, but it needs to be the right one for you that meets your needs.
I have a lot of nerve pain so I cannot be in large and loud groups. I find church Bible studies very
peaceful, but that is not everyone's cup of tea. I've joined several women's groups where people
share openly about their struggles and sucesess, I not one for chit-chat but that works for some people.
I also go to a quilting group which is safe and walk in the morning with two women so the time goes
by and we get good exercise. This community here is important and a way to break the isolation that comes with not feeling well when the challange it is to go out there and socialize, but it is so important -- that face to face, sometimes one to one contact. It helps to regular my nervous system. Hang in there it will get better.

@gunshy yes definitely have to find the right community for one’s individual needs. ❤️ And getting into community can be so hard and sometimes feel like too much when someone doesn’t feel good. I’m finding it helps distract me from thinking too much about my own stuff right now when I can join something, even if it’s an online group, which many of them are these days. Thanks for your comment and for sharing your experience and for the encouragement. ❤️

A full change in medication was the first step to a major recovery for me. That alone saved my life. The previous one was amplifying severe depression, something known to be possible for a quite small number of patients taking it, and that landed me in the hospital after a near miss. After years of passively taking what I was prescribed despite a steady worsening of my condition, I began advocating for myself because I knew things weren't working. I just marked two years since the switch and the difference has been indescribable.

A good counselor who I see weekly has been and continues to be a major factor. I look forward to that one.

Being open with friends about what I went through after hiding it for a long time and paying a very high price for doing so has proven to be a huge well of support. On those occasions when I need to talk about it, which aren't as frequent as even a year ago as my recovery has progressed, people are there to listen. I've also learned that some of those friends have dealt with their own struggles, which has deepened our connections. Now I'm also there to listen.

A weekly mountain bike ride with friends where the first rule is, the slowest rider sets the pace, gets me outdoors and active and offers some stupid good fun with a lot of laughs. In fact, one of our running jokes is what we call the Dumb Scale to determine how dumb, and therefore how fun, the ride was.

Keeping a pet in the house, in my case a dog who is a constant presence and who needs a daily walk, and therefore gets me outside and moving every day, has been key.

Limiting my news intake. I do write to my state and federal representatives and senators when I feel the need to offer my thoughts and also attend the occasional meeting on issues of concern, but I don't spend all day every day refreshing the pages of news sites to catch every detail, which can foster a sense of hopelessness. Balance is needed there.

Getting off social media was, apart from the medication switch, the single best mental health decision I've made in the past two years. There's too much fighting and too much negativity. Removing that from my daily life has lifted my daily mood. I communicate with friends through texts, emails, and especially face-to-face and don't get bogged down in the vortex of online anger and abuse.

As far as online support groups go, I stick to ones like this that are moderated and tied to professional organizations, while staying out of ones that are filled with people who freely post misinformation and rage. I know a lot of people in them are good people who have suffered severe problems, but I don't want to get caught into the anger and especially the attacks on providers, most of whom are doing their best. I don't find going down that road personally helpful.

Those are few of the things I've done, and apart from the mountain bike group, which I've been involved with for decades, all of them have become part of my life in the last two years. At present all of them are working for me.

I don’t have anyone to walk with and have not gotten out of bed for almost a week. I am sinking.

Is anyone else living in Chicago alone and depressed? I am 67, living with chronic pain and have been passed from doctor to pt to spine surgeon and back to new doctors without answers. I have tried to find the way out of my bed day after day, but keep retreating. My therapist is there for me to talk to, but I have no one to come and get me out of my apartment for a walk.

Hi @cstone - when you talk about not having anyone to walk with, are you talking literally take a walk with, or figuratively, like walk with you through life or feeling down? Are you on medication right now?

@cstone so sorry you’re going through this! Have you looked into any support groups? I’m thinking of joining some focused on mental health and they have many online if it’s hard to get out. In person might be good to help you get out. Hang in there! ❤️

@cstone NAMI and Emotions Anonymous both offer free virtual support groups. ❤️