I've gone into detail about some of my physical challenges so I won't repeat all of it here. I retired at age 65 when my neck decided to cause me unacceptable pain. I had neck surgery in 2019. Had L45 Right hemilaminectomy in 2013, followed a year later with L4-5 fusion.
I started crying every morning when I woke up. I was already on anti-depressant medication and a mood stabilizer. First the doctor increased my mood stabilizer. Then, because I was stressed out and crying again, he temporarily increased my antidepressant for 6 months. I was stable for a while, then he increased my mood stabilizer and that has helped. But now I'm scared. Scared about what's going on with my back because I just don't know. My husband has been very supportive as have my friends. The rest of my family (sibs, children) are tired of hearing about it. So I stopped talking about it with them. I have a therapist of 24 years who has back issues as well. She has been very encouraging of me pursuing answers, hence a second opinion. Everything helps, and I need to remind my self to breath. I've done chair yoga at our senior center, and now I do chair exercises on YouTube twice a week with neighbors at our clubhouse. All of us have different ailments and we are supportive of each other without focusing on those. We focus on getting strong and accepting ourselves. We slow down, speed up with the exercises, doing what we are able. My biggest issue with acceptance is balance and having a cane outside my home. It looks to outsiders like I don't need it, but balance isn't always visible. I'm just short of getting a rollator/walker. I've switched doctors and that has helped as has the reminder from my husband not to get ahead of myself and to be patient with the process of exploring other reasons for back pain (vascular testing and an EMG along with CT scan and xrays).
So Leslie, keep breathing, call your insurance company and ask them for a list of therapists who are covered by your insurance and call/see at least 3 and figure out which one fits what you are looking for. Write down all you want in a therapist. I love organizing lists but I know it's not for everyone.
Good luck, use this forum. It's helped me a lot.
Oh, and my real name is also Leslie. Lessie was my nickname given to me by a good friend who passed away a few years ago.