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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Krysti on January 2, 2003, at 23:34:42
Sorry, wrong board...
Posted by Krysti on January 2, 2003, at 23:40:05
In reply to Re: Need some help, not sure if anything will help..., posted by Krysti on January 2, 2003, at 23:34:42
Meant to post this on psycho-social-babble...[ English |Deutsch |Français |Italiano |Português |Español ] by Babel Fish
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Need some help, not sure if anything will help...
Posted by Krysti on January 2, 2003, at 23:31:40right now though. I have always considered myself as a strong person and really want to be a strong person for myself and for others. Feel like I am losing it though and really don't know what to do right now. I really want a "cure-all" answer and know I'm not going to get it. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder 6 months ago and thought it was the answer to all my problems. Thought I could just take meds and everything would be better. Unfortunately, hasn't happened. I feel like I am worse off than I was before. Before, I always felt like I was fighting against something and at least sometimes winning, now I feel like I am fighting a losing battle. Even though the meds make me more stable, I have felt the fight draining out of me now that I know what I am up against. Nothing brings me pleasure anymore. Even when I am on meds that make me feel better, I don't feel content. I feel like I can no longer strive for happiness for myself, because it is just not achievable any longer. I really don't want to kill myself because I know the pain it will bring to others and what good will that do? And I'm afraid for myself also, because I feel like I will burn in hell forever then anyway. I feel like maybe my purpose in life is to try to bring happiness to others, but I don't know how. I also feel that I am being a hypocrite to other people if I volunteer for something to bring them happiness when I cannot even do it for myself. Does this make sense? The only purpose right now that I can see in my life is to try to make other people's lives better. I'm just not sure how to go about doing that. I am definitely not a good enough person to volunteer in a hospital and changing people's bedpans or anything. I want to do good for other people, but selfishly, something I might enjoy also (I hope this doesn't sound horrible.) If anyone has any suggestions, I would be much appreciable.
Thank you for any suggestions,
Krysti
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Need some help, not sure if anything will help... Krysti 1/2/03
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Posted by Rach on January 3, 2003, at 6:14:10
In reply to Re: Need some help, not sure if anything will help..., posted by Krysti on January 2, 2003, at 23:40:05
How do you feel about children or animals?
Some things I thought of -
* Read stories to children in the hospital
* Walk dogs from the local pet shelter (or pat kittens)
* Play chess or cards with people at the old folks home
* Drive for or help organise a meals on wheels program
* Organise a fundraiser for the local primary school
Posted by Dinah on January 3, 2003, at 7:56:25
In reply to Re: Need some help, not sure if anything will help..., posted by Krysti on January 2, 2003, at 23:40:05
Probably something else you've already thought of, but many cities have volunteer agencies that probably have a system in place to match volunteers with positions. I wouldn't think it was in the volunteer's or the charity's best interest to have a poor match, so maybe there are the equivilant of vocational tests or something.
Posted by ROO on January 3, 2003, at 10:00:42
In reply to Re: Need some help, not sure if anything will help... » Krysti, posted by Dinah on January 3, 2003, at 7:56:25
Krysti--
When did you start feeling so depressed...you had
been feeling so good? I'm sure you will be feeling
better soon...it's the nature of the disease...cyclical....
email me if you need to talk...I'm thinking of you
Ruth
Posted by Ted on January 3, 2003, at 11:51:45
In reply to Re: Need some help, not sure if anything will help..., posted by Krysti on January 2, 2003, at 23:40:05
Hi Krysti,
Just a few comments from my own experiences....
1. It takes a long time and lots of adjusting to get the meds just right. Only in the past two months have I really started to feel better about myself and life around me, and that is after 3-1/2 years of med changes. Six months is rather short -- give youself some time.
2. Helping others is _definitely_ a good thing for you to do. You CAN volunteer in a hospital without having to do chores. You can simply visit with patients, especially the elderly. You can visit children, who are probably frightened, and help them adjust.
3. You can help in the psych area with getting new patients adjusted, rounding people up for occupational therapy, sharing your own experiences, etc. Most people in the psych ward are especially frightened and humiliated. You can use your own experiences to calm their fears. For me it was especially nice to have others to talk with.
Good luck!Ted
Posted by Krysti on January 4, 2003, at 22:50:43
In reply to Re: Need some help, not sure if anything will help..., posted by Ted on January 3, 2003, at 11:51:45
Thanks everyone for replying. Getting depressed yet again. Ugh! This is so hard... I would like to volunteer at some point, but it was pretty stupid of me to think I should do it right now and that will help. Heck, the reason why I am so depressed right now is because I am becoming totally non-functional at work again and at home. Probably not a good thing to throw something else in the mix right now :) I am grateful for the suggestions though as I am going to look into this in the future when I find that right combo. I talked to my pdoc and she has started me on Celexa also. Hopefully, that will help. I broke down to my mom today and she came over and helped me clean. That meant so much to me that she came to help :) I'm not used to having to rely on other people so this is really weird for me. I could get TOO used to this though...
Thanks again for your replies and suggestions. Much appreciated...
Krysti
Posted by justyourlaugh on January 4, 2003, at 23:41:10
In reply to Re: Need some help, not sure if anything will help..., posted by Krysti on January 4, 2003, at 22:50:43
good for you for asking for help...
good start
j
This is the end of the thread.
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