Thank you - I'm glad that you are feeling so well.
All the best to you. Think I may have a go at some mindfulness meditation myself.
To add to what I posted yesterday! - I read a lot too.
Two books I found very helpful:
Sunbathing in the rain
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sunbathing-Rain-Cheerful-About-Depression/dp/0007232802The upward spiral
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Upward-Spiral-Neuroscience-Reverse-Depression/dp/1626251207I also liked Cantopher, T. (2012). Depressive Illness: The Curse of the Strong (3rd Ed.). London: Sheldon.
Depression the curse of the strong - I felt such a loser going down with what I did and this book helped me to realise that I had a breakdown because I'd been carrying too much stress for too long - it completely reversed how I felt about myself.
I also found reading a lot of recovery memoirs and stories online about depression helped give me hope (will post at the end of this post as it's a long list).
I also found therapies that helped me. I had acupuncture.
I also found a good psychotherapist and went and had weekly sessions with her.
I also did the ITALK stuff by telephone - it was better than nothing but a phone call every 2 weeks for 20 minutes isn't a lot if half of the call is taken up doing rating scales! But the woman was nice and it was another source of support when I needed it. I know they do face to face but the wait was 3 months for that so I settled for the telephone calls.
BTW you can get relaxation tracks from ITalk for free -
http://wellbeing-glasgow.org.uk/ Explore the site - here's a link for the anxiety page:
http://wellbeing-glasgow.org.uk/anxiety-2/anxiety-videos/I used a CD I had which was a body scan CD guided relaxation by Jon Kabat-Zinn (his voice will send you to sleep! it's boring! but there are a lot of relaxation cds out there as well as free stuff on the web). You might be able to get it (or something like it) from the library. It's not a quick fix but it does help over time.
I didn't work. I have not worked since the breakdown. I lived off savings (didn't qualify for benefits). I try not to dwell on how much its all cost(!).
I moved house. I currently rent from a really kind charity. As a few of my issues arose from housing issues (as well as menopause), moving to somewhere I felt safe and where people were kind made a huge difference to my mental health. This fits with the research - when people are given safe housing, their mental health improves (go figure!).
I paid attention to what I ate - I cut out sugar and caffiene from tea. I made a lot of stuff from scratch.
I took really good quality fish oil supplements. Can't remember the brand name but I have posted it on here before so google the board and hopefully it will come up!
I think the biggest thing that helped was exercise (for me). And to begin with I used to totter around a sports field - doing a 10 minute walk and feeling like I was 100!
I also discovered the Quakers and went to Quaker meetings - just being on the receiving end of kindness and acceptance helps.
I couldn't read a paper for months. Or turn on the radio for a month either! So my nervous system was just very sensitive ... and slowly things came back.
And time - it takes time. I thought I would be well by the summer but it wasn't until October that I felt more like myself. Everyone is individual and people I spoke to who had also had this happen to them commonly mentioned that it takes 2 years ... that seems like a long time and I think everyone is different and it depends on how bad the breakdown was as well (I wasn't suicidal or psychotic - I was just overwhelmed and really really fatigued). I wasn't hospitalised.
I think what helped me move along a bit quicker was the exercise, the psychotherapy and the housing - those 3 biggies definitely made significant differences to me.
I also found a fantastic Dr who insisted I check in with her every month. She was really knowledgable about menopause too.
If you do try psychotherapy, don't settle for someone unless they are a good fit for you - it took me a little while to find someone who was a good fit for me.
I also took beta blockers for a while. They didn't suit me as a regular med but when I needed to take them on an as and when basis, they were helpful.
I also self referred to a mental health agency and met with a support worker regularly.
I also went to a MIND group.
I also went to another mental health support group (run by a church). Both this group and the MIND group were drop in - just being around people helped. And some of the kindest things said to me were by people who had gone through breakdowns themselves and recovered from them.
Basically I didn't isolate myself - but I paced myself too. I used to have a routine of doing an exercise class, having a rest, meeting people or going to the library ... I did what I felt able to do and didn't beat myself up at what I couldn't do. I also found wandering around charity stores helpful!
I did a gentle yoga DVD as well - have posted the details on a link on this board - and that was helpful too.
Here's a list of some of the stuff I read related to nervous breakdowns:
BOOKS
Brampton, S. (2009). Shoot the Damn Dog: A Memoir of Depression. London: Bloomsbury.
Cantopher, T. (2012). Depressive Illness: The Curse of the Strong (3rd Ed.). London: Sheldon.
Depression the curse of the strong
Enders, G. (2014). Gut, The Inside Story of Our Body's Most Under-Rated Organ. London:
Scribe Publications.
Kelly, R. (2014). Black Rainbow: How Words Healed Me: My Journey Through Depression.
London: Yellow Kite.
Lewis, G. (2002). Sunbathing in the Rain: A Cheerful Book About Depression. London:
Flamingo.
Merritt, S. (2009). The Devil Within. London: Vermilion.
Plant, J. A. and Stephenson, J. (2011). Beating Stress, Anxiety & Depression: Groundbreaking
Ways to Help You Feel Better. London: Piatkus.
Rice-Oxley, M. (2012). Underneath the Lemon Tree: A Memoir of Depression and
Recovery. London: Little Brown.
Williams, M., Teasdale, J., Segal, Z. and Kabat-Zinn, J. (2007). The Mindful Way Through
Depression, Freeing Yourself From Chronic Unhappiness. New York: The Guilford
Press.
INTERNET
Beck, M. (2012). Time for a Good Old-Fashioned Nervous Breakdown? The Wall Street
Journal. Retrieved from
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204653604577249262618835188.
Burnett, D. (2013). A breakdown of nervous breakdowns. Many people suffer from a ‘nervous
breakdown' at some point in their lives. But despite its widespread use, the term is not
medically valid as it is used to describe a wide range of conditions. The Guardian.
Retrieved from
http://www.theguardian.com/science/brainflapping/2013/apr/24/breakdown-nervous-breakdowns.
Gillett, L. (2015). How to Recover from a Nervous Breakdown. The Huffington Post UK.
Retrieved from
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/louise-gillett/recovering-from-a-nervous-breakdown_b_6742854.html.
Grice, E. (2009). “My illness will not come back, because now I know what the triggers are†Dr
Liz Miller, a former high-flying neurosurgeon who developed bi-polar disorder, talks to
Elizabeth Grice. The Telegraph. Retrieved from
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/5454798/My-illness-will-not-come-back because-now-I-know-what-the-triggers-are.html
Hicks, C. (2012). Mark Rice-Oxley: How I survived a nervous breakdown. Learning to live
again after depression has inspired a lyrical new book. The Telegraph. Retrieved from
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/active/mens-health/9133828/Mark-Rice-Oxley-How-I-survived-a-nervous-breakdown.htmlKenny, U. (2010). Nervous breakdown. Work worries, parental pressures and a host of modern
stresses mean more and more of us feel we are on the verge of a nervous breakdown. But
are we really? From insomnia to full-blown hallucinations, Ursula Kenny investigates
what actually happens when we hit rock bottom. The Observer. Retrieved from
http://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2000/sep/10/features.magazine37Morris, S. (2008). Nervous breakdown: Happy Survivors. Anyone can have a nervous
breakdown; high-flyers included. But it doesn't have to mean the end of a contented life,
says Sophie Morris. The Independent. Retrieved from
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/nervous-breakdown-happy-survivors-1022919.html
Paterson, R. (2015). In Praise of the Nervous Breakdown. Retrieved from
http://www.psychologysalon.com/2015/02/in-praise-of-nervous-breakdown.htmlWright, N. (2015). Nervous breakthrough: my anxiety experience and journey to recovery.
Retrieved from
http://nicolawright.com/2013/05/05/nervous-breakthrough-my-anxiety-experience-and-journey-to-recovery/