Yeh, shit if you can’t ride. What types of ad’s have you tried? Worth trying as few different ones’ i reckon. Give Effexor a whirl; class for the first few days, you feel like you’re stoned.

Aracer – do you get ups and downs that fluctuate? Any periods when you feel overly energetic?

Anyway, if you want some perspective…..read “An Unquiet Mind”. It’s a pretty eye opening look into the life of someone with bipolar disorder (in this case an eminent professor of psychiatry) – that is often quite funny to boot. Anyway, I wasn’t depressed when I read it, but her life was far cosier than mine and she ended up suffering from that crap disease. So it made me feel a bit better about taking my time getting to where I want to be in life.

Those that have expressed they don’t have too many mates to choose from – why not get together? You already have a common interest and who knows what else might come of it. 🙂

one of the good guys

That being the case, who are the bad guys…?

Who do you think I am, Father Christmas?

Hope things are improving.

when you’re feeling shit, listen to the music that you love, loud.

My day was going badly and now my laptop speakers are not working.

Room for another?

Hope you can work through your rubbish and come out the other side in good fettle.

We’re all here for you

Can only echo that. Birmingham based and always ready to chat (and ride once my latest break heals!).

have a bad back which isn’t getting better

I remember many years ago hearing it said that one of the most common explanations for back pain in patients who went to see their GPs was depression.

Unlikely as it might seem apparently the link between back pain and depression is well established.

Anyway aracer I hope things look a little more positive for you soon, although it will of course require some positive proactive input from you – not always easy when you’re feeling low.

If cycling and running are definitely out then even going for a walk can have a very positive effect. Go chimney pot spotting on your walk! Strange as it might seem going for a walk and making a note of all the different shapes and sizes of chimney pots is a known exercise to help lift your mood.

Looking skywards where the source of the light is rather than the gloomy and darker ground, all the more so if there is plenty of blue sky, can have a positive effect on your mood. Plus it encourages you to walk more upright and not slouch – which is good for your back. Try it 🙂

Bummer . I know how it feels.
Don’t know the answer,I ride a bike to ward off the evil spirits.
Mr Taylforth ,stw would not be the same for me without your incisive wit .
Ta very much.
Aracer…carry on.

That is a shame aracer. I was feeling low recently. Took up a few off the wall hobbies for me. Joined a choir and now feel more involved in the local community. Don’t know if it will work for you, but you could try something new out of leftfield. You could also talk to your GP. It can help. Good luck.

So many things going on in my life I wish Dignitas were more accessible.

FWIW I get the heebies every day I go to work, can’t stand the job & now detest the confrontation plus loads of other things that are going on there.

That is 100% where I am at the moment as well.

I don’t know what the answer is fully yet, but keeping occupied in my time away from that hole I call work seems to help. Sitting around doing nothing seems to bring on the wobbles.

I am currently living my life like swimming through shit for 5/7 of the time getting from island to island (the weekends). I have finally started to do something concrete about getting out of my workplace, and it seems to have given me a bit of perspective.

Oh well, it’s early Sunday and I’ve got a load of stuff to do in the garden as well as two kids to entertain, so on with the proper bit of life and defer thinking about the other crap for now.

I can sympathise with you mate. I broke up with my mrs just over two years ago, two kids I only get to see once a week.

I reallt struggled for the first 6-12 months and made some really silly decisions, luckily I met someone new and she ent me for counselling, I was diagnosed with depression but couldn’t take medication due to my job role (railways) so I continued counselling and that helped a hell of a lot more tham I thought it ever would.

I stopped counselling aroung 5 months back, had a terrible couple of days from Friday myself, think what I have learned is how to know how to handle these states of mind and how to recognise they’re coming around, sometimes there’s no rhyme or reason for them but they happen.

As people have said, there’s always people on here who will listen, I’d try and find some volunteer counselling in your area and talk to someone.

All the best mate.

I get really emotionally affected by physical problems..
I can’t be the dad I like to be, I can’t be the partner I’d like to be and I lose interest in riding etc..

The self doubt soon creeps in..

I went through a period of this a couple months back due to injury, and I’m just coming out the other side..

First thing is get any physical pain properly managed.. Poorly managed pain is very subtly exhausting.. Then focus on the kids, think up some new activity that you can partake and engage with them fully (some thinking outside of the box may be required, the answer may be simpler than you think.. What do they love to do?)
Next find something creative to achieve and start doing it.. Preferably complete the project if poss..

Thirdly.. (fourthly?) Any exercise will help.. If you’re sick or injured then yoga is always an obvious choice..
If all else fails.. Marijuana and kinky sex 🙂

Hope you get a handle on the situation PDQ

I was having a really shit couple of days, I decided I needed a trip away so organised to go to hobart riding next weekend and catch up with some good mates, then found a cheap flight to the UK… So I’m riding down there for the weekend then 3 weeks back in the UK, thats cheered me up a bit

Who do you think I am, Father Christmas?

Well, you made the distinction so it stands to reason you’re able to spot the bad guys.

Obvious, really…

*shrugs*

aracer, how are you today?

Just logged in today and spotted this thread. I’m another one who can level with you having suffered from depression and anxiety most of my adult life. I still haven’t found any answers and still get more bad days than good. Today included. It sounds cliché, but just go and do something that you know makes you feel good, no matter how big or small.

If you want to talk, get in touch away from this forum.

JulianA – Member
So many things going on in my life I wish Dignitas were more accessible.

Having had a family member make that trip in the last two weeks, I sincerely hope that is not the case.

Aracer – best wishes and hope you get through things. Sometimes this place helps and sometimes the opposite when it gets niggly. On the whole the former. I like Ernie’s suggestions about where to look. Hope you feel better.

Thanks for all the thoughts, have been up and down (but fairly sure I’m not bipolar, by “up” I just mean mediocre as very aptly described), relatively OK today. Definite feeling of the back getting slightly better after weeks of little progress – thanks for the help ernie, good stuff (like many others with similar feelings I definitely have a tendency to slouch and look down), but it’s definitely not triggered by the depression even if that isn’t helping with the recovery, was the same very specific activity both times, something I’ve probably had some back pain from before, but never anything which has carried on into the next day.

Probably a good job I have no idea where to get the former, wish I knew where to get anything at all similar to the latter.

aracer, how’s it going? Just thought I would check in.

If there’s a swimming pool nearby try a regular swim, crawl or back crawl to strengthen your back (and almost everything else). No helpful suggestions for the other issues I’m afraid.

Aracer hope things pick up, ibuprofen and yoga manage my back (‘ish good days and bad days…)

Yunki + 1,
although having a teenage son constantly fb’ing his girlfriend into the wee hours has impacted our sexlife let alone the kinky stuff.

Aracer – do you get ups and downs that fluctuate? Any periods when you feel overly energetic?

I’ve been getting lots of that of late, last week I was super happy with everything, had a few great rides on my bike and everything was amazing. This week not so much, and it’s difficult to remember what feeling amazing felt like. I think I may be an adrenaline junkie more than anything else, but only from biking.