I am coming off the happy pills. Down to 10mg for the last 10 days, got a month of those, and then go down to 1 every other day and see how I get on.

Did some CBT as well throught the mental health team, so hopefully I should have some coping strategies. And have gym membership too so I can do another form of exercise over winter or if I fancy a break from riding.

Feeling ok so far, wish me luck 🙂

good luck love, keep smiling.. 8)

Great news Clare!!!! 😀

Hope all goes well…do expect some down days…that's normal…but the good thing is if you are actually aware of the "down" days, as opposed to them all merging into one.

You know where I am if you need me… 8)

Best of luck, Mrs F!

May everything work out for you as you wish it to.

all the best!

Good luck

Good luck. I see my shrink just before Xmas and hopefully he will consider letting me come off mine which I have been on since Easter and as a result I am now very fat and ride up hill even slower than before.

I have been through this before a couple of years ago. Then, I didn't then have any problems with bad withdrawal effects but like you did it nice and slowly over about 6 weeks.

Thanks all. I was quite amused to read that low mood and irritability were two of the withdrawal effects – not very helpful! So far though, am feeling great 🙂

Good luck x

cbt cock and ball torture?

i can see how that might relieve some tension in you but surely not fair on the bloke?!

He knows it's for his own good in the long run Kimbers.

I was just gonna say kimbers, this is Gingerflash we are talking about here… so he'd probably like it… but it looks like MrsF got there first!

Good luck Clare

Good luck.

I hope gf's getting some support too. Not easy.

Good luck Mrs F. 6 months, that must have been just after the stw rivi ride. I blame Lowey!

Best wishes Mrs. Flash.
I really hope you get where you wanna be.
May I offer one tip? Avoid binge-boozing. It doesnae help.

Oh, as was suggested to me, try to get some time in the wider outdoors on a regular basis over the winter.

Good advice MikeT-23, I learned a long time ago that binge drinking really is not worth it, I get such a down the next day or two. Now I just keep up a nice regular intake of G&T to maintain the right levels 😉

good luck Clare, and all the best.

Hey mrsflash, didn't realise you were on the happy pills. Personally, I'm quite anti-medication, however… each to their own situation and I'm glad they've had a positive effect, given you breathing space and allowed to you pick yourself up.

I found CBT to be awesome and has really made a massive difference to my overall moods and quality of life. I sincerely hope it works for you too. Being active, and having real loving support will also ensure you beat the blues!

All the best!

Good for you, mrsflash. 😀

Mrs North has been off her pills for nigh on 11 months, but really did benefit from her period on them. The withdrawal sympstoms can vary, so be aware that feeling down is more likely to be withdrawal than a relapse (Which is what seems to give happy pills the reputation for being "addictive").

Sadly, it looks like doom is the way I'm going 🙁 , though I'm desperately trying to avoid going to see the GP and heading straight to a CBT counsellor. Well, I will when I can pluck up the courage….

All the best Mrs F.

Best wishes Mrs. Flash.
😛

😀

Good on yer gal! I think there's many a time a doc would have put me on tablets but you can actually cope without them, you really can!

Hey Mrsflash (Clare)

Excellent to hear you're coming off of the 'ol happy tablets.

It's an excellent feeling when you know you don't need them anymore! All the best!!

jt 😉

🙂

that is all

Enjoy – once you get to the end you will feel a real sense of achievement and something to be rather pleased about. Don't expect everything to be perfect but do expect to adapt so you can work around issues. I'm sure you will manage brilliantly, just need to keep the positive attitude up and you can do it.

Everything will go well, and after a wee while you'll be able to look back at the next few weeks and see them as a real achievement.

Bon Courage MrsF

SB 🙂

Cap doffed – hope it goes well for you.
Regards
Mr & Mrs MM

you'll be reet!

Good luck and keep up!

Best of luck Clare… got everything crossed that it works out for you.

Good luck person I don't know – Been there myself, mind out for the fridge it was my best friend for a while afterwards!

Good Luck Mrs Flash!

I had a 'Bi-Polar Incident' a couple of years ago but resisted going on medication as I thought it was a one off triggered by the lifestyle choices I had been making for the previous 15 years. I think I was right as had nothing since.

Learnt so much about myself through it and have had to alter my life drastically to make sure it doesn't happen again. The only tip I could give is to have something to look forward to every week. Mine is riding every weekend…

Great news 🙂

Good luck Mrs F.

Good luck MrsF 🙂

I think it's beyond time i went to see my own doc actually. The point has been reached where i'm idly thinking about suicide on a daily basis.
Not a particularly helpful outlook when you are supposed to be looking fo employment..

been there, done that and its well pants

you don't need good luck, you need cheese, but good luck anyway

Clare – good news. 🙂

I very reluctantly started taking ADs a few years ago when there was all sorts of horribleness going on – the doc really did have to convince me they would help – and they did. Took the edge off and gave me the strength to deal with the stuff I could deal with and ride out the bits I couldn't.

I found a really good CBT book too – I have recommended it to various friends who have also said they found it useful, so if you you don't mind me making a recommendation you could take a look at Overcoming Depression by Paul Gilbert. There's a fair bit of (to me) 'hippy crap' in there but much more usefulness.

And Muddydwarf – please go see/talk to someone about what's going on. Please. (And I sincerely hope you feel better soon.)

Great news Clare.
Come riding with us soon. We'll get Martyn S to organise something.

muddydwarf – please go and see the doc ( as tn says above). You cannot suffer like this.

I was on AD's earlier in the year, i came off them because of the side-effects and i was relatively ok over the summer. I was made redundant in July and since then it's been creeping back up on me. I live alone now and have a mortgage looming over me with no work on the horizon.
Must admit i'm starting to find it hard to get out of bed in a morning.

Muddydwarf, you sound lonely and at the end of your wits. It shouldn't carry on like this.
You need to look after yourself. start by taking things step by step adn have small goals.
you're just going through a bad patch, just need to work out steps to start going up and up. in the long run you'll be stronger.
If you have such dark thoughts and feel powerless, seek help.
Seeking help is a very positive and very strong thing to do, it means that you're giving yourself the means to be better adn to sort out your 'problems'.
this post sounds a bit random, but I can't read what you've said and do nothing. you sound like you're trying to reach out for help adn I feel quite powerless.
chin up and help yourself. start looking for little positive things and don't dwell on teh negatives things. these don't do anything for you.
remember it's just a bad patch adn you'll come out of it better and stronger.