Lived Experience Forum

[phoenixprophet]

I hope everyone is having a good Monday,

I have battled with depression and anxiety disorders since 2012, and have worked out a fairly structured management plan for myself to cope. I can proudly say that I am now weeks and even months between anxious or depressed episodes. It occurred to me that these online forums are a great way to relate to peers. I'm also putting my experience to use as I'm studying Psychology at uni and believe that I have quite a holistic view on mental health.

1. Find purpose

It doesn't matter how you get there, but finding your purpose will be the turning point in your journey. My life completely changed when I dropped out of my chemical engineering degree and started psychology, I finally understood that in doing this I'd have knowledge and lived experience in the science, which I could then use to help anyone who needed it! It fills me with child like excitement and joy to know that if this helps even a single person I'm doing something positive.

1. Live for today

Depression is hard, anxiety is exhausting, and I understand that day can take forever to complete sometimes. But learn to live in the moment, the eternal present, the 'now' that we physically cannot escape from. I learned through meditation practise, but there are many ways and I encourage you to find yours. Living one day at a time breaks down your life into one waking period. Just think about one thing you can that improves your situation, it may be not letting yourself enter a negative state. If you have a bad day, you have another opportunity tomorrow to start again. And if you have a good day, keep building your management, remembering what you learned previous.

1. Write it down.

Please write it down. Whenever you're feeling alone, empty, nothing, everything, doesn't matter. Writing stuff down takes it all out of your head and puts it onto paper, and when you read it back to yourself you can objectively view your state of mind at that time. Even if you don't read it, writing it down is a creative process that you could someday use in a positive way, as I am doing now.

I now have the fire of a phoenix driving me to help others.

the phoenix prophet.

[JoeTheLion]

Hi @phoenixprophet,

Welcome to the Forum. 

So much wonderful wisdom in your post. Sounds like you've worked really hard on yourself and it's helped you enormously. Great stuff.

All the best

JoeTheLion

[Acacia]

Hi @phoenixprophet

Welcome to the Forums J

Have you had a chance to take a look around? Feel free to jump in on other conversations.

Good morning is a bit of a social chat that tends to happen any time of the day; and

Introduce yourself here, as the name suggests, is a thread where new (or old) members can introduce themselves.

Thank you for sharing some tips around what has helped for you. Perhaps some other members could add their own tips – there are lots of people here on the Forums, all managing in our own unique ways… @Former-Member, @Appleblossom and @Former-Member are a few that come to mind

[utopia]

@phoenixprofet. Wise words.
I'm currently stuck in a depressive cycle. But I remember when I came out of a similar cycle last year, I felt a lot like you. More positive andkknowing where I wanted to go. Hopefully I'll find that space again

[phoenixprophet]

Takes determination, ambition and hard work brother 🙂

[Appleblossom]

I love the photo you have used for your pic. @phoenixprophet

Putting oneself in the centre of the picture. Simple. Thoughtful. Scanning the landscape.

Welcome bro.

[NatalieS]

Good advice, @phoenixprophet and welcome.

I've been journaling quite a while now, and can refer back to my state of mind at a particular time and what was going on in my life. If I write things down I know how real they were for me, and can record what helped me through. All this is important to me when I visit the gp or psychologist...who is able to remember what happened say a month ago, or even two weeks ago?   I see my psychologist every two weeks, and my moods and thoughts can have changed heaps of times, even in one day. Journaling may not help everyone-I've had periods when things have been bad and writing has been the last thing on my mind-but it means I exist and I am important and it makes me human.

Take care.