Mental Health

[Coleman]

-I have a 2 month old (who is healthy, thank God), after a very difficult delivery/recovery for my wife
-We are selling our city condo and under contract on a house in the burbs. This seems to be going well so far.
-This past weekend, my wife was bit by a dog. It was the neighbor's (who we have been friendly with) dog and was late on its vaccinations, and is now under quarantine for 10 days to make sure theres no rabies (trying not to worry about this too much, was 2 months late on vaccine and it is a domestic dog afterall). She is ok, but needed stitches for some deep puncture wounds.
-Same old job stresses
-Coronavirus stuff. Not so much worried about myself, but my high risk parents.

This has all led to a lot of anxiety, insomnia, etc. This week, I took the step of scheduling time with a therapist. I wanted to put this out there to remove any stigma. Take care of yourself guys.

That is all. End of my PSA

[Coleman]

Oh, I forgot, MU's slide hasn't helped either 

[wadesworld]

Good for you for taking care of yourself and for putting that out there to the Scoop world.

Life can be hard and heavy at times.  Using the resources available to you is nothing to be ashamed of.

[Goose]

Coleman

Thanks for sharing and the sound advice. Hope all goes well with all going on in your life. We are living a crazy time in history at the moment and praying for the best.

[DegenerateDish]

After my twins were born (this is ten years ago), I went through male post partum depression, it's rare in men, and I thought I was just tired/stressed from the changes in life. After a year, I went and saw my doctor and then a therapist, and got medicated and the therapy helped. My anxiety got under control, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made to seek help.

Seeking help and getting treatment is the best thing to do, zero stigma around taking care of one's self. Good job by you.

[Jockey]

Thanks for sharing, Coleman.

Men tend to not take care of themselves regarding these issues. We need to and it's great you took this step.

[lawdog77]

Thanks for coming forward. The world would be a better place if everyone went to therapy. I go.

[StillAWarrior]

Thanks for posting. People should seek professional help and treatment for illness. Any illness. It really would be wonderful if there was no more stigma attached to seeking help for anxiety, depression or any other mental health issue than there is for seeking treatment for cancer, broken bones or any other physical issue.

[Benny B]

Well played, Coleman.

If it's of any consolation, one thing you do not need to worry about: drywall.

[mu03eng]

I think the key is not just removing the stigma but educating what mental health issues feel like and that they can manifest at any point and it's not necessarily about how "tough" you are

I'll use myself as an example. I've always been easy go lucky, tough stuff doesn't bother me, eternal optimist type. Then right around the time we found out my wife was pregnant with our second I suffered  my first ever panic attack(ultimately ended up having at least a half a dozen of them)  and I had no idea what to do with it. Further that panic attack "gave" me anxiety where I was constantly internally monitoring myself to see if another  attack was coming and the like. There are all sorts of factors that led to that moment in time my mental health taking a hit but the total stress wasn't more than anything I've had in the past, just the wrong time and place and it manifested, but I didn't know at the time that mental health could "work that way"

Worse than the attacks was the anxiety, it almost created this fog that I couldn't see past, because part of my brain was constantly working on the monitoring of myself. I was use to burying frustrations or ignoring discomfort but suddenly I couldn't do that. The good/bad part was that other than my wife no one could even tell, I just powered through hoping it would resolve itself and things would go back to "normal". Well it didn't and after about 6 months of internal hell I sought out a counselor, and I can't even say what explicitly helped but after about 3 months I got to a good place, I still have feelings of anxiety (no explicit explanation, I could be watching TV and just feel anxious) from time to time but it is extremely manageable and I haven't had a panic attack in almost a year.

But the key was I had no idea and we don't really talk about mental health in terms of what it is and what it can feel like so you know. Hell, my own father ended up revealing to me that part of why he was medically grounded from flight status was because he started having panic attacks and even at one point had a bit of a Xanax dependency in treating it. I had no idea until I opened up to him about what I was going through. Definitely changes my perspective about what I talk to my kids about and what I talk to others about. I've always generally been a keep the negative stuff to myself person and I definitely don't lead with "hi I'm mu03eng, and I suffer from anxiety sometimes" but I am much more open about it if it comes up(like here) because I think we need to normalize and contextualize the experience for others. It was amazing some of the conversations I've had with veteran buddies who have some form of PTSD While our "source" of issue is very different having that common experience allows some really good conversation. I think if people were generally more conversant in mental health regardless of experience we'd be in a better place as a society.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Cheers, Coleman.

It can be a long road.  Hang in there.

[GooooMarquette]

Coleman - good for you for getting help, and coming forward here.

I see a therapist, and would be happy to chat sometime. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk to someone who has been (and still is) there....

[Bad_Reporter]

-I have a 2 month old (who is healthy, thank God), after a very difficult delivery/recovery for my wife
-We are selling our city condo and under contract on a house in the burbs. This seems to be going well so far.
-This past weekend, my wife was bit by a dog. It was the neighbor's (who we have been friendly with) dog and was late on its vaccinations, and is now under quarantine for 10 days to make sure theres no rabies (trying not to worry about this too much, was 2 months late on vaccine and it is a domestic dog afterall). She is ok, but needed stitches for some deep puncture wounds.
-Same old job stresses
-Coronavirus stuff. Not so much worried about myself, but my high risk parents.

This has all led to a lot of anxiety, insomnia, etc. This week, I took the step of scheduling time with a therapist. I wanted to put this out there to remove any stigma. Take care of yourself guys.

That is all. End of my PSA

Thanks for sharing Coleman.  I’m hoping/praying for the best for you and your family.

Not to take away from your story, but I have my first kid on the way in less then a month and she’s going to have some medical problems.  I don’t think I ever really realized what stress was until hearing my daughter may not be able to walk.

There’s no amount of money, items, knowledge, etc that can help when you realize you cannot control someone else’s health, it’s really a helpless feeling.

Just know that I truly will be thinking of you, and although you don’t know me, please feel free to reach out anytime and I’ll help in anyway I can.  Even if it’s just listening, I’m more then happy to help.  Friends seem harder to come by as one ages, and I’m in the camp that believes you can always use friends in life.

-J

[Goose]

Bad_reporter

Good luck with your soon to be daughter. We will be saying our family prayers with your daughter in mind.

[Coleman]

Thanks for the support everyone. I know my troubles are no worse than what anyone has to deal with (and mine pale in comparison to what some other members like Dish and Bad Reporter have gone through). I just think it is a healthy thing for people to be able to talk about!

[wadesworld]

Thanks for sharing Coleman.  I’m hoping/praying for the best for you and your family.

Not to take away from your story, but I have my first kid on the way in less then a month and she’s going to have some medical problems.  I don’t think I ever really realized what stress was until hearing my daughter may not be able to walk.

There’s no amount of money, items, knowledge, etc that can help when you realize you cannot control someone else’s health, it’s really a helpless feeling.

Just know that I truly will be thinking of you, and although you don’t know me, please feel free to reach out anytime and I’ll help in anyway I can.  Even if it’s just listening, I’m more then happy to help.  Friends seem harder to come by as one ages, and I’m in the camp that believes you can always use friends in life.

-J

Good luck with everything involved in the birth of your first child.  Hope you get as good of news as possible as the time approaches.

[DegenerateDish]

Thanks for the support everyone. I know my troubles are no worse than what anyone has to deal with (and mine pale in comparison to what some other members like Dish and Bad Reporter have gone through). I just think it is a healthy thing for people to be able to talk about!

It's good to talk about, we (as a society, and other's have said well here) should talk about this stuff much more. It's important, and as Goose said, this is a CRAZY time and world right now, which has to absolutely add to your anxiety. Hang in there, sounds like you're taking the right steps, and just talking about it helps.

Virtual pat on the back from me to you. Hopefully in a few months (or weeks) you'll look back and feel pride in getting the help. Cheers to everyone on here, even with the fights here, there's really, really good people on this message board.

[Bad_Reporter]

Thanks for the support everyone. I know my troubles are no worse than what anyone has to deal with (and mine pale in comparison to what some other members like Dish and Bad Reporter have gone through). I just think it is a healthy thing for people to be able to talk about!

Your issues/problems are just as important as anybody’s.  It takes a big person to bring this type of conversation up in a forum where many don’t see eye to eye.   Thank you for doing that, and my offer always stands.

[Bad_Reporter]

Goose & wades

Thanks for the wishes, I appreciate it.

Wades, although we may not agree with each other’s opinions/facts, however you want to put it, I wish no ill will on anyone.  Whether that’s you, WithoutBias, etc.  I wish for good health, and prosperity for everyone in the Marquette family, and I’m thankful for everyone here.

Thank you all, and let me know if I can ever help in anyway.

(Wades, those brewer tickets are still available for you, I hope you take me up on the offer sometime  )

We are.

[shoothoops]

We are big mental health advocates in our family. I've seen a lot in my time.

[Lennys Tap]

Lots of courageous Scoopers out there - proud of each and every one of you. Meeting mental health issues openly and honestly is a hard thing - I admire you all.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

Lots of courageous Scoopers out there - proud of each and every one of you. Meeting mental health issues openly and honestly is a hard thing - I admire you all.

Going to hospitals, psych wards and funerals is much more difficult, ya know?

[Lennys Tap]

Going to hospitals, psych wards and funerals is much more difficult, ya know?

Amen to that, Ziggy.

[GooooMarquette]

Bad_reporter,

Sorry to hear about your difficult news. As I offered to Coleman - if you want to talk to someone else who understands depression, anxiety, and the loss of control, send me a PM. My issues are very different from yours and Coleman’s, but they have taught me a lot about being humble and how to live with life’s curve balls. I have lots of work left to do, but hopefully still something to offer from one human being to another.

Best,

Goooo

[StillAWarrior]

Goooo

Gotta admit, when I see your full name, I read it with a long "O" sound as in "Go Marquette!"  When you include only the first part, I read it...well...differently.