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What Am I Missing, Between My Depression And Suicide Bouts?

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therisa

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During two of my past three medical appointments, in the past 4 weeks, I have been asked, how am I feeling, regarding my suicidal ideation levels. I know, they are doing their jobs, in trying to gage me, but honestly, I am nowhere near being suicidal. Yes, I am having passive thoughts, about suicide, which I can control without any extraordinary effort, on my part. Like the white noise, you hear on an old transistor radio, which your parents own, in the 1960s or 1970s.

You would think, after more than 30 years of dealing with suicidal thoughts and attempts, I would know, how my body operates, in this matter. True, I am experiencing elevated levels of anxiety, which I have sought out help, by asking for pharmacological assistant, when they know, I hate taking any type of pills, which is a huge step, for me, to admit to.

On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 means, an actual suicide attempt, and 1 means, no suicidal ideation, I would rate myself, as 2. My last major suicide event happened, over the holiday seasons of 2010-2011. Almost three years ago, when I had peaked at 9.5, as I was, just one moment away, from an OD, in my apartment. Sadly, I kept this quiet from my doctor, until weeks after the fact, as he read the riot act to me, for the second time, since I started seeing him, in early 2007. Not sure, why I did this, but I did.

Beyond my increased levels of sleeping, I haven’t seen any other signs of depression, which I normally have, with the onset of a depressive episode, for me. No profound outburst of writing, which normally heralds my approaching depression, spontaneous outburst of tears, at the drop of a hat, or the general feeling sad. Yes, I know, the next four months are, a critical period, for me, as my darkest time of the year, next to Canada Day (July 1st), in experiencing depressive events, in my life.

So, how is my recent bout of extreme anxiety, related to depression? I know that both are mood disorders, which my body seems to go off the deep end and isolate myself, when experiencing them. Beyond that, I don’t see the link, between the two of them. What am I missing, here? Could someone clue me, in?
 
So, how is my recent bout of extreme anxiety, related to depression?
I'm a little brain dead at the moment, so this is the one thing that really stands out for me. I cannot, and will not give you a 'final' answer, because the only conclusions you can come to, are your own realizations based on the experiences of yourself and others.

That's why being on here is so fabulous for me, yourself and others.

Now then.....I have found that for myself, anxiety is a precursor to depressive and suicidal trending thoughts, more so than usual. It comes when my anxiety overwhelms me, I am unable to control it, and as a result, I am unable to cope.

When I am unable to cope, that is when the suicidal trending thoughts come. So for me, anxiety is part of daily life, but when it gets really bad, then severe anxiety --> inability to function --> inability to cope --> feel worthless --> suicidal trending thoughts -->anxiety about how I'm feeling --> severe anxiety-->...........and so the cycle continues.

So for me, I must keep my anxiety, stress, triggers and bad things down to the lowest level, otherwise I cannot function as a human and I know that it will affect my long term recovery as well as my relationship and my baby.

I hope this helps somewhat.
 
Interesting, TheBubzilla. During my bouts of suicidal depression, I don't remember being anxious, at any time, during these periods. Something, I need to explore further, before I can give you, my final answer.
 
How are you feeling in your body itself? Sometimes that can clue me in to what's going on.

And, even though you said writing is something you do when depression comes on, what about doing Morning Pages? (I do them, if you Google Morning Pages and Julia Cameron, it will pop up and explain). I find that they tell me what I need to know about myself and are quite helpful.
 
Well, the first question would be what stresses or triggers might be going on in your life right now? I'm dealing with heightened levels of anxiety, not because I feel threatened or overwhelmed, but because I feel intensely bored. I'm doing pretty much nothing with my life at the moment while I wait for my work visa to be processed. And idleness is not good for my emotional state at all. I would say examine what's going on in your life right now a little more closely and see if, like me, there's something causing you anxiety that you wouldn't necessarily have expected to do so. Just a thought ;)
 
I would ask whoever it is that is asking the question. There is a world full of possible reasons and the person asking is the one most likely to know in your particular case. I have attended workshops where the facilitator is required to ask by someone in their chain of command. I had another therapist who didn't quite believe my bravado and was worried I would go off with stunning efficiency and without warning. She was right.

It is a fair question to answer with a question.
 
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