Trying to stay Sane

[Anastasia]

Hi all,

I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd be here. In saying that I have had some interactions with some of you and you are all lovely, so thanks for saying hi and making me feel welcome! @Shaz51 @Determined @Maggie @Former-Member @Faith-and-hope @Smc @SoS . 

[Maggie]

@Anastasia  Oh gosh, you have so much on your plate. I really am sorry to hear about your son, and your father.

I can understand what a hell of a ride this is feeling like. I’m sorry, I really am.

I have DID, so might be able to help with something in that area.

Please feel free to talk to us, sometime a rave can do wonders. It doesn’t change the situation, but being heard , certainly does help.

Sending you some 💕💕💕💕

[Anastasia]

Thank you @Maggie , I really appreciate your heartfelt response 

[Maggie]

You are welcome @Anastasia  💕💕💕

[Former-Member]

Hi @Anastasia 

The best advice I can give to you is to

1) Learn about your son's conditions and available treatments.

2) Adopt a holistic approach, mental health treatment is more than just drugs (which are necessary and the side effects are 😵); nutrition, lifestyle and social factors are also important. Getting the balance between ensuring our loved ones know we are on their team and advocating for them whilst encouraging treatment compliance can be difficult. I found a "what can we do to best manage this" approach worked well. 

3) Ensuring that correct medical follow up takes place in relation to known side effects (most APs and mood stabilisers have a recommended screening schedule).

5) Taking care of ourselves is important before we get too burnt out. This may include some strict but fair boundaries that need to be put into place around finances and availability expectations.

[Anastasia]

Thank you @Former-Member . Good advice all round. I appreciate you taking the time to message me 😘

[Smc]

Hi @Anastasia.

You're well and truly welcome here. Our family's been on a maybe-similar wild ride with our Older Daughter. She was originally diagnosed with DID, but over time that diagnosis has been looking doubtful. She does definitely have dissociative symptoms, but it doesn't quite line up with DID criteria. There may be autism spectrum disorder in the mix too, but that's suspected, not diagnosed. And assorted other characteristiscs that are scattered all over the DSM.

And on top of that, I've got parents in aged care with their health slowly failing. (Mum had a cancer run in earliier this year, and thankfully it hasn't returned after surgery, because I don't think her body would cope with chemo.)

Often I end up wandering around the social threads. Sometimes we end up having to talk about MI diagnoses so much that we end up "talked out", and during those times, I'd rather just have a pleasant catch up with a bunch of people who know what's going on and really "get it" because they're in a similar position... Other times I really do need a bit of support when things are rough, and it really helps knowing there's others watching out for how I'm going. And that's reciprocal of course. 🙂

[Anastasia]

Hello @Smc ,

Thank you for your message. You too have a struggle on your hands and I appreciate that you took the time to reach out to me. Boy there's a lot of us!

It's good to hear your Mum is past the cancer scare, it's such a nasty disease ☹

I know what you mean about being talked out, it consumes me most of the time. 

Words escape me tonight but again thank you for your message ❤

[Eve7]

Hi @Anastasia I can relate to how you feel in some ways. I have actually lost the plot this year after being really well for the past 20 years. It’s my fault for not looking after myself.

Last Year my eldest son came home with a broken heart and 2 toddlers in tow. As any mother would I took them in, remodelled my home and continued to work full time. My boy doesn’t have mi but his brokenness took its toll on my fragile mental health.

I understand your concern for your boy but please look after yourself. I never thought I’d be like I am now but maybe if I’d taken more care...who knows.

I hope you can see a way to take care of yourself as well as your boy.

[Anastasia]

Thank you @Eve7 

You sound like a beautiful mother and did what most of us would do. We do tend to stop taking care of ourselves so easily. I have taken your advice on board. I hope you take some time to as well 🌷