There is a season for everything - a time to weep

I think PTSD is more common than people think. I believe I've got this condition. Some GPs don't believe it exists.

grannyactivist paddyann no answers but one day at a time.

I think the last 2 years have been hard to live through, constantly worried, together with other problems for both of you which have compounded everything. Very badly put but much sympathy and best wishes for you.

Best wishes

We are all human, you need to be kind to yourself, let others be supportive to you, as you've been over time.
The way the world is at the moment has made many of us think and feel very upset and uneasy, wondering what it's all about.
Take care, you aren't alone in feeling this way.

I feel for you grannyactivist, I have been in a very difficult place for the last year.
I didn't realise how much it had affected me until I was given a questionnaire to fill in at the vaccinaction clinic on Saturday.
They were asking if I ever felt down or lonely and had I lost a lot of weight, yes to all the questions. I shall be interested to see whether there is an outcome from the questionnaire.
I hope that you feel better soon, you are so caring and kind.

ga You have helped so many people and as you say, you have seen and heard so much. I honestly feel that when awful things are happening, we battle through and feel OK. It's only when it's over or we step away that it can overwhelm us. I do believe it's a form of PTSD.
It happened to me. I have been through a lot of trauma, got through it somehow. Two years go I was at the docs shaking and sobbing. Everything that had happened kept coming back, totally overwhelming me. I told the GP I was frightened. She didn't understand (why would she?). I can't say I've been the same since but plod on. I agree with what others have said. Be as kind to yourself as you have been to others

Grannyactavist - Thank you for the passage. I find getting outside and walking a lot has helped me lately.

I am sure I have PTSD. I was married to a wife beater for a long time and now I relive events when I should be sleeping on a night. My sleep is terrible and medication just makes me more weepy. Two lots of counsellors later and I find that I am left to help myself.

I know how you feel. Sending you love and hugs.

So sorry to read that you too Paddyanne, are having an emotionally difficult time. I agree with what Nanee49 posted and add my wishes that you will find the strength to get through this dreadful time.

paddyann thank you for sharing. Although sad for you I find it reassuring to be reminded that others also have their ‘season’ to weep, and I agree about grief needing time.

If you were able to allow yourself to cry in front of your family and/or friends would you receive support and understanding? I have found it best just to let the tears flow and acknowledge openly that I’m very weepy at the moment. The response is invariably a positive one and my family have become very protective of me at this time. Actually, it’s not so much protective of me as nurturing, which has traditionally been my own role in the family.

So sorry to hear you're struggling too paddyann

It's so hard to cope with when you, like GA, have always been the strong one...the go-to as you put it...and then, suddenly, overwhelm happens, the strength you've always relied on and been so glad to share, isn't there any more.

Our love for and, the need to protect, the important people in our lives can sometimes be the undoing of us but we can't help it. We give our all until there's nothing less for us.

I think it's a sort of bereavement too for the vigorous, coping person you once were and maybe a bit for our youth when everything was so much easier and we were strong

I echo your wish of peace of mind and contentment for all suffering with a too heavy load.

Strength will return but maybe in a different way than we're used to and, perhaps, that's what we should take from the Easter message. I'm a cynical lapsed Catholic with an anger at organised religions but the promise of new life seems very comforting when in despair.

Back to the beginning of this thread - there is a season...

I'm having a "time to weep" its been a horrrible time here multiple deaths ,family issues health problems and all compounded by the pandemic .That meant we couldn't see loved ones in hospital or it was 1 visitor at a time so we couldn't support each other during the visits particularly with my MIL who had a massive stroke but clung on for weeks .
I'm usually the go to person when anyone else has troubles andI have done my very best to stay strong for everyone .
Sadly I'm struggling ,still holding it together when the family need me but crying copious tears when I'm on my own.My GP offered medication but I dont think grief needs meds just time .
Maybe when I get my health problem sorted I'll cope better with everything else ,but it feels like I've got more than my own share at the moment .
I wont say to you things will get better you know that ,its just a matter of time and resetting your mind and emotions.".JUST" I say as if its easy ,Take care of yourself and let others take on the tasks that have caused you to get into this state .Take it one day at a time and if thats too much then hour by hour .I wish you peace of mind and contentment .

Oh grannyactivist thank you so much for sharing with us. I don’t need to tell you that God is always with you and He is with you now. Sometimes these difficult things in life deepen our faith and give us fresh insight, as I know you know.

V3ra - I have occasionally given the Lent talks at various churches in the town, so it’s very much on my calendar, but until your comment I had not thought of there being a connection. My retirement was wholly due to my current state of health of course.

Tomorrow I’m off to Spring Harvest (5 day Christian Celebration) with my husband and two of our grandchildren. I shall have time to pray and ponder.

grannyactivist

Just wondering if it is significant that this six week period of adjustment in your life coincides with your retirement, Lent and Easter?

Wishing you well xx

Hello grannysctivist, I love the words from Ecclesiastes .

It does sound as though you’re experiencing post trauma. I’m aware of research into ptsd in police and firefighters for example but not into social workers. You’ve spent so many years working with the sadness, the desperation, the pain and loss those you sought to support. It sounds as though the ‘episode’ has taken the lid off the box in which you were managing your feelings.
I’m with you on walking but as others have said, don’t deny yourself medication, it can help. I’ve a friend who specialises in EMDr with people living with ptsd. She says it helps

Sometimes everything is wrong and life feels like an uphill struggle grannyactivist. Somehow you will find an inner strength from somewhere, because that's the sort of person you are.
It reminds me of that song:
Don't let yourself go
Cause everybody cries
Everybody hurts sometimes.

Grannyactivist, I remember your previous post about the amnesia.
I'm not a doctor, but I do believe that stress can result in physical symptoms, and you have been through a lot of stress in your life.
I also read this about tears.
www.webmd.com/balance/features/is-crying-good-for-you#:~:text=Studies%20of%20the%20various%20kinds,manganese%20than%20the%20other%20types.

So maybe crying is a mechanism for your body to heal itself.

I'm glad that you have real life friends to comfort you.

Thinking of you and sending love.

It's helped me and is so simple to do just sitting on a chair it might add an extra dimension to your own breathing exercises...good luck if you decide to give it a try.

You’re all so kind with your wonderful suggestions and encouraging comments - I do appreciate the thoughtfulness.

Nannee49 I’m not familiar with soft belly breathing (sounds intriguing), but I am doing regular breathing exercises that are very helpful and keep the dreaded panic at bay.

X posts re. your therapy of choice sorry

Beautiful words to help you through a tough time GAI've always loved the sung version by the Byrds too.

Following on from MissAdventure's suggestion, there is this therapy called soft belly breathing. It was developed by an American psychiatrist who's done extensive work with Veterans suffering ptsd. It's a very simple breathing exercise, just about 5 mins long and may be worth a try for you.

I'm sorry I can't post a link but if you Google "soft belly breathing Dr. James Gordon" there's a youtube clip which talks you through it. Hope it's of some use.

Ah, yes, I forgot you have experience of being a counsellor.

I hope your walks do the trick, I'm sure they'll help in all sorts of ways.

MissA about a million years ago I trained as a counsellor, before it even became a ‘thing’, so now and again I ask myself what I would tell me if I was my client. In this instance I’ve told myself to ‘go with the flow’ and accept my current state as something that is cathartic and needs to be got through in order for healing to take place. Hence, going for a daily walk is my treatment of choice.

I do know of successes with EMDR Therapy though.

Have you thought of emdr therapy, GA?
Very strange; lots of tapping and so on...

GSM Believe me, I’m not slow to accept medication, I take tons of the stuff and am very glad of it! ? In this instance, because I accept that my condition has been caused by overwork and stress, I took a rain check and told my GP that I would try Mother Nature's remedy first. I think my weepy state is a case of ‘better out than in’, exactly as Jaxjacky suggests.

Coastpath (I do like your name) I’m pleased that your current ‘season’ is one of rest and peace.

I would also just like to point out that this thread is an example of the tremendously supportive community GN can be - and one of the reasons why I appreciate it so much.