If you have the funds, find a counsellor from the BACP website. A couple of sessions may help you identify something that you can work on, or point to needing to see that GP.
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and it might. Most (primary) mental health services are self-referral and whilst resources are stretched and you may have to wait a bit, you may also get some support and info quite quickly, and specialist help not too long after that. Depends on need, resources in local area etc etc. Certainly the services are not funded as we might like, but you might be surprised. A decent GP will treat such a request with the seriousness it deserves. But as I noted before, you can self-refer without going through the GP anyway. And if you have funds you can access more specialist help faster, too.
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Alcohol perhaps? Many of us probably imbibe more than we ought to for one reason or another, I regularly do, and I certainly ramp it up when my back/hip plays up or I need to āde-stressā - itās effective and for the most part enjoyable but not necessarily what Iād prefer to do, and alcohol can certainly worsen anxiety.
You may be talking about something else entirely, really none of my business, but equally if this is what you are alluding to it may be something you have concerns about and would want to discuss.
I sense you have legitimate concerns about your health, and mental health is as important as any other facet of wellbeing. Unfortunately far too many of us will have grown up with a āstiff upper lipā attitude and when life throws a heap of crap at you relentlessly, you may know things arenāt right but pride or concern that others might see admitting to things as āweaknessā can stop us getting the help we need and deserve.
Your GP ought to be as sympathetic to your mental wellbeing as to any physical ailments, but as others have suggested there are other avenues you might want to pursue if youād rather not go through your GP.
I was actually referring to controlled pain killers which are still prescribed freely in spite of concern about them. However I donāt want this thread to be about me,me,me. I would much prefer it to be an opportunity for others with similar anxieties to use it .
I hope you werenāt offended, but I suspect any form of āmedicinalā pain relief ranging from legal/illegal drugs including alcohol are not without their problems.
I assume you mean controlled opioid type drugs. If so, and you have not done so, do discuss such concerns with your GP. There may be alternative options or routes of administration.
Prescribed drugs all have their pros and cons - sometimes the short term cons can outweigh long term āon paperā benefits.
You were brave to post about it initially, but I think you will have seen many people responding will either have had personal experience or seen loved ones being affected by depression/anxiety.
I trust my comments do not sound patronising, I am genuinely concerned that you think your GP may have more important things to consider.
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This is a really good point. Iāve actually had headaches since about the age of three (56 now), usually low grade daily ones but every few weeks a ballistic one that would probably send some to the ER, though Iāve never been as I know their course. Itās only recently that I realized even taking something like ibuprofen for them might alleviate some pain in the moment but is not preventing them for the future. Only diet and lifestyle has truly helped, and thousand of dollars worth of very painful massage.
The unfortunate thing is sometimes one has to get worse before one gets better as the body changes or detoxes (Herxheimerās effect). I feel stronger and better than I ever have in my life, but if I slip then I have to go though it all again. And itās been easy to slip and stress eat junk during this time. Havenāt had a drink in over three years (mostly due to the terrible hangovers I would get) but do have an issue with (legal I should add) cannabis as it can alleviate pain, but my tolerance goes through the roof and then it can flip flop on me making things worse than better, and really just becomes a habit more than anything else, draining the pocketbook and time. Sticking to topicals from this point on, which really do work. Never liked opioids (except after serious surgery) and so glad I donāt. Oh, and I really have to be gluten free and sugar free due to serious candida issues (which is a major cause of the headaches). Iām no fun!
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Talking about lifeās crap I think Iām about to find out tomorrow that the crematorium or funeral director have lost my recently cremated motherās ashes. I hope Iām wrong but certain things in life are sometimes surreal.
I wonāt go into it, but I can fully appreciate the stresses you have been under.
Bowel disease is horrific and un-dignifying . In 2000 I was running half marathons by 2004 following surgery I could not lift a IBM Thinkpad . Music helped me so much, especially Radio 3 when getting out of a chair was a very bad experience . If they had not operated on the Monday night, they would have done the autopsy on the Tuesday afternoon.
Yesterday at 64 I swam a kilometre without stopping, it will get better.
Guaranteed
My very best wishes
Ian
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Hope it works out ok
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Thanks.
Edit - yes turned out ok, some confusion over their location not helped by a computer record being incorrect.
thanks Ian
To the OP itās only the bloody stereo, if you donāt feel good about streaming then wait a while. One certainty theyāll be better hardware and services in the future.
I lost my wife after 35 great years 2 years back and of course Iād be trying to kid myself if I said Iām anywhere near recovered from it. Iām also facing some pretty intrusive surgery on my spine but with the support of 2 fantastic daughters and wider family friends Iām determined to come through it.
In the meantime my CDP stays!
Regards,
Lindsay
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Unless you have no interest to expand your music repertoire, I suggest take the plunge and explore and perhaps supplement your vinyl / cd / roon / lossless cd rips. There is always free spotify to start with and then spotify premium, tidal hifi, etc at cost if you like it. I still miss listening to my hyperion and reference recordings collection. But on the plus side, and it is a large but for me, I have found so much more materials to listen to and no risk of regrets like I had before after some cd purchases.
Wow, Lindsay, I didnāt realise. I am so sorry to hear this.
Thank goodness you have your daughters to lean on.
I wish you all the very best for the future.
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I had stumbled across that you had lost your wife, but wondered if it should be kept private Lindsay. I can quite understand you not being over her loss, not sure i could cope without mine. I only met your lovely wife the once when you were sitting having a chat at Audio show east in happier times. Take care
Gary
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So sorry to hear of the trauma you are going through and have been through.
In the space of two years I lost a very close family member and had major surgery , as I was recovering from the surgery - music and especially music where I did not have to get out of a chair meant a lot.
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Thanks guys. Of course what with Covid and everything virtual communities like this help a lot.
Regards,
Lindsay
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Earlier in the year I suddenly lost the hearing in my left ear. I kept hoping it would remedy itself and initially thought it was a sinus issue, then maybe an ear infection. A month ago I was told by a consultant that it was an irreversible sensoneural issue and that it was hearing aids for me. My left ear was actually the good one - my right having never been the same since my accident four years ago.
Listening to music has always been a huge part of my life. I still enjoy it but itās not quite the same with one functioning ear. Iām really trying to put aside any feelings of negativity on this but at times itās hard. Really hard. At least my accident had a good side in that I was retired on grounds of permanent ill health, which gave me a lot more time to enjoy music. I used some of the compensation to improve the system to the level it is now, and which Iāve been totally happy with, and itās given me countless hours of enjoyment. I wonder now if it will ever be the same. I imagine that once I have the aids it will simply become the new normal. I have no choice really but to suck it up and get on with it.
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Hoping the hearing aid returns your hearing to an acceptable level.
I was down to 30% of my hearing earlier in the year and thoroughly miserable as a result.