#mha louise

[mental-health-advice]

To the person starting Velafaxine, I've been on it for about 8 months now and the beginning was rough, I won't lie. It caused me to vomit, faint, nauseated, headaches, lack of sleep, the lot. But it does ease when your body gets used to it. :)

To the person starting Velafaxine.

Thanks so much for sending in your personal experiences with this medication, in can be really helpful to get more than one opinion!

Love Louise xox

[mental-health-advice]

(1\2) So I have been in a relationship with my bf for 8 months now I've know him fr 2 years. He knows about my extreme anxiety issues. I have terrible social anxiety yet he's always trying to "push" me to be more involved in his family. Tag rkm plz

(2\2) Then he gets upset BC I can’t. I try so hard but I can’t do it all and he makes me feel bad BC I want to be normal for him…. Ugh please tag this rkm.

Hey there, lovely.

I’m really sorry that you’re suffering with your anxiety and that your boyfriend doesn’t seem to understand. I know how hard anxiety can make things, but let me assure you, you are still normal. This doesn’t define you. You are so much more than this illness.

I find that a lot of the time, people who don’t suffer from mental health problems don’t realise just how hard they can make ‘every day’ situations. I think it isn’t because they don’t care, it is literally that they cannot fathom just how much mental illnesses can affect you. Another thing a lot of people don’t understand is that forcing anxious people into situations that make them anxious isn’t going to help cure their anxiety. That being said, I personally don’t think your boyfriend not understanding is an excuse for him to treat you this way. I understand that he’d like you to integrate with his family more, but I honestly think he should let you wait until you’re completely comfortable with the idea. You not deserve to be made to feel bad for something you can’t help, sweetie. That just isn’t fair on you.

I think it could be time for you to get some extra support with your anxiety, lovely. Is going to the doctors something that is an option for you? I really think you could benefit from some professional help; they would be able to work on a treatment plan for you as well as putting you in touch with other resources you may find useful. We have a page on getting help that you may find useful.

We also have a page on calming anxiety and panic that can help for relieving anxiety in the short term.

I hope this helped. <3

Love Louise xox

[mental-health-advice]

Just wondering if anyone has had any experiences with citalopram (celexa)? How long did it take for their anxiety to get under control? ~ bcharlie

Hey there, love! When I saw this come in I knew I had to answer it. This medication has been great for me! But it’s important to remember that everyone is different and the time it took for me may not be the same for you or anyone else, as none of us are the same! But I am more than happy to share my experience with you! Short answer: around 3 weeks. Long answer: I cannot praise this medication enough, when it comes to anxiety. I have tried a number of medications previous to citalopram but none were anywhere near as effective as this one when it came to my anxiety. I started on a lower dose, which didn’t help too much, but now the dose I’m on is absolutely great for me. However, I have to mention that for me, there was a rather large downside, at the beginning. For me the settling in period was not good. I went through it once on the lower dose and it happened again on the higher dose, and both times I really didn’t feel good both physically and mentally for around 2-3 weeks. Personally, I felt drained physically and was having some dark thoughts. That being said, I am really glad that I stuck it out. For me, I consider it to have been worth it. The benefits have outweighed the negatives completely :) I hope this helped! Stay safe, Love Louise xox

[mental-health-advice]

hey, so, uh, I hope I did the right thing tonight. I was/am talking to a friend about stuff and I was/am really concerned about them so I was talking to a crisis chat because I wasn't too sure what I should do. I gave them their number so they could call my friend. I hope my friend doesn't get mad at me for doing it. I'm only looking out for them. I deal with mental health crap and I have wanted to hurt myself so it felt like my only other option was to do that. #animalriot

Yep, I made the mistake by reaching out to a crisis line and talking to them about my friend who I was/am concerned about. great. #animalriot *feel free to add this to my last ask*

Hey there, lovely.

I’m sorry to hear that it doesn’t seem like it was the right thing to do to you. But I honestly think it was the best thing to do. You care about your friend and just want them to be safe, and to me, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Not at all.

To be honest I think it was a really sensible thing to seek advice from someone who is better equipped to deal with these things. It gives you some support to know what to say, as well as puts your friend in a better position for getting more informed advice. Furthermore, if you were genuinely concerned about their well-being and whether they were going to be ok, I think it is absolutely ok that you gave them their number. You acted on what you thought was best for your friend, and I do not think that is a bad thing, not at all.

It may be that your friend can’t see it right now, as they’re upset, but in the long run I think they will eventually come to see that you acted with their best interests in your heart. I really hope your friend see’s this soon.

Lastly, I hope you’re doing ok with yourself, love! We haven’t heard so much from you recently, and I really hope that’s cos you’re doing better! <3

All the best,

Love Louise xox

[mental-health-advice]

i have borderline personality disorder and there are a few people i've just fallen out of contact with, usually just going from everything is fine to not talking at all. i feel awful. i'd at least like to apologize (and maybe try to rekindle friendships) but i don't know how to without making up excuses. i don't know how to come from weeks or months of not talking to just being like "hey sorry". is this even i good idea? i don't know if i'm being rational with all of this, sorry. - Dyl

Hey there, Dyl.

Losing contact with friends absolutely sucks, and I’m sorry that’s happened to you. Unfortunately growing apart with people can happen often, but the good news is that it can normally be fixed, in my experience. Don’t worry, I don’t think you’re being irrational at all. I think it’s normal to be a little apprehensive about what to do, because you don’t want to lose friends by saying/doing something wrong.

I think the best thing to do is be completely open and honest with them. Because there is nothing worse than being lied to, and I don’t think that would be a great basis to start back on. You need a clean, fresh slate with them and you won’t be able to achieve that if you go in with a made up excuse, I think. So, if you’ve just had a lot going on with yourself lately, or if you’ve just had no free time, or whatever the reason is for not talking, I’d just apologise and let them know. I find people often are a lot more likely to forgive you if you just go in, be honest, admit your mistakes and don’t lie to them. If you aren’t comfortable doing this to their faces, it is totally ok to do it separately in messages or texts, if you’d prefer.

I hope this helped love,

I wish you all the best with this situation,

Love Louise xox

[mental-health-advice]

I did noz the other day 3 days in a row and now I feel like everything is a dream like I'm just floating through life and like I'm not even here and like everything is a dream I don't know what to do please help xx

Hey there, sweetie.

I know this was sent in a couple of days ago, so I aren’t sure if you’re still feeling like this. But if you are, I would strongly urge you to seek medical attention as soon as possible.

Generally, the effects of nitrous oxide should wear off pretty soon, so I don’t think it sounds too great that you’re still not feeling good. I’ve had a little search about, on top of what I already knew (I’m a qualified dental nurse and have worked with sedations where nitrous oxide was used) and it would seem that noz can have long term effects if you use it regularly, particularly if you’re within a risk category for having low vitamin b12: this would include people such as the elderly, vegetarians and vegans, people on certain diabetes medications and those with specific types of anaemia. However, I wouldn’t personally think that 3 times counts as long-term use, so this probably isn’t relevant to your case.

I really hope you’re feeling better now. Please remember love; that just because something is legal, doesn’t mean it’s always safe for human consumption when it’s unregulated. The website talk to frank has some easy to read info on noz. If you want to look at it, to make yourself more aware of the risks and such, I’ll link it here for you. :)

I wish you all the best and I really hope that you’re ok.

Stay safe,

Love Louise xox

[mental-health-advice]

Can someone come on live chat please I'm desperate

Hey there, lovely.

I have requested someone get on for you, so hopefully they will be able to real soon.

It may help to check out this page while you wait. If you're in any danger, please ring a helpline or the emergency services, dear. <3

I will update this post as soon as someone replies to me.

Love Louise xox

[mental-health-advice]

hey, i'm mat here, i sent a question more than 1 week ago and i really need an answer should i send it again?

Hey there, love!

Your question is super close to the bottom, so someone should get it soon!

Sorry for the wait. <3

Love Louise xox