How do you deal with the depression/anxiety that often accompanies PSA and other chronic diseases?

I find that keeping positive, active and trying to not focus on the future but rather living in the moment helps. It's like riding a roller coaster of emotions...good days and bad days. A lot of self, positive talk and daily practice of mindfulness to keep me grounded.... I have a great supportive family so that has been a huge help!! <3

I can't say the support from the medical field has been the greatest...that has been the frustrating issues that occasionally bring me down. We are working on goals for our future and not knowing what I can do has put a damper on our long term planning. I'm just sitting at home waiting to get better when I'm not sure there is a better (that's the negative me talking so I will shut it) ..so I push through and just do what I can persoanlly, enjoy life and make memories with the family...living in the moment :-)

I hear you TaraLynn. My story is very similar. I have also exploring new things I can do now that I have never done before; knitting, painting, photography. I have absolutely no talent and I buy my supplies at Christmas Tree Shop or Walmart but I am actually enjoying it. I also have been searching out and inventing recipes that only call for two or three ingredients. I use to love to cook but can not stand for long periods but it is amazing what you can make with chicken breasts and a bag of frozen vegetables! Or 7 layer bars instead of cookies. I also have discovered Kindle. What fun! And if the inflammation is bad in my eyes I can make the print larger!

I does help to stay in the moment doesn't it.

I love my Kindle... you can enlarge the print, it isn't too heavy to hold...and when you fall asleep, it opens back up at the page you last read (no more hunting back to try and remember where you were up to!!) Not to mention being able to upload trashy romances for free... There's nothing like an idiotic romance to cheer you up!

michael in vermont said:

I hear you TaraLynn. My story is very similar. I have also exploring new things I can do now that I have never done before; knitting, painting, photography. I have absolutely no talent and I buy my supplies at Christmas Tree Shop or Walmart but I am actually enjoying it. I also have been searching out and inventing recipes that only call for two or three ingredients. I use to love to cook but can not stand for long periods but it is amazing what you can make with chicken breasts and a bag of frozen vegetables! Or 7 layer bars instead of cookies. I also have discovered Kindle. What fun! And if the inflammation is bad in my eyes I can make the print larger!

I does help to stay in the moment doesn't it.

I was just looking at a kindle paper white yesterday! Thinking I may also purchase one and being able to enlarge the print is a plus! Then maybe I can ditch the cheaters ;-)

Nangogirl said:

I love my Kindle... you can enlarge the print, it isn't too heavy to hold...and when you fall asleep, it opens back up at the page you last read (no more hunting back to try and remember where you were up to!!) Not to mention being able to upload trashy romances for free... There's nothing like an idiotic romance to cheer you up!

michael in vermont said:

I hear you TaraLynn. My story is very similar. I have also exploring new things I can do now that I have never done before; knitting, painting, photography. I have absolutely no talent and I buy my supplies at Christmas Tree Shop or Walmart but I am actually enjoying it. I also have been searching out and inventing recipes that only call for two or three ingredients. I use to love to cook but can not stand for long periods but it is amazing what you can make with chicken breasts and a bag of frozen vegetables! Or 7 layer bars instead of cookies. I also have discovered Kindle. What fun! And if the inflammation is bad in my eyes I can make the print larger!

I does help to stay in the moment doesn't it.

I love my Kindle too. I enjoyed my old one, but then I decided to splurge on the paperwhite. It’s great! Easy on the hands (especially if you get a lightweightt cover: easier to hold or prop up. Page turns don’t require any dexterity. Sore eyes get a break if necessary, and you can read it in bed (which is bad for sleep problems, but sometimes a good book trumps sleep!). And reading distracting or uplifting things is always a good thing.

I'm thinking I might have to splurge on a Paperwhite... so much easier than hiding under the covers with a torch when you are reading late at night!! Also good for hospital stays, when they want to turn all the lights off at 8.30pm *frowny face*

Do you find that the paperwhite needs more frequent recharging?

Good battery life if you remember to turn wifi off when you are done with it.

No worries with that... my wifi turns itself off at regular intervals... the joys of country life, eh?

Cheers :>)

Think you nangogirl for the 6 tips. I particularly like # 1 and #6. At this point I feel like my depression and anxiety or more debilitating than my pain symptoms. A few months ago my pain was a six or seven every day but I could still power through and put on a brave face. Now it’s an average of four with some days that are all the way down to a two but I’m so exhausted and depressed that it’s hard to appreciate the good days. I worry about the future I worry about my life. I’m scared of what I’ve lost or will have to give up. I’m frustrated because after years of therapy and antidepressants I had finally gotten to a point where lifestyle could manage my anxiety symptoms. Then Bam down the black hole again. It’s not that I’m against getting help or taking medications it’s just that it had felt good to finally get to a point where I didn’t need them. Every day I think “I hate my life.” Then I get mad at myself because I think I should be grateful so many other people have it worse than I. Last night I had a panic attack because I left late from work to go home to let the dogs out only to return to work and I knew I was going to be late and I felt like I had too many things to do. I haven’t felt that out-of-control in years. I felt pathetic.

Well, I would like to say that I manage to cope with all the miseries life throws at me, but alas, I would be lying through my teeth!!! I too am going through a bad patch...my rheumy trialled me on Arava... which has led to me having blurred vision (thank goodness the Kindle fonts magnify!!) and having most of my hair fall out *sigh*...Now I am waiting to see if I qualify for Humira injections... I know just how you feel ... I feel pathetic for fretting over my hair... I just hate looking at myself and am maniacally purchasing hats and scarves..online, of course, . while hiding in my house and feeling like I just want the black hole to swallow me up! All you can do sometimes is keep telling yourself "This too, shall pass"...I hope!!

Sending you a big hug

Cheryl xox

As soon as I was disabled, I went into depression. I had to wait two years before I got Medicare. Luckily, my primary care doc started me on Cymbalta. Some of the nerve pain went away and my depression slowly went away. Meditation works very well for me! Try brain wave therapy. The Alfa beta and delta waves help the meditation process! Or listen to the song(Don’t worry be happy!)

Cymbalta helps. Prayer. It has started to get harder as no meds seem to work for me. I have a referral to nearby hospital pain clinic for cognitive behavioral therapy. Just want some new tools to help me cope. Anyone else get help from this?

I did a course of CBT and anxiety management specially designed for chronic pain sufferers, which DID really help me. I found that journalling and using reasoning strategies does help reduce my stress and anxiety, which in turn helps me cope with my symptoms. I also find that being able to message and read messages from this group reassuring. . None of us are suffering alone!!!!

My Rhuemy recommended that I try one of the "other" antidepressants on top of my Prozac. It was supposed to help with the pain too. Well, I took it for a month and the doc increased the dosage since I was tolerating it ok. Then I went to my primary care doc and found out that I had gained 10 pounds in one months time! Unbelievable, I don't think that has ever happened to me before. Plus I was walking the dog like crazy cuz the weather was finally better. So im not on that any more. I tried cymbalta, which doesn't cause weight gain, but my tongue swelled up on it. Bummer.