Mental Health Bookclub discussion
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Introductions (optional!) :)
Hey there!My name is Alex. I've struggled with severe anxiety and depression for several years now. I'm still in recovery, but I'm doing much better. I enjoy reading, hence why I'm here! On top of reading, I like to journal, paint, and I enjoy the outdoors. I hope to be able to connect and maybe even befriend people in this group.
xo
- Alex
Alex it's very good to have you hear with us. Ironically I have the same diagnosis so I can definitely relate to what you're going through.
Welcome Keysha and Alex, it's great to have you with us!
Hi guys,I'm Chris. I had my first experience with depression when I was 20 years old.
My father was diagnosed with a brain tumor and died the December a year after the initial diagnosis.
In 2012 I slit both my wrists and spent some time in a psychiatric ward followed by two years of therapy.
Today I'm mostly okay, but November to February are very hard for me.
During these dark months my mood is very low and I often have the impulse to self-harm.
I'd be happy to talk to anyone about anything :)
Cheers,
Chris
Glad to have you here Christian and thank you for telling us a bit about yourself. Please do let Doreen or I know if you have any questions or ideas about what you'd like to see in the group, but otherwise, welcome! :)
Wow, swift reply :) I'll be sure to do that :)
Haha I happened to have my phone in my hand and got a notification!
Welcome, Christian. I'm very sorry for your loss. You were very brave to tell us about your story. (Though of course this is not to mean people who don't aren't brave - I haven't, for one. But I think we are all brave just to survive).
Thank you :) I don't usually tell people about this. Mostly because I think that people won't understand or think that I'm some weird psycho. Do any of you go to talking groups?
I can relate, Christian. I used to be open about my previous (wrong) diagnosis, and some people did think I was a psycho - which was good in a way, so I got rid of friends who were not friends at all. But this led me to be very careful with my new (right) diagnosis.I don't go to any talking groups, although my therapy should be both individual and group therapy - but unluckily the groups never happened. I used to be member of a Facebook group for people with my diagnosis, but it got to be very unhelpful in time, with people just complaining without trying anything to feel better...
Never been to a group either, but had a fair bit of individual therapy. Part of my anxiety disorder makes it quite hard for me to talk to new people in person, especially in group situations so even if it was a group full of equally anxious people I'd find a multitude of excuses to get out of it! :)
I'm not in therapy right now, but I would like to go to group meetings. Unfortunately there are none in my city that fit.When you google "suicide survivor groups" you get groups for people who have lost someone to suicide.
But there is no group for people who attempted suicide.
Wait, I'm so forgetful! I was in a group for some months, it was a therapy called MBCT (ever heard of it? it's actually quite good for anxiety - and they say also for depression, but it didn't work for me in that respect). It was a group therapy focused on panic attacks. It was a very small group, there were only 4 of us, but that made it very cosy and easy to talk to the others. I know that structure also had groups for other kinds of issues, like eating disorders for instance. But unfortunately I don't live there anymore :-(
That's too bad. I'll keep looking, but that's not a topic I'm comfortable to approach people with. I once asked at city hall and got a very disheartening answer.
Good night :)
Hi Everyone!Several years ago, I would have introduced myself by saying that I worked as a psychotherapist for half the week and a drummer for the other half. In December, I retired my license so now I'm just a drummer for a blues band and two kirtan bands.
For the last three years, I've been writing a psychotherapy memoir called "MiXED NUTS or What I've Learned Practicing Psychotherapy" which was just published last week. I suffered from major depression as a teen, so my perspective often differed from my colleagues.
This book was quite a challenge because I wanted to share experiences and insights, but in plain language and with the same humor I use in my sessions. Humor is harder to do in writing than in person. I didn't want it to be a boring textbook, but not a jokebook either. It took me two years to write the first 100 pages... and about a month to write the next 200! (followed by about seven months of editing.)
If anyone is interested, its web page is
http://synthrick.tripod.com/mixednuts/
I'm originally from New England. My wife and I discovered New Mexico on our 25th wedding anniversary in 2009. In 2013, we sold our home in Maine and bought a home in the suburbs of Santa Fe, NM. My little 'point & shoot' camera has never been happier!
Someone wrote a thread about the book, "The Time Traveler's Wife." That was my favorite book that year! I was disappointed with the ending, but I loved the book nonetheless.
Warmly,
Rick
Welcome Rick! Thanks for telling us about yourself and congratulations on completing your book! If you would like opinions, please start a discussion thread in Authors Corner and members can give you some feedback.I know what you mean about the Time Traveler's Wife (it was me that brought it up!), I could never decide if I liked the ending or not, but I'm not sure if it could end any other way. I read recently that Niffenegger is writing a sequel - really not sure how I feel about that!
Enjoy the group, give me a shout if you've got any questions or feedback
Martha
Hi Rick, welcome! Your book sounds very interesting, I'm checking out the link you mentioned right now.
Hi! My name is Becky, I'm 24, engaged, and despite what some might say is a very lucky life, I suffer with a plethora of mental health...hiccups. The guilt is of course immense, but I drown out the more negative thoughts and feelings mostly by reading. Escapism always has and always will be my greatest aid.
I'm hoping to try and combat some social anxieties by mixing here on GoodReads, and using GoodReads in general as a little project for myself to keep everything ticking over.
I look forward to meeting other members of the group! And not panicking about it <3
Hi Becky, welcome! I hope you'll be comfortable enough in our pretty little group :-)
Marina wrote: "Hi Becky, welcome! I hope you'll be comfortable enough in our pretty little group :-)"Thank you <3
Welcome Becky and congratulations on your engagement!Don't worry, I know some of those feelings very well - I often think about joining book clubs and other groups and worry myself into not going, every time.
I echo Marina, I hope you can feel comfortable here - there's no pressure or judgement, participate when you want to but don't worry if sometimes you just can't (even if you have no obvious reason why)
Give me a shout if you have any questions or things you'd like to see in the group, otherwise, enjoy!
Martha
Hi to all of you,I am Tjarde and have quite some issues to talk about my mental health problems, but I will give it a try^^. I struggle with an eating disorder, depression and social anxiety. I've tried a therapie once but couldn't connect to the therapist. Normally I manage my real life, but sometimes I have to shut myself away and get lost in reading (at best).
Hi Tjarde, welcome to the group. You don't have to talk about anything if you don't feel prepared to do so - and I'm sure Martha will agree on that one.
Marina wrote: "Hi Tjarde, welcome to the group. You don't have to talk about anything if you don't feel prepared to do so - and I'm sure Martha will agree on that one."Haha you know me so well Marina!
Welcome Tjarde, I do absolutely agree with Marina, there is no pressure for you to talk about your mental health issues here.
I don't know if you ever feel this, but sometimes I don't want to talk about what's going on in my head, but I want to be around people who just get it. They're the people who aren't going to make offensive jokes about "crazy people" or ask me questions about why I can't do XYZ. So even though I'm not talking about it, I can relax and just be. This is what I hope this group can be for all of us.
If you do decide you want to talk about things, of course you can do that too and you will hopefully find many people here who have an idea of how you're feeling and might be able to listen or share tips for how they manage their illnesses.
Otherwise we have plenty of other things to talk about! Please do vote on our Group Reads (the polls at the bottom of the home page) if you haven't already, and take a look at our reading challenge to get us all reading new things.
Most importantly, I hope you enjoy the group, have fun and feel that you can be yourself here.
Martha
Thank you so much for the warm welcome! I really appreciate your kindness and understanding. Oh, and I'm looking forward for the challenge and have already chosen the prompts :).
Hi, I'm Tabi, i'm really weird when you know me but i'm otherwise really quiet and shy
Hi Tabi, welcome! We're all weird in our own way :) enjoy the group! Martha
Welcome Tabi! I echo Martha, we're all weird in one way or another ;-)
My name is Micayla and i suffer from some major depression. I came here for some nice people and support.
Welcome Micayla, I hope you'll be able to find both here! :) Take a look at the Welcome thread to see some of the things we've got going on. Also there's the What's New thread for the latest information.
There is a Support folder if you're looking for support on something now, feel free to start a thread and I'm sure people will help if they can.
There's no pressure to do or talk about anything you don't want to, you can get involved with things as and when you feel comfortable.
Otherwise, welcome again and I hope you enjoy being part of this group.
Martha
Hi there, My name is Robyn, I am 28, I live in South Africa and am married with two kids. I was diagnosed with Bipolar II, chronic anxiety and PTSD last year June. It was the beginning of the end for me in many ways.
When I became a mother, I was consumed by ensuring I was the best mom I could be. Sadly this meant I lost myself in a whole new role. Our daughter was born in 2010, this also happens to be the last time I read a book cover to cover. I often feel I’ve ‘dumbed’ down quite a bit, not being able to spell or write as well as I once did. It scared me that I could no longer follow a books story, let alone finish it. I tried, but just never managed to get it right.
This year I made the promise to myself that I would turn back to my favourite hobby again, to allow myself the chance to ease back onto the horse so to speak. I never anticipated getting to the point where I had to change my initial reading challenge from 24 to 48 books for the year – I’ve already read 14 which is far beyond what I thought I was capable of doing.
Living with a mental illness is a daily challenge for me, I am surrounded by people who do not believe it to be an illness but rather a result of a bad mindset and attitude. I fall into deep bouts of depression over the smallest of things and have found sites such as this to really help me just switch off for a while.
I have no limits to the genres I enjoy, I find each can bring an equally important quality into my life, be it a chance to escape, learn, develop.
I look forward to getting to know others out there who share my passion for books, and for learning to live with a mental illness.
Love and light :)
Welcome to the group Robyn, it's a pleasure to have you here. Thank you for telling us a bit about yourself.I know what you mean about feeling like you've 'dumbed' down. I don't have children but anxiety has clouded my brain and my memory and capacity to retain information feels diminished. I'm delighted you've been able to rediscover reading, it's been a lifeline for me too.
I hope you'll enjoy being part of this group, give me a shout if you have any questions or ideas
Martha
Hi Robyn, welcome.I can understand what you say about not being able to read a book cover to cover - this is not the case right now, but I too had problems concentrating in certain periods of my life, especially when I was clinically depressed. I tried solving this problem reading very light books, such as the Harry Potter series for example.
I think it's a very good achievement for you to read 14 books so far, what with the little concentration and two kids on top of that. That's great of you, so don't feel you have to achieve a goal, just think about how great it is that you have come so far.
Marina wrote: "Thanks :-)"HI Robyn. I suffered an episode of Major Depressive Disorder in my mid twenties. It was hard enough looking after me with such severe symptoms, let alone caring for children. You are doing a great job just getting through each day. I'm glad you have books to escape into. When I feel overwhelmed by my life (I have a chronic physical illness that causes all kinds of stresses) I love being able to forget all the issues by diving into a fantasy world.
Cheers
Kaye
Good evening/morning all,My name is Ciara (sea-air-ah), I am 22 years old, I will be 23 in July. I have just started getting back to reading, after only reading in school assignments. I feel this has been a great new venture in my life and has given me something more to focus on than just working and going to school full-time.
I was diagnosed with a few different things when I was 13. These ranged from BPD, Manic Depressive, Anxiety, and I was a self-harmer (4 years in recovery). I had been on medication, but felt it had taken away everything that was "me". I didn't enjoy reading or writing anymore and when I turned 18 I stopped the medication. I have since been to therapy and I guess I'm currently diagnosed with depression and some PTSD.
I don't let these define me anymore, because for a long time I did. I find comfort in groups like these. I feel this is going to help me keep with the reading I want to achieve and be with a community that I can speak with.
--Ciara
Hi Ciara!Well done on not allowing the illness to define you - I think it's something that everyone who had been diagnosed with a mental illness will battle with at some point, in fact there are some days I still battle but it's all part of learning and growing.
It definitely helps knowing there are others out there in the same position as us that we can turn to :)
Hey all! My name is Michael. New too Goodreads here. So glad a group like this exists. I'm a survivor of abuse and have lived with dissociative issues, depression, and social anxiety disorder for many years. I've gotten better, thanks for a few years of therapy and through music, video games, and books. In fact, writing my novel has been the best therapy yet.
My debut fantasy novel isn't published yet (still working on it), but it was inspired by my own story. The character suffers a traumatic event as a child, dissociates (ie: is whisked away to a new wondrous world), and eventually grows up through his teenage years abusing drugs. He even meets his evil doppelganger (which may or may not actually be a split-personality). There's even an evil Mountain in my book, which is symbolic for depression.
I was really hoping to be part of the group and reach out when I'm ready to get published. If you want to learn more about me or my novel here a few links. Thanks a lot.
My Wordpress Blog
My Novel's Facebook Page
Hi Michael, welcome to the group!Your novel seems really interesting - usually people write memoirs about their experience, I had never heard of a fantasy novel based on someone's experience. Please let us know when the book gets published :-)
Hi everyone! thanks for welcoming me here!It is a nice opportunity to join my need to get better with my desire to read.
As you can see my name is Amy, and I am a single mom to three teenagers.
When I was around 5 or 6 my brother molested me, when I was eight my maternal grandmother committed suicide, and my mom found her. I helped take over the house while my mom recovered, yet she may not have ever recovered.
I had depression as a teen but didn't realize it.
in 1997 when I was 23 my brother committed suicide. Two weeks later I met my now ex husband. We had three wonderful children, all with anxiety (depression) issues. In 2009 my ex was sentenced to 0-5 years for molesting the neighbor girls, and I divorced him 5 months later.
I have been a single mom since then, and he is now out of prison, but on the offender list.
On February 28th I was date raped, and offender was not charged.
I am now dealing with moving because I couldn't make rent due to PTSD, but have found a couple who are working with me and letting my family move into one of their homes' top floor in a couple of months. For the first time in a long time I have hope for the future. I see a future and being able to settle down and go own with life.
It is a wonderful feeling.
I try to read some books on PTSD, depression and anxiety because I have always been interested in the behavioral sciences.
Thanks again, and I hope you enjoy your weekend!
Hi Amy, welcome to the group! Thanks for sharing your story.
Thanks Marina,I'll be sure let everyone know when it's ready to preorder. Could definitely use the support. Thanks!
Welcome Michael and Amy, delighted to have you here and thank you for sharing your stories with the group.Give me a shout if you have any questions or suggestions for things you'd like to see in the group.
Enjoy!
Mental Health Bookclub
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Purchase my book over at Intoxicated Stained Tears