Does anyone have mental health problems?

[StillHateBellotti]

Unfortunately for me after about 6-7 months of being pretty happy last year, my mental health problems started to come back in with a vengeance.
Coinciding with me going back to university, I started off okay getting 2:1s and the odd first in assessments but this all went downhill pretty quick, I also got into to an on and off up and down relationship which sometimes helped and sometimes made me feel much worse, also falling out with the people I lived with didn't help. Also other things going on with my family were in the background.
I spent most of the second half of the year sitting in my room not doing a lot, made acquaintances but not a lot of friends, however poor money management when I started uni and buying stupid sh*t I didn't need has landed me in credit card debt which makes me feel even worse. I have now got to retake half my year, albeit under the unis "exceptional circumstances" as I did sh*t in my summer exams and coursework from mid-March onwards.
I really thought seriously and still am about dropping out again, but I can't bring myself to do it since I have already done it before, how many chances am I going to get?

I tried changing medications from sertraline which used to work a treat to another which helped at first but made things worse if anything, to one that made me so drowsy I couldn't study.
I am sick and tired of my mind being my worst enemy and really thought I was okay but unfortunately sometimes this happens.

After being on no medication for a couple of weeks I am now back on a low dosage of sertraline which was the first medication I took that actually worked. I'm feeling ok most of the time now and I'm trying to fix my life up bit since it unraveled spectacularly in the last 3 months.

The only thing I can take away from this is that this breakdown was not as severe as the last one, but seems to have ****ed up things even more.

Don't panic, I use Mirtazapine which also act as a sedative at night, sleep like a baby now and have settled out. If it comes to it, take the debt up to 18 k and do a Debt relief order.....You would not be the first.

 

[Megazone]

Has anyone here suffered mental damage from Narcissistic abuse in a family dynamic?

It's not easy to talk about (partly because no one will believe you) but I'm hoping to start a support group for this sort of emotional and psychological damage

 

[SollysLeftFoot]

I know someone who suffers from OCD. Can be quite a horrible illness. The type and severity of symptoms can vary tremendously between sufferers. All I would say is try to watch out for new obsessions and compulsions sneaking up on you, as it’s normally easier to tackle them before they get established in the long term.

Yup, mine is very much related to my anxiety. I go over things multiple times, consider different scenarios or actions. The problem is, it’s always retrospective, so alas cannot do anything about the outcome as it already happened. This then taps into the anxiety because you then doubt what has happened etc.

I’ve managed for a few years pretty well and I’m some sense it has helped but other times its a hinderance. I know for a fact what I have is way down in the severity scale

 

[Weststander]

Has anyone here suffered mental damage from Narcissistic abuse in a family dynamic?

It's not easy to talk about (partly because no one will believe you) but I'm hoping to start a support group for this sort of emotional and psychological damage

Someone in my family is doing that damage right now. They grew up with a parent doing that to them, the cycle not yet broken.

 

[Megazone]

Someone in my family is doing that damage right now. They grew up with a parent doing that to them, the cycle not yet broken.

This is a harsh reality but the cycle won't be broken. The only way to stop it is to go no contact with the narcissist/ narcissistic family. NPD is completely ego driven. They have no sense of empathy or self awareness so it's a condition psychologist deem one of the hardest to treat as they'll be in full denial there's anything wrong with them so will just continue to use their groomed scapegoat as the source of all that is wrong about them.

NPD is one of 3 personality disorders put onto the dark triad which shows how serious the condition is and how damaging the covert abuse can be. Anyone going through this please speak up. You're not alone

 

[Durlston]

I've come through a huge trauma that's maybe the worst thing possible to ever happen and it'll take me a few weeks, maybe months but I'll get there.

If my posts seem bizarre you'll know why.

 

[Weststander]

This is a harsh reality but the cycle won't be broken. The only way to stop it is to go no contact with the narcissist/ narcissistic family. NPD is completely ego driven. They have no sense of empathy or self awareness so it's a condition psychologist deem one of the hardest to treat as they'll be in full denial there's anything wrong with them so will just continue to use their groomed scapegoat as the source of all that is wrong about them.

NPD is one of 3 personality disorders put onto the dark triad which shows how serious the condition is and how damaging the covert abuse can be. Anyone going through this please speak up. You're not alone

Everything you say is so true.

The breaking the cycle I was referring to, is that god forbid it’s learnt/inherited by the innocent kids in the family.

 

[pearl]

This is a harsh reality but the cycle won't be broken. The only way to stop it is to go no contact with the narcissist/ narcissistic family. NPD is completely ego driven. They have no sense of empathy or self awareness so it's a condition psychologist deem one of the hardest to treat as they'll be in full denial there's anything wrong with them so will just continue to use their groomed scapegoat as the source of all that is wrong about them.

NPD is one of 3 personality disorders put onto the dark triad which shows how serious the condition is and how damaging the covert abuse can be. Anyone going through this please speak up. You're not alone

I think you have alerted me to what is wrong with an ex-friend (just googled and read about this abuse). I had to end the friendship because their behavior was making me feel shit and sadly I (and others) are not able to help them.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

I've come through a huge trauma that's maybe the worst thing possible to ever happen and it'll take me a few weeks, maybe months but I'll get there.

If my posts seem bizarre you'll know why.

Come through sounds good, but I hope you're ok within yourself, fella.

 

[marlowe]

Has anyone here suffered mental damage from Narcissistic abuse in a family dynamic?

It's not easy to talk about (partly because no one will believe you) but I'm hoping to start a support group for this sort of emotional and psychological damage

Not narcissist abuse from a parent but I believe the behaviour of my older (by one year) sister towards me could fall within that category not only while we were growing up but even into adulthood.

Her subsequent behaviour towards her own daughter would certainly fall into that category.
Her priorities and attentions were always focused on any new man that came into her life at the expense of her daughter's needs. I remember one occasion when my neice had forgotten to collect an item of makeup on behalf of her mother from my house where she had left it just prior to my sister going out on a date with her latest new man I witnessed my sister scream at her that she'd ruined her life and she wished she'd never been born. I even had to step between them because my sister was so enraged it looked like she was on the verge of attacking her daughter. Her daughter was only about 10 at the time.

What struck me and what I believed was significant was how my neice didn't seem at all upset by what her mother was saying to her, which suggested to me that she had become desensitized to it as it was my sister's normal behaviour.

The other really concerning thing is that my sister is a qualified child therapist who has actually worked with vulnerable children who have suffered emotional abuse by their own parents. My sister is extremely attuned to the mistreatment of other adults towards children but is totally oblivious to her own. She would constantly pontificate about the failings of adults and society towards children. What she said usually made total sense and I totally agreed with her views and sentiments but it was just so unbelievably hypocritical.

She used all her knowledge and training of the psychological dynamic between parents and children and exploited it to totally psychologically manipulate her own daughter. Her daughter seemed oblivious to the fact she was being abused and remained intensely loyal to her mother probably as a way of gaining favour. Her daughter is now a young adult. I haven't seen either of them for about six years and neither do I want to. Despite everything I did to try and help my neice and despite the psychological abuse inflicted on her by her mother she would always take her mother's side over me so when I fell out with my sister I also ceased any communication with my neice. She also was very manipulative but I suppose she learned that pattern of behaviour from her mother not only as a means of protecting herself but as a way of getting what she wanted from people.
The levels of manipulation from both of them was unbelievable and my life is better without them in it.
As [MENTION=30847]Megazone[/MENTION] says it is unbelievable. If I told you everything about their behaviours it would take too long and also be hard to believe.

 

[Durlston]

Come through sounds good, but I hope you're ok within yourself, fella.

It will take time. Thanks for your kind words mate. You're one of the nicest and polite posters on here.

 

[timbha]

64 pages of mutual support and problem solving. Good luck to all those posters who have been through or are going through a difficult time. You are the ones who can provide the best help.

NSC (and football fans) at its best.

 

[Durlston]

Sorry to bounce this thread but I just wanted to apologise to anyone I've been rude to or deliberately tried to upset in the last few weeks.

I felt so bad, almost suicidal, when I broke up with my partner. I ended the relationship and was so heartbroken for her. She'd done nothing wrong. Only the cruelty of life's circumstances. She tried everything to get back but we couldn't go on.

From now, it'll always be the polite Durlston on here.

 

[timbha]

You’ve just given me a thumbs up so that’s a good start

Let’s hope the Albion cheer us up tomorrow

 

[sydney]

Sorry to bounce this thread but I just wanted to apologise to anyone I've been rude to or deliberately tried to upset in the last few weeks.

I felt so bad, almost suicidal, when I broke up with my partner. I ended the relationship and was so heartbroken for her. She'd done nothing wrong. Only the cruelty of life's circumstances. She tried everything to get back but we couldn't go on.

From now, it'll always be the polite Durlston on here.

wind yer neck in [MENTION=14168]Durlston[/MENTION].....leave the abuse to the regulars....

 

[Palacefinder General]

Gianluigi Buffon. Well worth 10 minutes of your time.

 

[Washie]

With all that's going on with Ms Flack, i thought maybe giving this a bounce might help.

 

[pearl]

Be kind and make time for people, it's a mad world out there

 

[The Clamp]

Spent the night minding a young lady who is withdrawing from heroin, suffering from mental health issues and having just been beaten up by her boyfriend. It’s part of my work that often leaves me mentally drained and in need of a good gym session or a chat with friends (that more often than not are working their day jobs when I finish my night shift) but then I think of what that poor woman is suffering. My exhaustion or the things it leaves me thinking about can be solved with a good sleep, a gym session or a night with mates. She’s got a long road ahead of her and even then, no guarantee she’ll make it.

 

[Ninja Elephant]

Spent the night minding a young lady who is withdrawing from heroin, suffering from mental health issues and having just been beaten up by her boyfriend. It’s part of my work that often leaves me mentally drained and in need of a good gym session or a chat with friends (that more often than not are working their day jobs when I finish my night shift) but then I think of what that poor woman is suffering. My exhaustion or the things it leaves me thinking about can be solved with a good sleep, a gym session or a night with mates. She’s got a long road ahead of her and even then, no guarantee she’ll make it.

But your being there for her is the first night. Then there is a second night, and then a third and so on. A journey of a thousand steps starts with the first and with the right support and guidance, she'll be able to look back on that night as the first step on her road to straightening out her life. Your work sounds as challenging as it is rewarding, it must take a lot of mental strength on your part to cope - you've got my respect!