Depression

[Unregistered]

I started my 1st phase of my cadetship in September and overall I am enjoying it, I have a good group of friends, just about coping with work and I'm not homesick or anything.

But whilst that is going well I feel I have returned to the depressed and anxious state I was in a few of years ago when I was diagnosed with a severe anxiety disorder and depression. After a very dark and dramatic few months this led me to leaving school and starting a different career path. Which was not for me so I decided to eventually pursue this option instead.

Now with this in mind a have a few questions.

Would being treated for these conditions again cause my ENG1 to become invalid if they became severe enough?

Would being proscribed medication be a problem in areas such as crossing boarders in my sea phase?

Lastly if things became incredibly severe again and I needed to be hospitalised what would happen to my career?

Thank you for any answers you can provide

[swishwellingtons]

Most of what you're looking for is here - http://www.officercadet.com/showthre...hant-Navy-ENG1 Definitely worth a read.

I might suggest that you already know the answer to that last question but take the following from me:

The tangible sense of achievement regularly obtainable from the work, the working environment and simple geographical location could well be the most positive input available from a job/career. You may find this in turn helps your inner confidence grow and you live happily ever after.

What do I mean by this?
- It is very "task-oriented" work, lots of little and not-so-little projects, and often very hands-on (I say this obviously from an engineer's perspective, but I believe it applies to deckies too, chipping notwithstanding - never a "little project"). Hands-on = "I did that". "I did that" = sense of achievement => positivity.
- Ships are frikkin great. Even the small ones are enormous. This can be daunting but it's always impressive and knowing that your contribution makes a difference on so many levels is ace, whether you think about the daily tasks you carry out or what the ship is doing or how that is benefiting economies, plying world trade routes, making money. All good.
- There's nowhere quite like the ocean. I love mountains, but oceans are amazing and far fewer people seem to experience the oceans properly. The sunrise and sunset, the birds, dolphins and whales and of course the storms and the foreign ports.

Obviously that is countered against the potential for being 3 weeks sail from professional assistance. Honesty is key, as is professional medical advice.

[chris]

We need more Douglas Adams quotes, good advice from swishwellingtons btw

[MrStealth]

First off - My inbox is open 24-hours a day OP if you ever need a chat! More than happy to lend you an ear if you're attending the same training facility as me too (I'll even buy you a drink at the on-site bar! :O)

Right, now, to business...

There is absolutely no shame in seeking out help, regardless of what career you're in.

The first and only priority is to sort yourself out - regardless of the consequences. After all, it's better to be able to pick up the pieces with a level head, than to not be able to pick them up at all.

Have you spoken to your college's student support team? They will be able to sit down with you and talk things through, so you know what they can do to help you. They'll also be able to give you an idea of what the consequences may be (if any exist), and how best to speak to various parties (like your sponsor company, for example). I would also suggest booking an appointment with your GP to talk your concerns through and get a referral to a mental health specialist. They'll be more qualified to answer your concerns than anyone here.

I hope you find your smile again OP, and again, you know where to find me if you need a chat.

[Dannyboy14]

I second what stealth has said. If you happen to be at the same college as me I'm usually always floating around. And my inbox would always be open. There are plenty of people on this forum who would be there if you ever want to have an honest chat .

Hope your feeling better soon

[Unregistered]

If it's more anxiety then from my experience;

I suffer from mild IBS which is brought on most likely due to sudden changes in my routine and anxiety. I do suffer from anxiety randomly over completely random things - can be as simple as going to a pub to meet people or flying half way around the world to start a new job. It also randomly seems to be worse the more in advance I know I need to do something.

For me I just try and force myself to do things whenever I can - at first this was really hard to do but these days other than the nausea (and mild IBS - I have some pills to take if it gets really bad) I just force myself to do it and have learned ways to force my brain to relax (either by sleeping / deep breaths or distracting my sub consciousness somehow).

Anyway my point being it won't necessarily affect your eng 1 or company medical.

[HarmlessWeasel]

Most colleges and universities will have a student support team that can put you in touch with counselling, which is usually free. I'd start there, sometimes just talking to someone once a week can be all that's needed to stave off the downward cycle. There's no shame in needing counselling, my brother had to drop out of uni and it was only when he got counselling that he was able to restart; had he had it from the start he reckons that he wouldn't have had to drop out in the first place. I've recently had a friend die and am not at all ashamed to say that I'm looking into a counselling session, and I'm not even entirely sure I'll need it, but I'd rather have an assessment and be told that I'm doing the right things mentally and don't need sessions, or that by acting early I'll be able to have fewer sessions and hopefully nip any future problems in the bud.
If you need long term counselling sessions then as MrStealth said, see your GP and they'll be able to refer you to someone local.
As said by others, if you're at my college (Warsash) then feel free to send me a PM and we can meet up for a chat about anything

[old woman of the sea]

The caring and thoughtful responses to this post are exactly why I want to go to sea. Brilliant.

[Snowy]

The caring and thoughtful responses to this post are exactly why I want to go to sea. Brilliant.

We need more Douglas Adams quotes, good advice from swishwellingtons btw

Concur

Not a single shred of evidence exists to prove that life is serious?

or a personal fave from Dirk Gently (sub map for chart)

"... A few turnings later and I was thoroughly lost. There is a school of thought which says that you should consult a map on these occasions, but to such people I merely say, 'Ha! What if you have no map to consult? What if you have a map but it's of the Dordogne?' My own strategy is to find a car, or the nearest equivalent, which looks as if it knows where it is going and follow it. I rarely end up where I was intending to go, but often I end up somewhere that I needed to be. So what do you say to that?"
"Piffle."
"A robust response. I salute you."