I have a really basic question. How do you know if you need therapy?
Not for anything specific, just generally.
I went for the very first time in my life in May. It was very evident to me that that was my next step. I experienced an incident that left me extremely anxious. Previously, I could rationalize with myself about any anxious feelings I had and that would do the trick (e.g. when I was afraid to fly, I educated myself on the characteristics of airplanes and learned why they make strange noises and feel so bumpy in the air and my anxiety went away). This time, educating myself made me MORE anxious to the point where I just could not stop thinking about the incident and experiencing it happening again. I experienced increased worry, increased agitation, and stomach issues.
I know that's very specific and not totally similar to what you described in your follow-up post, but I guess to summarize, I knew I needed therapy when it felt impossible to feel like myself again no matter what I did. And as mentioned by others above, I now realize therapy is good for anyone; there are no baseline symptoms to experience that make it "required."
I’m dealing with sub clinical hypothyroidism caused by hashimotos. My current endo doesn’t want to move forward with any treatment until my numbers stabilize. It’s very frustrating bc I’m still very much dealing with symptoms like joint and muscle pain, fatigue, anxiety and depression, and whatnot. There are lots of studies showing gluten can increase the immune response and worsen hashimotos and so I am cutting that out everywhere I can.
It’s also frustrating bc all of this means I can’t workout at the intensity I prefer. I did 40 minutes at a low resistance on the bike at the gym yesterday, and hurt all over today. I did yoga this afternoon and all my muscles hurt. I’m trying to tell myself and learn that even a half hour of yoga everyday is still very good for me even if it doesn’t burn as many calories. It’s just so hard to overcome this mindset of a workout should be a certain number of calories to count for something.
If you are subclinical, have you looked at your vitamin d levels? If that's low (even within range but low), you might want to talk to your doctor about vitamin d supplements cause that can help with some of the symptoms you are describing.
I mentioned a week or so back I was having issues - I've got Hashimoto's and am being treated but thought my levels were off. I'm marathon training and I'm tired all the time. And I realize training means being tired, but this is different. My legs are sluggish, they hurt all the time and I can barely bring myself to train - I do it cause it's on the schedule and I try to hit all my paces but every day is a struggle. My muscle pain is not like...normal muscle soreness - it's flat out fatigue. My depression is also rearing it's ugly head. And my digestion is just wonky AF. So...I got my vitamin d tested and it's low - within range, but at the very bottom of the range. For me, it needs to be higher. So I've been supplementing and some of my issues are going away or at least getting better. I'm still checking in with my endocrinologist to see if we need to adjust my levothyroxine levels too.
Anyway, good luck. Thank you for sharing your story - it's helpful to hear what others are going through cause often I've thought a lot of this was in my head. I bring some of these symptoms up to doctors and they can't always help. Or even understand what it's like when you are pretty active and can't do what you used to do or what you think you can do.
My vitamin D levels are low. I’ve started supplementing to help with that in hopes that it helps with the symptoms.
I read a book by Izabella Wentz about hashimotos and I literally cried bc I realized I wasn’t crazy and lazy, my symptoms were real and there was a real cause. I totally understand what you mean.
If you are subclinical, have you looked at your vitamin d levels? If that's low (even within range but low), you might want to talk to your doctor about vitamin d supplements cause that can help with some of the symptoms you are describing.
I mentioned a week or so back I was having issues - I've got Hashimoto's and am being treated but thought my levels were off. I'm marathon training and I'm tired all the time. And I realize training means being tired, but this is different. My legs are sluggish, they hurt all the time and I can barely bring myself to train - I do it cause it's on the schedule and I try to hit all my paces but every day is a struggle. My muscle pain is not like...normal muscle soreness - it's flat out fatigue. My depression is also rearing it's ugly head. And my digestion is just wonky AF. So...I got my vitamin d tested and it's low - within range, but at the very bottom of the range. For me, it needs to be higher. So I've been supplementing and some of my issues are going away or at least getting better. I'm still checking in with my endocrinologist to see if we need to adjust my levothyroxine levels too.
Anyway, good luck. Thank you for sharing your story - it's helpful to hear what others are going through cause often I've thought a lot of this was in my head. I bring some of these symptoms up to doctors and they can't always help. Or even understand what it's like when you are pretty active and can't do what you used to do or what you think you can do.
My vitamin D levels are low. I’ve started supplementing to help with that in hopes that it helps with the symptoms.
I read a book by Izabella Wentz about hashimotos and I literally cried bc I realized I wasn’t crazy and lazy, my symptoms were real and there was a real cause. I totally understand what you mean.
You're not crazy, hugs. Another good book is Stop the Thyroid Madness. Many doctors don't know much about Hashi's. I have never advocated harder in my life. It affects everything and sucks. I had subclinical levels and was written off by various doctors for years before finally finding a good one.
I feel best when my TSH is 1-1.5. My t4 has always been borderline too. I finally convinced my doctor to let me try a slight med increase. It totally worked and suddenly I'm not anxious/depressed or having difficulty sleeping. Or in too much pain to get out of bed. And I'm finally losing weight instead of having nothing to show for how hard I work.
It's all so exhausting to experience the symptoms and also be blown off. Of course you're tired, you're a mom! Of course you can't lose weight, you're not as young as you used to be! Joint pain is normal! Take some antidepressants! I seriously doubt men would receive the same responses to their reported symptoms.
Not sure if this has been shared yet but it was shared with me tonight and I thought I'd pass it on.
Get off the scale
You are beautiful. Your beauty, just like your capacity for life, happiness, and success, is immeasurable. Day after day, countless people across the globe get on a scale in search of validation of beauty and social acceptance.
Get off the scale! I have yet to see a scale that can tell you how enchanting your eyes are. I have yet to see a scale that can show you how wonderful your hair looks when the sun shines its glorious rays on it. I have yet to see a scale that can thank you for your compassion, sense of humor, and contagious smile. Get off the scale because I have yet to see one that can admire you for your perseverance when challenged in life.
It’s true, the scale can only give you a numerical reflection of your relationship with gravity. That’s it. It cannot measure beauty, talent, purpose, life force, possibility, strength, or love. Don’t give the scale more power than it has earned. Take note of the number, then get off the scale and live your life. You are beautiful!
For thyroid support, there is also a group on Facebook, Hypothyroid Mom. Although when it comes to thyroid, I do get tired of being told that cutting gluten out will make all the difference. I did attempt to do it, and my health got worse because while food sensitivity and hypothyroidism go hand and hand, it is not always gluten. My major food issue is with potato and potato starch, and there are others who can not eat any nightshades at all, but like many things, it is personal as to what helps. I also get frustrated by being told that I should be on an antidepressant when the symptoms go away when my TSH is actually in range.
When I read Intuitive Eating, I got frustrated with all the tearing down of diets, because I was past even considering a diet when I read it. I did eventually get to the part where I needed to be reading, and I am sure there are some who could use that tearing down, but for me, it got in the way.
I do have to remind myself that it is ok to "waste" time by walking in the park after work because I can always think of a dozen things that should get addressed when I get home. It took many years, and many trials to discover that I need the exercise to be outdoors for it to have any relaxation or enjoyment for me (and I do live where it is 90+ for most of the year).
I am seeing my therapist tomorrow and the timing is good. Got some anxiety cropping up and struggling with my inability to fix things for loved ones. Because even though I know it’s not my job I really hate that helpless feeling. Especially since I don’t believe in prayer any more which was kind of my go to when I felt helpless.