Anxiety/depression related to being certain places?

[Autumnx1003]

I'm just curious.   Do any of you feel that anxiety and depression can have a link to certain places?  Like in my case, I have been having terrible anxiety and some moderate depression since March, and even though I feel like I'm getting better some days, I feel like I can't escape the memory of when I've felt my worst.  When i am at home or at my job, I just see things that remind me of all the days I suffered so much during the peak of my "illnesses".  I have also noticed that when I am away from the area where I live, I tend to feel better---not as much with the anxiety, but at least for the depression part of it.  The possible link between the place I live and my feelings bugs me, because I know that it is not realistic to just run away from my home because it makes me feel bad or anxious.  However, my hubby just got orders to another duty station and I am very much looking forward to moving, simply so I do not have to see all these reminders of when i felt my worst.  It's like---if I dont have to be reminded of my "sickness' then I can move forward.  here where I live, I just feel stuck in a rut or something...I don't know how to describe it...I just feel worse here.  

Anyone have similar feelings?

[JSGeare]

Try this experiment: Remove your brain -that's right! Put it over here on this table. Good. Now, go to some place in the house or work that makes you feel depressed.

Aha! Didn't feel anything this time, did you? That proves it -your BRAIN has something to do with it. OK, put your brain back in, and try this: tell me all about what your work and your work place is like. Well, not really, but just pretend you are going to tell me.

Feel a tinge of the D, don't you?

I think we need to take your brain in for questioning.

I'm not trying to poke you with a stick, here, Autumn, I'm really not. But what I AM trying to do is sort of give credit -where credit is due. And I'll bet that if you move into a house that's like the one you're in now, or get a job in a place that's like what you have now, that touch of the D will come back to you.

This is good news, because it means that some of the work can be done inside you to come to terms with the situation. And I'm by no means suggesting that you should deliberately embed yourself in situations which you know will be a downer. In fact, I would suggest just the opposite -that you gravitate to whatever gets your feel good juice a pumpin'. I say this because if we are going to overcome ANY mental challenge, sometimes it is very helpful to avoid those places or people or environments which makes us work so hard simply to keep our heads above water that we don't have the energy to swim to shore. But at the same time, once we are relieved of the immediate problem, we would do well to think about how we got to feeling so badly in the first place. And that's a conversation with yourself -and, hopefully, a therapist who can guide us along.

And part of that self-chat is asking just what it is about any particular place or person that yanks our chain. The place ITSELF is not embued with any black magic, but it does, for whatever reason, EVOKE a feeling in us. Why? You don't need to tell me, but you need to think about it, and if you think about enough, you'll figure it out, and if you figure it out, you'll be able to work on it, and if you work on it, you'll be able to go back to ... you get the idea.

Whaddya think?

[smartredfox]

You are a great writer! If there was a book written like this, it would be one I couldn't put down. Your words flow so eloquently! AND...I think you are right. But for me and my personal situation, I'm also trying to investigate whether or not there's any type of physical element to the uber anxiety I feel when I get home. Because I didn't have any health issues until 2 weeks after we moved into our house (end of 2008). We just took a "vacation" to Florida (was a HORRIBLE TRIP - that had a LOT of emotional baggage that would normally cause me GREAT anxiety issues - you know, the "out-laws"..lol!). But despite all the crap that went on, I had almost ZERO anxiety and ZERO pain (I'm on fentanyl - the "no pain" thing is a BIG BIG DEAL!!). On the way home, my hubby and I made up. And normally that would be the only thing that would matter. But as soon as we got home, that "pit" returned to my stomach. And when I walked in the door, it was like I couldn't breath. So because I got sick just after moving here (had a pan sinus infection that wound up being MRSA. I had to have surgery, then after the surgery when the sinus headaches should have been going away, they got worse. Eventually the pain moved from my head to consuming my entire body), and I notice I usually feel better when I'm away from this environment. So, along with there being the emotional factor (bad memories and such), there are too many coincidental things that have happened that make me think there could be something in my home that I am allergic to. Any thoughts?

We had a couple of small (1' x 1') areas of black mold found in 2 of our bathrooms. My husband is a builder by trade so he knew how to safely take care of it. Other than that, not sure. We have well water and only had it tested for fecal coliforms when we got our VA loan. And it was completely negative. But we didn't test it for anything else as all our neighbors use the same water (obviously) and NO ONE has had any issues with their water. Our well water is THE BEST tasting water I've ever known. Seriously, we could bottle and sell the stuff. But, I guess that doesn't mean there can't be any type of heavy metal or toxin present that's making me sick.

I hope you see this as I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on what might be the culprit.

Darn it, just realized you posted this just before we moved into our 1976 fixer upper home..lol. Oh well. Fingers crossed.

[scaredjo]

yeah i deffo understand what your sayin, my local shop is so busy and the people that work there are so slow i HATE going in there and if im on one i`ll drive 2 miles to the next shop cause i feel i will have a panic attack, but on the other hand sometimes if im feelin brave i make myself go in and que up and when i come out i feel so happy like i have really achieved somethin......crazy eh?

[cj29]

In my experience this is definitely the case.  I dealt with health anxiety, so whenever I go to the doctors, I actually cringe and feel very anxious to the point that I do not want to be there because it reminds me of where I once turned to when I thought I had a physical problem.  So, yes your surroundings have a lot to do with how you feel.  Remember, with this as in life, there will be ups and downs. I try to focus on the long term instead of the short term as much as I can.  Think of you have been and how far you have come. Don't try to forget about it; it is a part of you and it has made you stronger and probably a much more well rounded person.  Keep your head up!