topic Re: Is there help? in Suicidal thoughts and self-harm

Is there help?

Ally_A — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 07:17:47 GMT

I am really low and my dr referred me to a suicide prevention service. I had a call today and the person seemed surprised that im at work. Does people not understand that you can be depressed and still work? I feel like people who are suppose to help has no clue! ☹️

Re: Is there help?

quirkywords — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 10:09:22 GMT

Ally-A

Thanks for your post. I think people react differently when feeling really low,some stay in bed, some like you work, some people cry. I think the person trying to help you may understand that people can be depressed and still work but that person may have had more experience talking to people who are not able to work.

Thanks again for sharing your experience.

Re: Is there help?

smallwolf — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 12:01:20 GMT

It sounds like the person you called (and I am guessing from your workplace) was surprised you were at work. It takes courage to reach out for help, and you deserve to have support and understanding. I would also agree with you that a person depressed can still be at work.

My only real comments otherwise relate to duty of care and degree of risk. But that is another topic altogether.

Can I ask what sort of professional help you are getting at the moment?

Also, beyond blue have an app with a safety plan you might want to look at as well?

Hope you are OK now.

Re: Is there help?

therising — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 20:40:38 GMT

Hi Ally

I've found everyone behaves differently based on their own experience. While you could have one person call you, who has themself faced deep depression and can understand outside of the distraction of work things automatically get darker, you could have another who has no personal experience with depression (therefor can't feel how you feel) and/or the people they've spoken to up to that point haven't been able to work while depressed. So, it's all based on their experience.

A lot of the folk on the forums here can relate to the nature of depression. While predictable in some ways, it can be so unpredictable in other ways. From my own experience, it's amazing how many triggers there are once you begin to become more conscious of them. Whether it involves going home to an empty house where there's plenty of time to think alone, going home to a partner who'd much rather leave you alone than sit and talk about tough emotions and a variety of other open minded things, a sudden shift in inner dialogue which begins with the statement 'What's wrong with me?!' or 'I'm hopeless' or something else, there can be so many triggers. I'm hoping the person who phoned you didn't lead you to feel their surprise in a depressing way. If you're someone who's deeply feeling, I can understand the impact of other people's words, the impact of their tone and even the impact of what they don't say (what you wish they had have said).

I've found, with being so deeply feeling, it's easy to feel. This can definitely be a problem at times when what we're feeling is depressing. An even bigger problem when no one else feels the depressing nature of something as clearly as we do.

In hindsight, are you able to gain a clearer sense of where that person was coming from? Do you feel they seem simply surprised at first and then changed their tone or did they feel dismissive or something else?

Re: Is there help?

Ally_A — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 07:28:27 GMT

Hi thanks for the reply. I am trying to find help….the call was from head to health….they referred me to lysn…..lysn referred me back to gp to get a mental health plan…..how????

Re: Is there help?

Junior1962 — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 10:12:41 GMT

Hi Ally

Getting a mental health plan is as simple as attending an appt with your GP and explaining your issues and why you need support. It’s not as scary as it sounds. In reality it is just a form.
That form gives you 6 Medicare-supported sessions with a therapist. You may have to pay an out of pocket cost, depending on how much the therapist charges. If you need more than 6 sessions, you can go back to your GO for a mental health plan review which gives you another 4 Medicare-supported sessions.
I hope that helps.

Junior

Re: Is there help?

smallwolf — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 11:35:06 GMT

Just want to say I agree with Junior. It is not as hard or bad as it sounds. I've had one for a few years.

Re: Is there help?

Ally_A — Fri, 03 Feb 2023 05:28:57 GMT

Thank you so much I will call the gp 👍