Its just been a tough week. (Maybe a vent)

[Neopopulas]

This is my first post here but i have been lurking around for awhile and after this last week, sitting here reading through things, i felt like i just wanted to say something, anything.. Even if it comes off a bit like venting too much which i don't like doing.

I guess a little bit of background, i'm 35, male and have been dealing with or suffering from some from of mental health issue for as long as i can remember. Starting when i was about 13 but not fully diagnosed until i was in my twenties. Prior to being diagnosed most of the time it was the normal, typical reactions that i'm sure most kids got at that age. I was eventually diagnosed with, well just a slew of things, mixed anxiety disorder with depressive episodes and panic attacks, and add in a personality disorder or two (OCPD) and you can no doubt guess things can get a bit tricky for me.

Since i have had probably two jobs in my entire life, both of which were basically given to me by family members and neither of which lasted more than 8 months, combined with no real highschool education job hunting is a struggle, to say the least.

I have dealt with centrelink on and off for years, but its been getting progressively harder and thats where i am left now. After a very tough week or two. I understand why centrelink operates the way it does and i don't blame the workers, they have been almost universally polite and considerate but this last couple of weeks has me at wits end.

I have been with job service provider and on newstart for awhile now and my attempts at getting a medical exemption have been trying. My psychiatrist wrong a letter explaining the situation, i submitted it, but of course when you have to call, two and a half hours on hold and i'm told i need the centrelink form, i guess my Psych was wrong there, so I wait a fortnight and try again, get the certificate from my Psych, try again - three hours this time - and i'm declined again, because you can't get a temporary exemption for a marked 'permanent condition.

But we're not at the stage where i can be looking at a disability pension, we still have a ways to go before then..

Its just frustrating when you're honest and do everything right and it still doesn't work out. I'm not sure if i should.. maybe not lie, but at least tweak the forms to get what i need.. its like, in trying to not exploit the system i have made life harder for myself. Maybe i should just go for DSP, it seems like their goal sometimes.

Thanks for listening..

[PamelaR]

Hi Neopopulas

Welcome to our forums. Dealing with government departments is not fun is it? Very frustrating indeed. I worked in governments across Australia and know what you mean. It isn't pleasant at all for users of the services they provide. Getting things to change to be more helpful and understanding isn't going to be easy. There is a culture in there that isn't amenable to changing. That doesn't help you and others who experience the same sort of (non) service.

It's good that you've finally got to posting here and I hope it helps a little. Venting helps sometimes. I know I find it good to let it out.

Because working with government departments is so difficult, people are turning to others to do all the hard work. For instance you could nominate a trusted friend or family member to deal with Centrelink. Alternatively there are organisations that also provide that service. This will reduce your interactions with the department which may help reduce your frustrations.

Being honest is good - even though it's harder to get things done. Being dishonest might mean you are found out in the future and could be in heaps big trouble.

Hope some of this helps Neopopulas.

By the way, if you feel like it, let us know how you felt after writing your post.

Kind regards

PamelaR

[Neopopulas]

Thanks for reading.

To be honest i did feel a little better after my post. One of the problems i face a lot is that with how things go sometimes I do feel like I do a lot of complaining, and while i have people around me that help a lot, I try not to overburden them too much. I did almost not check back, but avoidance is one of my issues so checking back here was a good thing.

I guess my frustrations are reasonable, even if they sometimes don't feel that way, being sort of stuck in a no-mans land where my only option is to aim for something extreme like the DSP because lesser things aren't available, even though it seems that they don't want you to aim higher anyway.

I have been looking for advocacy options, as some of my major issues revolve around dealing with that sort of stress, in-person or even phone conversations can be too much, so every time I'm forced into the situation and it turns out to be of no use, it really takes the wind out of your sails, so to speak.

I'm also very lucky, as my family is very supportive, but i suppose one of the things i really want to get out of it is to not be such a burden in the long term, and being roadblocked feels worse. Especially when, as far as i can, I'm doing everything 'right' and yet.. But at the same time I get some government assistance so it seems ungrateful at times.

However i do worry that the longer it takes the more likely the same government service is going to put me into a situation I'm unable to handle and its all going to fall apart. So it adds to my ongoing stress..

It does feel a little liberating to explain these things even to people who are more than aware, people who understand but I'm not asking to do anything for me.

So i guess I'm glad i ended up coming back.

[PamelaR]

Thank you Neopopulas for coming back and sharing your story. I am glad you came back too.

Its good to hear you're looking for advocacy options. Hope you find something. There are a few different services available - again some of these are government or government sponsored. So it might be just as frustrating for you.

I know what you mean about not wanting to be a burden on others and wanting to be independent. That's awesome and does show you are a very caring person too.

Let's hope the department gets back to you sooner rather than later so your stress is kept to a minimal.

Cheers

PamelaR