My insomnia has insomnia

[Andre_P]

Well I haven’t been on here in ages. I gotta be honest I’ve been degrading month by month. I normally don’t like talking about stuff lately. You know the old talk positive and she’ll be right attitude - Yea I’m just not feeling it.

my ocd is soo bad now I’m literally battling mental rituals in my head constantly. Trying some meds but they ain’t helping. I yell things out to shut things down but that barely helps. It’s beyond ridiculous now. I know they are phantom fears, some one tell my brain that.

it’s hard to shut down the thousands of negative thoughts I get and even harder to process normal thoughts or tasks whilst these other negative thoughts are in my head.

my insomnia is so bad I literally sleep an average of 3 - 4 hours a night and the sleep is crap as. I feel like a crack head but I don’t do drugs.

it’s been 18 months now. I am seriously considering the dsp but I only have a clinical psychologist who can help me and a registered psychologist. Is this enough.

to be fair I don’t like meds so I do not want to see a psychiatrist again. Meds are too risky for me, I don’t even like the feeling I’m getting currently on my meds. I will persevere for awhile tho on them. Gp meds they are.

I know meds now sound like my only option but I was actually doing better seeing my psychologist more regularly.

I know I can get out of this without meds but I need time and a hell of a lot of it. Worrying about Centrelink and even the next cert expire is not helping. Cbt from my psychologist will work, I just haven’t seen him in 2 months. Seeing him in 3 days.

I will need a dsp for 2 years to sort myself out. If anyone can help me that would be much appreciated.

the bladder thing kinda settled down but then all this other crap came up. To be honest I preferred the bladder thing (psychosomatic not anatomical).

I have a psychical disability too but I barely even care about that. I would chop off both my legs and 1 hand if it meant having a normal brain. Mental health is soo important it’s not funny

[HappyHelper88]

Hello Andre_P thankyou for your post and welcome back

Im so sorry your going through this and that your OCD is bad at the moment. Sometimes it can get hard to shut out negative thoughts and hard to get them to stop. Sometimes its not as simple as saying...Just Think positive as it doesn't always work.
When your mind is busy processing all these negative thoughts it hard to sleep as peace requires sleep
I am so glad to hear that you are seeing a clinical psych are they helping at all?
Sometimes meds are beneficial but they don't always work well for everyone

From my experience Meds are like putting a bandaid on the wounds and are temporary but to actually get better requires a lot of time and sessions with my psych however in the end it is worth it as life becomes much easier

Thankyou so much for reaching out
If you want to talk this through with a Beyond Blue counsellor, we’re on 1300 22 4636 or you can reach us on webchat here. Please remember to reach out whenever you need to.

[Sophia16]

Hey Andre,

I am really sorry about what you are going through. I can see you are feeling exhausted. Insomnia is so hard.

Firstly, I am glad that you are seeing psychologists and going through CBT. It may not work well at the beginning. Therapy takes time, 1-2 years +.

If you don't feel any connection with your psychologists, then consider seeing a new one. Sometimes you just have to find the right fit.

And yes, mental health is sooo important. In my opinion, I think that it's more important than physical health haha.

Please stay safe and I am here to chat if you need me.

[George_K]

Hi Andre
Only Centrelink can say for sure who qualifies for DSP, but if you and especially your GP\specialists directly respond to their points e.g. emphasising that your condition is fully diagnosed, treated and stabilised, and use terminology demonstrating you qualify for at least 20 points of impairment as per their tables, you've a good chance of acceptance.

Do note that disability is for permanent conditions i.e. things lasting at least 2 years, so if you're hoping to be off DSP in about 2 years, and emphasise this, you will be harming your own application.

When applying make sure you cover every last health problem - mental or physical, with your GP and or specialists, even if by itself it isn't a major issue or something you'd consider a disability.

I believe you can qualify for DSP with just GP documentation, however it may depend on which conditions you're claiming in your application. For something like OCD and insomnia, assuming that's the primary basis of your application, you'd be best off contacting Centrelink and asking them directly. Note they'll almost certainly have to ring the disability assessment team, and they may or may not be able to give you a direct answer - it depends on how common DSP applications with the condition(s) are.

If you haven't already looked, read all the links etc at https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/disability-support-pension/how-we-assess-your-claim/impairment-rating

Please be aware that DSP applications take something like 3-6 months so if you do want to go down that road you may need to get another medical certificate whilst finalising your application, then requesting a pause on reporting requirements (I forget the exact phrasing), while Centrelink considers your application.

If they do reject your application - and a high number of first applications do fail, you can appeal the decision, but make sure you find out why. If it's simply a document oversight or a minor case of phrasing that's easy to correct.

Hope this helps.

Good luck

[Andre_P]

Hey guys thanks for all your nice comments. It was a better sleep last night but still got tons of thoughts.

I almost don’t want the dsp but Centrelink keep rejecting my certs (last time I had to put 3 certs in as the first 2 failed. It is hard to get a cert while applying for dsp because 1 the cert says the same symptoms and temporary. For the claim you would need to state what extra conditions you have and that they are permanent.

the whole process is a shambles hence why I haven’t really gone through with it. I clearly cannot go back to work the way I am and another 3 - 6 months of certs won’t cut the mustard anyway.

I was always told that you needed a psychiatrist to make your chances better. No point in seeing one as I do not want medication as it’s too risky with me, it’s like playing Russian roulette.

I could get my clinical psychologist to diagnose me and because I’ve been like this for 18 months I would say I’m fairly stable. Obviously I’ve been treating myself with cbt. As for 20 points well to be fair that should be a problem.

I would prefer just a 1 year certificate on jobseeker but they won’t do that. The whole system is completely cooked and a lot of ppl fall through the cracks.

I want to contribute to society when I’m better but right now I simply cannot do this.

I know I can improve with cbt but it may take a long time. I would need to stipulate it may take longer than 2 years to be improved enough to function in a job.

thank you guys. It’s not a nice condition/s and I am trying my best. I know a lot of ppl struggle but still work, if I could work I would, I wish they would understand that.

thanks again guys and keep in touch 😊

[Andre_P]

Well I’m putting a claim in ay. I got 2 gps, a clinical psychologist and a registered psychologist helping me. The clinical psych knows I don’t particularly like scrips but have at least tried a few of the scrips with horrible side effects.

hopefully with his report it’s enough to get a claim in. I should be able to choose the type of treatment I like. I know psychiatrists have more pull but I have seen a psychologist for 18 months. This condition is diagnosed, treated and I’d say fairly stable for 2 years. It definitely should hit at least 20 points or more ay.

any luck or tips to add to it. I don’t particularly feel proud to be on gov assist. If it makes anyone feel better i worked since I was 15. I’m 34 now. Must of burnt myself out I think.

anyway getting there.