have suffered from depression since childhood

[Terrimanian]

I'm in my 50's & have suffered from depression since childhood. My illness has seriously impacted on my ability to manage my affairs,particularly financially. I have lived in rental accommodation since arriving in arriving in Melbourne over 10 years ago. In April, the job I had held for over 10 years was made redundant. 8 of my colleagues were also made redundant. I was very angry about being forced to leave the organisation in this as it was very clear that the nature of my role & its value to the organisation had not been properly assessed or understood. I have had several months of casual & contract work since April. I sufficient funds (just) to purchase a very modest apartment, but have not been able to proceed due to my uncertain situation. I was recently hospitalised for depression & discharged just over a week ago. I felt considerably better while on hospital but have relapsed since my discharge. I live alone & am desperately lonely. I am in desperate need of a support group & mentor to assist my decision-making

[Stormi71]

Hi Terrimanian, 

I'm in NSW so not sure if these services are in Victoria. There is NEAMI that hold support groups. St Vinnies also have a program called Compeer in which they match up a volunteer with a client, that client then goes on outings with the volunteer. It's a friendship program for those with mental illness who are socially isolated. Google mental health support services for your area. A lot of neighbourhood/community centres run support groups, too. I'm sure a support group would help with your social isolation, as you will be able to make friends there, and organise to get together for a coffee or movie etc. 

[Chris_B]

Hi Terrimanian, welcome to the forums. We can't provide recommendations for support groups on here, but you'll find this to be a very welcoming space for online peer support. Have a look through some of the threads here and feel free to join in the discussions.