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Depression on international student life

Robuu
Community Member

Life as an international student can be extremely tough, especially when you're in a foreign country, trying to navigate unfamiliar systems. In my case, I was unknowingly influenced into participating in fraudulent activities. I had no idea what I was doing, being new to the place and the culture. This mistake led to the suspension of my NDIS, cutting off essential support that I relied on.

Without the NDIS, I lost my job, making it impossible to pay bills, fines, or even manage daily expenses. As the financial pressure mounted, it became harder to keep up with tuition fees, leading the school to cancel my Confirmation of Enrolment (COE) due to outstanding fees.

I tried speaking with the school to get my COE reinstated, but they refused, demanding full payment upfront—something I simply couldn’t afford. Desperate, I reached out to friends for help, but they were more like acquaintances, "hi friends" who couldn’t offer the support I needed. To make matters worse, my family back home is depending on me, adding to the burden.

All of this led to feelings of loneliness, helplessness, and a deepening sense of isolation, leaving me battling with bad thoughts and the weight of depression.

 

2 Replies 2

Scared
Community Member

Sounds like your in a bad place at this time.   Were you on National disability Insurance scheme is that correct.   Im trying to establish where your at exactly.

Overseas student on NDIS is that correct.  Because there are avenues of appeal for those who have been tricked into activities.   I found centrelink to be very helpful and have praise for this service and also the Government for helping our disablilities.

What exactly was your pension so we can explore this further.  You want to try everything you can to continue your studies

BlueLily
Community Champion
Community Champion

Hi Robuu,

 

Sorry to hear you are going through a really difficult time.

 

This reminded me of how I got scammed in to a pyramid scheme when I was in uni as an international student. I had moved to an apartment by myself and I ended up losing my only savings. Which meant I had no money for food for another 2 months. It was very difficult because I had no friends to ask help or even just to talk about what I was going through. That's when I explored university clubs such as multicultural groups or religious groups that welcome every faith. I found this club that meet up every week to have open discussions providing me a platform to share my struggles. Even if they didn't find me solutions it was nice to be heard and listen to other stories. I suppose it's kind of like this platform. Finding a similar club/group can help you in ways by giving you ideas for example in your situation to appeal your NDIS.

 

Like Scared mentioned there may be other avenues out there that you can explore to obtain a job or get the NDIS support. Also there are some mental healths plans where you can visit a psychologist for a limited number of sessions for a small cost or no cost at all depending on the insurance provider. They have provided me with information or direction when I chose a psychologist specialise in a certain field.

 

Take care of yourself..