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Sophie_M If you need to talk about Bondi Beach - Our community is here
  • replies: 6

Hi everyone, After the heartbreaking events at Bondi Beach on Sunday night, we know many people in our community may be feeling shaken, distressed, or unsure how to make sense of what has happened. Religious and political violence has no place is Aus... View more

Hi everyone, After the heartbreaking events at Bondi Beach on Sunday night, we know many people in our community may be feeling shaken, distressed, or unsure how to make sense of what has happened. Religious and political violence has no place is Australia and we extend our heartfelt condolences to the individuals and families affected by this tragedy. We wanted to create a space where you can share whatever you’re feeling - whether that’s fear, shock, grief, or anything else that has come up for you. If you need support from others in the community, please feel welcome to post here. Violence and acts of terror can bring feelings of shock, grief, profound sadness, anger and fear. It’s normal to experience these emotions while trying to make sense of distressing events. It may take time for these feelings to ease, but it’s never too early to seek support if you are feeling distressed. Beyond Blue is here for you anytime, by phone on 1300 224 636 or via webchat: https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/talk-to-a-counsellor You can also support those around you by being available to them and listening. Thank you for being such an important part of this community, and for the kindness, honesty, and wisdom you continue to share with each other. We remind the community that Beyond Blue is here for all people in Australia, no matter what you believe, how you live or who you worship. Kind regards Sophie M

A_Tech PTSD for Medical and First Responders
  • replies: 276

Hi, Well obviously this my situation. I was hoping to find others here that might have a similar background to chat with, it can be so hard to talk about this stuff with non-med people (and I mean no disrespect, it's just often graffic or upsetting t... View more

Hi, Well obviously this my situation. I was hoping to find others here that might have a similar background to chat with, it can be so hard to talk about this stuff with non-med people (and I mean no disrespect, it's just often graffic or upsetting to others). Im a 40 year old female that has spent the last 10years in the State Trauma Hospital as an Anaesthetic Technician. My PTSD was brought about after years of exposure to shocking traumas, deaths, and no support from management. I would love to hear from anyone that has a similar story, or just wants to chat. Cheers

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DarkDawn Irritability and Rage
  • replies: 2

4 year's ago I was diagnosed with PTSD and had no idea what is was and for 2 and a half year's I didn't deal with it because I didn't know how too. Late last year I had experienced a major anxiety attack due to being stressed and overwhelmed with hyp... View more

4 year's ago I was diagnosed with PTSD and had no idea what is was and for 2 and a half year's I didn't deal with it because I didn't know how too. Late last year I had experienced a major anxiety attack due to being stressed and overwhelmed with hypervigilance, I didn't get enough sleep or food simply living off coffee to stay awake which only heightened everything. That I did not want to experience again on that level so I knew that I needed to understand PTSD and change my lifestyle. In March I quit smoking, coffee, sugar and I continue to eat healthy and is exercising more. I go for walk's that clear my mind and I'm also trying mindfulness. Ever since I quit smoking it feel's as if my mind is clearer and I don't experience anxiety often like I used to, my body is not all tensed or sore I can breathe better as it felt like I was holding my breath when the anxiety started up. In July I became extremely irritable over something very small, I knew it at the time but the feeling was getting stronger every minute so I stopped what I was doing got up and went to the toilet took 5 minutes to wet my face and try to cool down to no avail. I was at work and I knew that I needed to leave So I told my boss who had noticed how worked up I was and told me to take the afternoon off. I didn't return to work for 2 week's as the irritability just kept gaining in strength and I felt like a danger to everyone around me and myself as I couldn't contain myself any longer so my inner hulk came out in the worst way and now I was displaying Rage. It's horrible. Most of the time I cannot control it, it must come out. When it doe's come out I can't believe that just came from me. My family have copped it lately I am grateful that they understand that this is something I have no control over but there are way's to minimise my irritability that lead's to rage and that's going for my walk's everyday, getting enough sleep, mindfulness and thinking that not everything does not need me to react to it. I have found that being around negative influence's also trigger my irritability that I do avoid being around it however when I am at ease and clear I do tackle the negative stuff just to build myself up to it making myself stronger mentally. I just wanted to share this with anybody who is going through anything like this Stay Strong.

KaitlynElizabeth Feeling Alone
  • replies: 1

My husband and I got married last August, so it will be a year this month. I'm 25 and Canadian but living here in Australia. ALL my family and friends live in Canada. He's just been diagnosed with PTSD. I cop the rage, the anger, the depression and t... View more

My husband and I got married last August, so it will be a year this month. I'm 25 and Canadian but living here in Australia. ALL my family and friends live in Canada. He's just been diagnosed with PTSD. I cop the rage, the anger, the depression and the mood swings. I feel like I'm always walking on egg shells. Everyone that knows just says "I'm so sorry, I had no idea. You are SO strong!. If it was me I wouldn't be able to put up with that" It would be so nice to hear from other people going through the same thing as me.

Sabrina1993 Workplace triggers
  • replies: 4

Sorry for how long this Is, just having some workplace issues triggering my PTSD and I was hoping for some advice from those who may relate. I took a call centre job 3 months ago after having a lot of trouble finding work. I was prepared for abuse fr... View more

Sorry for how long this Is, just having some workplace issues triggering my PTSD and I was hoping for some advice from those who may relate. I took a call centre job 3 months ago after having a lot of trouble finding work. I was prepared for abuse from people we're calling but hadn't prepared myself for the treatment from the supervisors. We have a very high target rate that I struggle to meet due to my submissive/non-confrontational personality. We get yelled at constantly by our main supervisor, she swears at us and calls us idiots and dumbasses, and hits the back of our chairs to scrare us if we're underperforming.. She has also stated that nothing gives her more joy than writing up breaches, so she's constantly on the lookout for small mistakes we may make. My anxiety is at an all time high, and I'm finding that constant feeling of anticipating that I'm going to get in trouble is triggering terrible feelings from my childhood. I get into a horrible cycle of panicking that I haven't got enough people, then sounded increasingly panicked on the phone and gradually doing worse and worse which makes me more panicked- by the end of the shift i'm a nervous wreck. I've been applying for tons of jobs but have had no luck and I don't want to quit without something else to go to, especially because the job market in my city is terrible at the moment. On the other hand I also don't want to have a nervous breakdown or emotional flashback and i'm concerned I definitely will. I just don't know what to do.

KiwiWayne Woman i love gets abused,its affecting my own mental health.
  • replies: 2

That title probably sounds selfish,maybe it is but if i didnt care so much it would not mess up my head, im an alcoholic who was told that alcohol as its a depressant was the cause of my mental issues,myself i feel it may over been the other way arou... View more

That title probably sounds selfish,maybe it is but if i didnt care so much it would not mess up my head, im an alcoholic who was told that alcohol as its a depressant was the cause of my mental issues,myself i feel it may over been the other way around,my mental problems caused my alcoholism,i still have depression & anxiety during even long periods of sobriety. To get to the point i am 5 months sober & returning to an ex that was recently raped i found out today,shocking as it is this is not the first time, she is a attractive female alcoholic & that i have found is not a good combo,without going into detail you can imagine vunerable drunk = predator magnet scenario, my already cluttered head went into overdrive with all sorts of emotions, the reason i left her in the first place was because of a similar incident,i feel i've failed her,i dont know who to speak to or whether this is even the right forum (& no she wont go to the cops)

smo Abuse, physical reaction to "triggers"
  • replies: 5

Hi. This is my first post here, so bear with me if it´s a bit all over the place. The reason I am writing this post, is because I have lately had a few incidents that is really starting to effect my every day life. So, a very long story short; many y... View more

Hi. This is my first post here, so bear with me if it´s a bit all over the place. The reason I am writing this post, is because I have lately had a few incidents that is really starting to effect my every day life. So, a very long story short; many years back I got involved with a guy that wasn´t very nice to say the least. I had some really horrible incidents with him being violent, and a lot of verbal and sexual abuse. This happened in periods of months usually on and off from I was 16 to 20, yet we were never actually in a relationship. Needless to say, this has caused me a lot of emotional stress that keeps with me to this day, 3 years later. I have recently moved in with two friends, which is fun and all, but there is a lot of banter, usually commenting looks, weight etc. What is really stressful to me, is that when this happens, I physically react to it. These were things my ex-whatever-he-was would comment on, and it could easily escalate in to sexual abuse. When I now get comments like this, I often feel dizzy, sometimes to the point where I have trouble seeing, I get urges to throw up (I have been struggling with bulimia) I get instant headaches, my mouth dries up, and my whole body tenses. I was wondering if any of you have any tips to what I can do to not react so strongly to these things? I just don´t want to be this party pooper that can´t handle a little bit of banter.

Hannah2015 Sense of control vs being controlling
  • replies: 3

Hi guys, I'm feeling like I have very little control over my life, my future. How do y'all not get overwhelmed by this? I do the simple things like exercise, food ect. but find with the bigger things jobs, relationships etc I'm really easily triggere... View more

Hi guys, I'm feeling like I have very little control over my life, my future. How do y'all not get overwhelmed by this? I do the simple things like exercise, food ect. but find with the bigger things jobs, relationships etc I'm really easily triggered and shut down or worse... I find myself doing random stuff to try to maintain a sense of control. Have you found anything of use that helps you understand control in yourself and your environment? thanks legends.

summerdays Before it gets worse
  • replies: 4

hi there I am feeling really low right now and I feel like I just can't go on being a Mum. I can't handle it when my children cry. Like, I seriously can't handle it. They are 18mo and 3. This morning I pushed my 18mo away and he bumped his head on th... View more

hi there I am feeling really low right now and I feel like I just can't go on being a Mum. I can't handle it when my children cry. Like, I seriously can't handle it. They are 18mo and 3. This morning I pushed my 18mo away and he bumped his head on the table. I don't know what's wrong with me and I don't know what to do. I hate the kind of mother I am and I really wanted to give them more than this. I can't be in the present moment, and when my kids force me to be in it, I flip out. To a bystander I might seem normal but inside I am like a bomb waiting to go off. I would never hurt my kids but I can understand why and how people do it. and that scares me, to know that. Am i capable of it? yes. Do i love my kids? more than anything. But i can't cope. How can i explain this to my partner and his family (our support). I want to be alone. i want them to be in daycare everyday. I want someone to be here at home with us to help us, to help me. I want to throw myself into full time work so that I don't have to be their mum, but that's not going to solve anything, is it. I'm going to give the blueknot foundation a call today. Thanks for listening

Lostflutterby Religious issues.
  • replies: 15

I know this may be a sensitive and subjective topic but its something i really cant find any info about. I was raised in a strict catholic community and household. Where it was taken literally my whole life. I was NEVER good enough and constantly rem... View more

I know this may be a sensitive and subjective topic but its something i really cant find any info about. I was raised in a strict catholic community and household. Where it was taken literally my whole life. I was NEVER good enough and constantly reminded of it. I was made to feel guilty for merely existing and now that im in my mid 20s its affecting me in every aspect of my life. I feel guilty for sleeping, eating and i let people walk all over me including my 4 y.o daughter. I am getting help through my psychologist and gp and im not really looking for advice on help with it. Im mostly looking for anyone that may have any experience with this issue. Thanks for your time, and feel free to ask any questions.

Chrispie One day I'm feeling on top of the world, then boom I'm a mess!
  • replies: 5

This is my first post on here, feeling a bit weird about posting but what can I loose. I have depression and PTSD for most of my adult life. I have been married for 26 yrs to a great man. I have 3 lovely daughters who are all special in their own way... View more

This is my first post on here, feeling a bit weird about posting but what can I loose. I have depression and PTSD for most of my adult life. I have been married for 26 yrs to a great man. I have 3 lovely daughters who are all special in their own way. I should be oh so happy right...well not today. In the last 10yrs I have been mostly feeling great. I finally started to see the world around me and enjoy the simplest of things, like my beautiful surroundings and how lucky I am to have 3 amazing girls. So why today do I feel lousy? Inside I just want to cry and feel sorry for myself. I feel lonely and sad. This happens to me every couple of months and I hate it. I usually manage to pull myself out of it but today it is tough. It only took a couple of days of having bad headaches, which turned into a migraine yesterday. I end up feeling a bit neglected and unloved when I'm not well. My husband doesn't give me the attention that I am wanting. It sounds really selfish but leaving me for hours in pain and finally saying "do you want some water?" I had to ask him to go to the chemist for something stronger than Panadol. Then my daughter comes home from school and I was thinking he would have said Mums not well. She went on the computer and never came near me. So then I start to get upset. Saying things to myself like..."no one gives a shit about me". Then I crack it with a splitting head ache to Hubby. Damn then I hate myself and go into self loafing. My migraine finally goes but I have a really bad nights sleep. I had horrific nightmares which happens when I'm like this.

PeacefulWarrior What to do with anger?
  • replies: 8

Hi, i’m new to these forums. I encountered a traumatic event 2 years ago. I’m now 6 months into the healing process and have recently started therapy with a trauma psychologist. But I’m struggling. I’m angry, impatient, restless and on-edge all the t... View more

Hi, i’m new to these forums. I encountered a traumatic event 2 years ago. I’m now 6 months into the healing process and have recently started therapy with a trauma psychologist. But I’m struggling. I’m angry, impatient, restless and on-edge all the time. The smallest things trigger intense rage - and I don’t know what to do with it. So I turn it inwards. The other day driving the car, I ended up pinching my legs so hard that I was screaming in pain (it was to prevent myself from a road rage incident). Most days I binge eat to swallow anger. Or i throw something to smash. And the rest of the time it turns into frustrated helplessness. I'm already doing light exercise at gym most days (weights, walking or pool), which is probably helping a little... but its not enough. I’ve read that anger is part of the healing process when coming out of (or through) trauma - but I’m yet to learn a productive way to channel it outwards (rather than inwards). I’m a bit of a passivist, but I've been thinking about taking up boxing - to punch bags, not people. Has anyone found that helpful? Or some kind of martial arts? has anyone here experienced other ways of physically channeling this angry energy outwardly and productively? At this stage, I'm open to all ideas about what to do with anger cheers