Having trouble finding help

[tpman]

Hi.

I feel I might be suffering from some trauma as I can relate very much to the symptoms.

I’m not sure where to get help.

I’ve done CBT and mindfulness and whilst it helped for anxiety and depression some what it does not help for my current state.

i also have been diagnosed with sever melancholic treatment resistant depression with panic anxiety and agitation.

i am stable now thanks to medication but still feel I’m suffering from some trauma.

i feel very detached, and have trouble sleeping . I’m very jumpy and on edge and have a profound sense of hopelessness.

The trauma I think stems from a severe breakdown I had 3 years ago whilst coming off medication. My world crumbled it was awful. Words cannot describe the distress I encountered.

This subsequently developed into panic attacks and the depression I mentioned above. Hospitalisations, including being sectioned once.

i don’t feel any therapy will work as I’ve done so much of it in the past and have just lost faith in it.

but I want to get better.

Is there some kind of trauma focused therapy that people here have had and felt that it helped ?

thank u for reading

[Guest_365]

Hi there

Thanks for sharing your situation. I believe there are trauma specific counselling sessions, depending on the type of trauma you may need to research a little to find the right service.

With any trauma it's ideal to unpack the deepest of woes by talking about it with a trained professional to release and move forward.

Have you called the beyondblue line? They'll be able to recommend a few pathways for you. Alternatively, your GP may be able to offer you a few contacts.

All the best.

[Alexlisa]

Hello Tpman,

I can really sense a feeling of hopelessness in your post and I want to tell you that there is help out there. There are definitely trauma-focused therapies, so if you think this is what you might be dealing with it is worth trying to find a therapist who is confident in trauma-based work. I have some experience doing EMDR which I have found very helpful for dealing with a specific trauma that occurred. The technique sounds a bit weird at first, but it’s well-researched and shows good results. It’s new for me, but other people I know have said it helped them a lot also.

You mentioned that you’ve done CBT, I was wondering if you’ve had experience with any other types of therapy? While CBT is effective for some people, it can be so heavily based in challenging your thoughts that it can often be difficult to apply in cases of chronic depression and anxiety. I know that for me my depression and anxiety isn’t driven by faulty thoughts, it’s more of a relentless feeling, often with no thoughts attached at all.

These days other types of therapies like ACT, Schema Therapy and DBT have become increasingly popular and lots of therapists work with a mix of them all, depending on what clients need. In my experience, finding the right therapist is key to getting real help and it may take switching a few times to find one that you think fits well and has something unique to offer you. There’s so much variety out there and I know for me it was important to find someone who was proactive and innovative because I’d also had lots of more traditional CBT therapy and found it very limited in helpfulness.

I want you to know that there’s hope out there and please don’t give up looking for it. You sound very wise in knowing that you need to look into the trauma element and I encourage you to find someone who understands this. It’s completely acceptable to call psychologists/their offices to ask if they have experience working with trauma. Please don’t be afraid to ask.

Take care

Alexlisa