Introduction

[aquilegia]

Hello everyone.

I am a new member to this forum. I joined because my partner has a mental illness

[jess334]

Hi Aquilegia,

A warm welcome to the forums.

I hope you are coping ok supporting your partner.

Kind thoughts, Jess

[White_Rose]

Dear Aquilegia

Hello and welcome to the forum. This is a good place to talk about the things that bother you. Many of the people who post here support a partner/family member/friend who has a mental illness. Beyondblue has information for carers which you may find helpful. Look under The Facts at the top of the page and go down to Supporting Someone. You can download any fact sheets you find.

Just talking about giving support can be very helpful. If there is anything specific you want to know please tell us. Perhaps you can tell us a little about yourself.

Mary

[mocha delight]

Hi aquilegia and welcome

[aquilegia]

Hello,

Thank for your suggestion. I joined to learn from other peoples experience. My partner has been diagnosed with PTSD . I have been doing a lot of reading and I think he also has a personality disorder like (BPD) but has not been diagnosed.

I am having a very difficult time convincing him to get help. He has a GP that gives him a script for medication to help him with PTSD but I don't think it helps him.

I am very stressed out and feeling down from his severe mood swings. I think being stuck at home all this time in lock down has made it worse. I am afraid that I am depressed now and can I not be strong enough to be supportive. Thank you for for talking to me.

Take care

[Sophie_M]

Hi aquilegia,
  It's great to see you've met some of our community members and are finding their advice helpful. We're so sorry to hear how stressful it has been. We empathise with how difficult it is to be at home all of the time with someone who is having severe mood swings. Please know that our community is here to support you and we will get through this.  If you feel it might be useful, we'd encourage you to visit our Coronavirus Mental Wellbeing Support Service. The website will be regularly updated with information, advice and strategies to help you manage your wellbeing and mental health during this time. This is inclusive of a 24/7 telephone counselling service. Our friendly counsellors can offer some support and also advice and referrals if you are interested in seeking some ongoing mental health support for yourself. We recognise that caring for others can be exhausting and take a toll.
  Many of our members have felt similar and will be able to talk through these feelings with you.  If you would like to post further, please tell us more about what's on your mind and how we can best help you get through this difficult time.