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Sophie_M Ask Coach Craig - Our Resident Mental Health Clinician!
  • replies: 34

Hi everyone, This is a thread for asking questions of our resident Mental Health Nurse, Craig who pops into the forums regularly. PLEASE NOTE as per our community rules, Coach Craig won't be able to answer questions about medications, these are best ... View more

Hi everyone, This is a thread for asking questions of our resident Mental Health Nurse, Craig who pops into the forums regularly. PLEASE NOTE as per our community rules, Coach Craig won't be able to answer questions about medications, these are best discussed offline directly with your mental health professional. BEFORE YOU ASK THE COACH PLEASE CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING POINTS: Coaches time is limited! We cannot provide an ongoing dialogue with COACH in this thread - one post/question per person please We'd recommend you have a look through the forums before posting here to see if your question has already been answered by Coach Craig, our other members, or if there's information about it already on the Beyond Blue website. If a question pops up that has already been answered previously, or if alternate resources are available, one of our moderators will reply and direct you to the link. When writing your question, imagine you are speaking to someone in person i.e. provide a clear and detailed post with enough information that outlines how The Coach can help you. Background Information - From Coach Craig I have been involved in mental health nursing since the mid 1980’s, during my career, I have held a plethora of different roles and had many awesome experiences, I have received 2 national awards and have been awarded with a fellowship to the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses. I chose mental health nursing as I soon realised that I didn’t seem to fit into the traditional ‘medical model’ of delivering care. I have worked as a nurse, manager, educator, project officer, advocate, within Youth, teenagers, Adults and Older persons mental health, both in traditional hospital settings and primary based GP clinics. I am also a trained Nurse Therapist in ACT (Acceptance Commitment Therapy) and DBT (Dialectical Behavioural Therapy). I am also trained as a life coach. I am thankful that I can walk alongside people who need some support, encouragement, and advice around there own mental and emotional health.

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Cuzzies21 Wrong attitude towards talking
  • replies: 15

Psychology hasn't been working for me, my attitude is talking doesn't change anything which is probably the wrong way to look at things? My second psychologist I've tryed sent me back to my GP to try meds with the understanding to return when I'm in ... View more

Psychology hasn't been working for me, my attitude is talking doesn't change anything which is probably the wrong way to look at things? My second psychologist I've tryed sent me back to my GP to try meds with the understanding to return when I'm in a better state of mind, however the meds have calmed me down so I'm thinking slower but now my attitude is even stronger about talking doesn't help me. Is there any point me trying Psychology again? I haven't been for 9 months now, but feeling like I need to try something.

javalava13 Are these insecurities I have with my psych normal?
  • replies: 4

hi all, i’m needing some advice about my psychologist/what to do (i’m so, so sorry this is long). i’ve had depression my whole life and more recently social anxiety. I'm 24, have seen a few psychs, one quite long term but never really felt any progre... View more

hi all, i’m needing some advice about my psychologist/what to do (i’m so, so sorry this is long). i’ve had depression my whole life and more recently social anxiety. I'm 24, have seen a few psychs, one quite long term but never really felt any progress and wasn't fully comfortable talking to her so stopped seeing her. then i stopped seeing anyone and was fine until i became really low. i started seeing a new psych who is totally different (i felt really guilty about switching because i'm so self conscious about cutting people out-I’ve had some fairly bad friendships and a lot of insecurities w friends). at first w the new psych it was abit unnatural because we're so different (i’m introverted, really struggle with low self esteem, she’s quite extroverted) but i think I was feeling better than I'd felt before (mostly day after the appt). i’ve been seeing her a few months and it’s been good, i’ve opened up about alot which i generally find really difficult and she gives me things to read/do btw appts which i like and hadn't had. i don’t know how how much she understands how i’m going. she often reacts like she is confused by what im saying happens in my mind and i dont know if that is purposeful to make me realise how silly they are or if she just doesnt realise how confused/slightly judgemental (?) her reactions seem to me. once i was abit open about a time her reaction made me feel uncomfortable/judged, which she seemed to appreciate. so i’m basically trying to figure out how much of this discomfort is a bit normal, from sharing my biggest insecurity esp considering my huge issues w trust, and how much (if any) is that she didn’t react in a very supprtive/helpful way?I don’t know when I should be concerned about how often i am going away from appts feeling judged/slightly worse than when i went into the appt? I get really scared that I just have way too much insecurity to talk to a psychologist without hating myself in or after appointments, so who on earth am I ever going to trust/how am I ever going to improve my messed up mind?

Scubascubascuba Mental struggle
  • replies: 3

Hi all, it's difficult to explain I went from being my happy self to three weeks ago got a double eye infection which the dr said was conjunctivitis, results came back with hsv1( herpes simplex virus) in both my eyes and it's completely shattered me.... View more

Hi all, it's difficult to explain I went from being my happy self to three weeks ago got a double eye infection which the dr said was conjunctivitis, results came back with hsv1( herpes simplex virus) in both my eyes and it's completely shattered me. My anxiety levels have been through the roof losing the will to function with the fear of going blind. I've never felt this low and helpless in my life, I really don't know what to do feeling trapped in myself with no where to run. It's such a uncommon thing to happen with my specialist telling me I could be the only person in the country with this condition which wasn't great for him to say knowing how it must feel to be me. I feel know one can help me and being lost is a understatement, I don't know how to live at the moment holding on for better days to come but my mind is so wired and stressed right now I feel it will never get better dreading my future. I'm crying out for help

Lui ADHD costs
  • replies: 11

I've discovered it's ADHD that has caused my anxiety/depression for my 58 years of life! But the costs are killing me! The psychiatrist wants me to get a second opinion, and then back to him again. It's so expensive. i have been able to work for more... View more

I've discovered it's ADHD that has caused my anxiety/depression for my 58 years of life! But the costs are killing me! The psychiatrist wants me to get a second opinion, and then back to him again. It's so expensive. i have been able to work for more than 30 years due to this, how are we supposed to afford it? Is there anywhere, any way we can get some back? Medicare only covers a small part of it

Kelster TMS
  • replies: 1

Hi all, I would love to know if anyone has had TMS and what they experienced? I have bipolar 2 and It absolutely works for me with lifting depression so highly recommend it, however if I have too much I get bad anxiety, headaches and crazy fatigue fo... View more

Hi all, I would love to know if anyone has had TMS and what they experienced? I have bipolar 2 and It absolutely works for me with lifting depression so highly recommend it, however if I have too much I get bad anxiety, headaches and crazy fatigue for at least 2 weeks if not longer. I’m just wondering if anyone else has had this? Thanks so much

Tinker69 Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and MAOIs
  • replies: 39

Has anyone had transcranial magnetic stimulation? My psychiatrist wants me to try this treatment as nothing else seems to be working. I have googled about TMS but there does not seem to be many personal accounts from people undertaking this treatment... View more

Has anyone had transcranial magnetic stimulation? My psychiatrist wants me to try this treatment as nothing else seems to be working. I have googled about TMS but there does not seem to be many personal accounts from people undertaking this treatment. From my reading it takes between 4 to 6 weeks and treatments are about 30 minutes to an hour each day. It appears to be very safe with no anaesthetic required. I would really like to find out from a real person what it was like, if it worked and whether you relapsed after about 6 months etc. Also do you continue to take ADs while undergoing the treatment. I am currently on MAOIs. This requires a strict diet. I am increasing the dosage of the MAOIs over the next couple of weeks. Has anyone else taken MAOIs? How did you feel about the diet? I do not seem to have any adverse effects from the Medication which I have been on for about 3 months. They do not seem to actually do anything for me which is why the Psych wants me to try TMS. Over the years I have been on so many different ADs and they don't seem to work for me. Would appreciate hearing about anyone else's experience with TMS or MAOIs.

kitkatsoppy ECT treatment
  • replies: 51

Hi, I had 12 rounds of ECT two years ago, and my memory from those days onwards has been horrendous. I was just wondering if anyone has had any good or bad experiences with the treatment. [Mod note: we've pinned this thread to the top of the Treatmen... View more

Hi, I had 12 rounds of ECT two years ago, and my memory from those days onwards has been horrendous. I was just wondering if anyone has had any good or bad experiences with the treatment. [Mod note: we've pinned this thread to the top of the Treatments section, as we have regular inquiries from members about ECT. Other threads detailing members' experiences with ECT are linked to below: Tired of being depressed now - looking at ECT? ECT - my experience My wife has just had ECT - what is the recovery time? Updated: impending ECT treatment

Bob_22 Experience working as a mental health professional?
  • replies: 2

Hi all, I've had some time off and thought about doing a masters of social work when I get back into things next year. Does anyone have any experience working as a mental health professional (psychologist, peer worker, social worker etc) having exper... View more

Hi all, I've had some time off and thought about doing a masters of social work when I get back into things next year. Does anyone have any experience working as a mental health professional (psychologist, peer worker, social worker etc) having experienced mental health issues. What's it been like for you? Thanks! Bob

alsatianwolf Question about therapy dogs
  • replies: 4

Hi all, I hope this is the right place to post. I wanted to ask about therapy/emotional support dogs in Australia and the process of registering a companion as one. (I am 18, female). I'm hoping to go to the GP soon about my ongoing depression/anxiet... View more

Hi all, I hope this is the right place to post. I wanted to ask about therapy/emotional support dogs in Australia and the process of registering a companion as one. (I am 18, female). I'm hoping to go to the GP soon about my ongoing depression/anxiety issues and thought about bringing up my dog. She is a young german shepherd who is incredibly smart and loving and just wants to be with me 24/7. She has some minor behavioural issues with strange dogs but is otherwise incredibly friendly to people and I am planning on training sessions soon. I have gotten to the point of not wanting to leave my house for anything other than work or taking my dog out. If she's there, then I'm much more able to cope with the anxiety of being with other people. She is my whole world and I feel like it would give me purpose again, to train her to help me and to strengthen our bond. I know my GP must give me a medical certificate to allow for this but I'm not even sure if I would qualify. I just know that for myself, to have her with me, would give me so much security and reassurance. I realise I must sound like someone who just wants to take their dog everywhere but I wanted to ask for some help. So tl;dr: Looking for info on therapy/emotional support companion animals in australia (specifically brisbane) and what is required to register one.

Petal22 Treatment for OCD …. Metacognitive Therapy
  • replies: 12

Hi everyone, I wanted this thread to be about the effective treatment I used to conquer my OCD…..to give others HOPE that are battling this cruel disorder… The treatment I was given started at my gp my gp put me on a antidepressant to manage my sever... View more

Hi everyone, I wanted this thread to be about the effective treatment I used to conquer my OCD…..to give others HOPE that are battling this cruel disorder… The treatment I was given started at my gp my gp put me on a antidepressant to manage my severe anxiety, I did a mental health plan with my gp this then enabled me to see a clinical phycologist and I saw a psychiatrist my psychiatrist diagnosed me with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder this then led me to a clinic at a university that specialised in OCD….. this clinic was run by trainees and overseen by a doctor….. The therapy I did was “Metacognitive Therapy“ this therapy changed my life…. and I am forever grateful that I got to do this therapy…. It taught me how to master my OCD….. I’m now recovered thanks to all the health professionals that helped me and this therapy…. this therapy was an intervention into the OCD… This therapy was an 8 week therapy I learned what my vicious OCD cycle was and all the things that kept me in this cycle…… I was taught various tools to help me to disengage from the OCD cycle when I became aware I was getting caught up in it. This vicious cycle I was stuck in was also accompanied by severe anxiety…by learning the therapy my anxiety dramatically dropped because I wasn’t getting further and further into the vicious OCD cycle……. It takes perseverance and practice to learn the skills but once you learn them you will begin to fly… I learned meditation also in my therapy… we did a guided meditation for learning to watch our thoughts I did this through out my therapy and I credit meditation to one of the tools that got me over the line…. Meditation teaches you to be the watcher of your thoughts….. we are not our thoughts but the observer of our thoughts… We were taught mindfulness, attention training, thought challenging and many other strategies and tools to help us. If you are suffering with OCD, I highly recommend for you to try and do Metacognitive Therapy in your area for OCD….. it changed my life and there is HOPE that it can change yours aswell I’m always here to chat to you