Treatments, health professionals and therapies

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HalOddd How should i explain past depression during a pre-employment medical?
  • replies: 4

Have it on Wednesday for a police agency I’m joining. I’m worried a small bit of depression I had over a year ago will knock me back. I disclosed this during my interview as well so they’re aware. I was medicated for only 1-2 months and have been sym... View more

Have it on Wednesday for a police agency I’m joining. I’m worried a small bit of depression I had over a year ago will knock me back. I disclosed this during my interview as well so they’re aware. I was medicated for only 1-2 months and have been symptom and medication free for over a year. I am also used to dealing with stressful situations through my volunteer firefighting which I deal with fine. Have had a full time job and been in uni as well since this period of depression. how can I best explain during the assessment? I’m seeing my GP tomorrow to write a report as well.

Serge Collaborative Care Strategies
  • replies: 1

One thing I’ve been thinking about lately is how mental health support can be optimised when services collaborate instead of operating in silos to provide greater outcomes for clients.A person struggling with anxiety, financial stress, family conflic... View more

One thing I’ve been thinking about lately is how mental health support can be optimised when services collaborate instead of operating in silos to provide greater outcomes for clients.A person struggling with anxiety, financial stress, family conflict, or isolation often needs more than one type of support. Counsellors, peer workers, financial counsellors, family support workers, GPs, and community organisations all bring different strengths to the table. Partnerships between services can make a huge difference because people don’t have to keep repeating their story or navigate the system alone. moreover, creating strategic partnerships and collaborations can fill service gaps and decrease wait times. I’d love to hear from others where collaboration between services genuinely helped you or someone you know. Sometimes the best outcomes happen when support becomes a team effort instead of a handball between agencies.

SucculentQueen Claiming super for medical costs TMS
  • replies: 12

Hi All, Has anyone been able to claim on their super early to treat mental health conditions? I am looking in to seeing if I can claim to cover the cost of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. If depression is life threatening I dont see why TMS cannot... View more

Hi All, Has anyone been able to claim on their super early to treat mental health conditions? I am looking in to seeing if I can claim to cover the cost of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation. If depression is life threatening I dont see why TMS cannot be viewed as a potentially life saving treatment.Be great to hear from anyone who has information on this.Thanks

Torb Depression and low testosterone
  • replies: 8

Hi everybody, Just joined after reading other peoples posts and seeing all the support and suggestions people are happy to give in this forum. My story is that I have been treated by doctors and psychiatrists for a number of years now and things go u... View more

Hi everybody, Just joined after reading other peoples posts and seeing all the support and suggestions people are happy to give in this forum. My story is that I have been treated by doctors and psychiatrists for a number of years now and things go up and down. To complicate things I also have low testosterone levels which gives me the same symptoms as depression being low energy and general lack of interest in life and wanting to be left alone. What has complicated things over the last two years is moving from Adelaide to Brisbane and losing contact with my GP. Coming up here I had to start again and it turned out to be allot harder to get the medication and testosterone injections approved. Anyway, after about a year of going from specialist to specialist I'm now back on the testosterone replacement program again so hopefully soon my levels will go up to more normal levels again but it takes time. My psychiatrist first gave me one type of medication for depression but that didn't work so now I'm onto a different type but things are not going well even after almost a year. It is very up and down. Don't know what to do. Try a third medication? Try a psychologist? I'm still confused about whether it is the low testosterone or depression that is causing me to feel like this. Anybody out there with a similar story that could provide some feedback?

Amelie1234_5678 Blood test
  • replies: 1

I’m scared because im getting a blood test today because I got diagnosed with an eating disorder 3 days agoi am really scared of needles and I have not been able to stop crying for 5 hours nowits been a lot these past couple of days im still struggli... View more

I’m scared because im getting a blood test today because I got diagnosed with an eating disorder 3 days agoi am really scared of needles and I have not been able to stop crying for 5 hours nowits been a lot these past couple of days im still struggling with self harm so I will have to get my blood test on my other arm but im still scared

flagpole At a loss
  • replies: 2

Hi, I am a mum of 3 on a farm and have been living with depression for many years. It has become worse in the last few years and I decided that medication was worth a go. I started taking 25mg of X on tues and had all the normal side effects and felt... View more

Hi, I am a mum of 3 on a farm and have been living with depression for many years. It has become worse in the last few years and I decided that medication was worth a go. I started taking 25mg of X on tues and had all the normal side effects and felt pretty gross. By thurs my level of depression was significantly worse and I felt at risk which was pretty scary. I saw a dr who said to stop taking it for one day and if I felt the same to continue taking it the day after at 50mg, or start a new one (Y). I am still feeling lethargic, low, and unable to sleep even with sleeping tablets and more depressed than when I started taking them. I'm scared to start again and would like to have the advice of a psychiatrist to find the right meds for me, but there isn't one in this community. So don't know what to do now. Is there a psychiatrist in Albany as that's our nearest large centre? not coping at all, need urgent help. Thanks,

javalava13 i feel like i can't trust anyone and feel the most alone i've ever felt
  • replies: 2

i have a really, REALLY hard time leaving people or situations that arent serving me. ive been at my most recent job for years despite it being an incredibly toxic workplace and having all my friends, famiy and psych encouraging me to quit, ive staye... View more

i have a really, REALLY hard time leaving people or situations that arent serving me. ive been at my most recent job for years despite it being an incredibly toxic workplace and having all my friends, famiy and psych encouraging me to quit, ive stayed in relationships that were not healthy all because i dont want to let people down or have jard conversations or let gp of people.i’m starting to realise that i need to change psychologists because my current psych does not seem to be hearing me when i state the issues i find hardest to talk about but need to work on the most. i also feel like she is starting to notice me pulling away and is putting in slightly more effort, but it because clear its not genuine because it drops off again. i dont know if these issues im having are specific to her or if its just me in this spot of not feeling like i can trust anyone, but i have absolutely no idea how to have the conversation telling her i want to change psychs. im also finding im pulling back from a lot of friends and family, which is something I go through phases with doing, and end up losing people i really value all because i think they dont want me in their lives or like im a burden. please help. i recently went through a stage of having quite a lot of suicidal thoughts and have been improving, but am feeling like my mood is beginning to get more and more low and i need to speak to someone or do something.

Eagle Ray EMDR Extremely Severe Side Effects
  • replies: 5

I am writing this out of desperation. I had my first EMDR session one month ago. It was done suddenly in the middle of a psychology session without preparation. I had no idea of the potential side effects but have been extremely debilitated since. It... View more

I am writing this out of desperation. I had my first EMDR session one month ago. It was done suddenly in the middle of a psychology session without preparation. I had no idea of the potential side effects but have been extremely debilitated since. It seemed to work for the memory being processed at the time but 3 hours later I began to numb out. This has been followed by 4 weeks of cycling into long periods of extreme fear that surge in a sickening way and lead to feelings of self destruction. I have Complex PTSD and have since learned that EMDR can break down internal dissociative barriers that protect a person at the time of trauma. So what I’m experiencing is constant flooding and retraumatisation without the barriers that used to protect me in my brain and nervous system. No one seems to know what to do with this, my psychologist, GP or anyone. I have called Helplines many times but they cannot really do anything either. Reading multiple other forums (e.g. PTSD ones, Reddit etc) there are many people like me going through this following EMDR who are also desperate. Many have been impacted for months to years afterwards and still live in constant extreme fear now. A number have been medicated and hospitalised but no improvement. It’s terrifying the thought of not being able to get out of this. An approach that has been helpful for me in the past is Somatic Experiencing. The guy who developed it Peter Levine has some containment exercises for trauma which if done for about an hour can sometimes alleviate symptoms. That then helps for about 2 hours at best before the terror surges again. My body is being subjected to relentless adrenaline. Things that helped me in the past don’t work now or only briefly. I had a Bowen therapy session about 3 weeks ago and it helped at the time but as soon as I got in my car afterwards I was in out of control fear again. I don’t know how to keep living like this. Has anyone ever been through EMDR, had this response and found a way through it? I’m also presenting with a dissociative disorder that seems like OSDD though not formally diagnosed. I had a dissociative score of 37.5 on the DES-II prior to EMDR and from what I now know standard EMDR is not meant to be done on anyone above a score of 30 and according to more recent advice 20. I just want the suffering to stop and to feel somewhere near normal again. The other awful thing it’s done is remove positive emotions. Going to try sone creative things today to help myself.

Rubaiya ADHD Diagnosis
  • replies: 2

Hi Lovely People, Last year when I got to know about ADHD and its traits I was relating myself with it. I asked people surrounded by me and they told that everybody somehow relates to ADHD and I forgot about it. Coming to this year again I am feeling... View more

Hi Lovely People, Last year when I got to know about ADHD and its traits I was relating myself with it. I asked people surrounded by me and they told that everybody somehow relates to ADHD and I forgot about it. Coming to this year again I am feeling like this. And want to know about it more. Even if I don’t have ADHD, I would still like to discover and talk with a psychiatrist to navigate my life better. I tried out TAFE counselling twice. But I feel so frustrated because its just a 1 hr session and you can’t even share everything and then they tell you to come after 2 or 3 weeks. I feel no use. I went to GP to get a referral to a psychiatrist but he suggested me another GP. I am afraid that I might lose my patience and stop asking for help and continue living my life like this. As an international student I have no idea what to do and who to ask for help.. I am falling out of my studies and it is really scaring me. I would be really grateful for your help

SucculentQueen TMS Chatroom
  • replies: 3

Hi,Does anyone know of a live chatroom where you can talk/find/give support and share experiences on TMS?Have chatrooms died out and if they have what have they evolved into - I'm getting old and think it probably still exists but on another platform... View more

Hi,Does anyone know of a live chatroom where you can talk/find/give support and share experiences on TMS?Have chatrooms died out and if they have what have they evolved into - I'm getting old and think it probably still exists but on another platform or something?All input much appreciated.