Support
Support

Treatments, health professionals and therapies

Information on a range of different areas, including managing relationships with GPs and psychologists, and finding the right services for you.

Start a conversation

FAQ

Find answers to some of the more frequently asked questions on the Forums.

View the FAQ

Forums guidelines

Our guidelines keep the Forums a safe place for people to share and learn information.

View the guidelines
Categories
Start a conversation

All discussions

Start a conversation

OatyBoaty Desperately need help in helping an adult victim of online sexual predation/grooming/narcissistic abuse
  • replies: 17

Hi, I can't summarize this situation if I tried, but I have attempted to condense it as much as possible (13 posts...lol) My ex-girlfriend of 4.5yrs (who I will call Sara) a 27y/o from NSW, Australia has been successfully groomed by an online sexual ... View more

Hi, I can't summarize this situation if I tried, but I have attempted to condense it as much as possible (13 posts...lol) My ex-girlfriend of 4.5yrs (who I will call Sara) a 27y/o from NSW, Australia has been successfully groomed by an online sexual predator (21y/o from Laredo, TX) that she has never met last year, and his abuse continues. (I will call him Miguel), and I need help stopping it. I was (un)fortunate enough to have experience with almost exactly this scenario before before with some female friends about 13yrs ago, so immediately saw all the red flags and identified what was going on after the break-up, otherwise I would have up and left her the moment she broke up with me (as a result of his influence), and viewed the whole thing as "she monkey branched, she cheated, she's a horrible person, don't look back", I am staying and fighting because the women I knew who suffered at their hands of online predation engaged in suicidal behaviours...1 died by suicide, the other lived to tell the tale, in great detail. I hoped I would never have to have that experience...but here I am, in the midst of it. He groomed her over a 2 month period, caused her to 'break up' with our mutual friends, and mistreat her family. Her poor behavior created a divide between her and I, and since she had no friends, she went to him, and he manufactured a break-up (which I've since found out she WASN'T wanting to do, but did it because at the time, she was angry), then immediately (within 3 days...possibly less) told her he loved her and started love-bombing her, and isolating her from everyone, right as we had JUST moved into a house on our own that her parents owned after living together at her parents place for the last 2.5yrs in a DLUG that we renovated. 9 days after the breakup, she questioned his intentions in a really naive and silly way (I snooped messaged to find out what I was dealing with, I had never snooped in my life), effectively telling him that she wishes she didn't care what people said about him, but she does, and is hoping he will clear up her doubts, before asking him if he is manipulating her (doh!). 2 days after that, he sexualized their relationship online. I lived with her for 2 months in the new house, it was hell. Whenever we got close, he told her things like "Be careful of yourself around him" and "You had a moment of weakness". He would match her hours of sleep, or cut his sleep so he could be with her more (almost 24/7), and hoover her with love bombing.

Purofilion HAVE NO MOTIVATION FEELING SCARED ALL THE TIME
  • replies: 4

I have had Crohn’s for 40 yrs. I am on a lot of pain relief which in the past weeks I’ve increased the dose of but I know I can’t maintain that. I’m retired from work and sick and tired of being sick tired. I’m also scared . I don’t want to get out o... View more

I have had Crohn’s for 40 yrs. I am on a lot of pain relief which in the past weeks I’ve increased the dose of but I know I can’t maintain that. I’m retired from work and sick and tired of being sick tired. I’m also scared . I don’t want to get out of bed . To people I smile, slap on lippy, put on decent clothes but inside I’m empty, & scared & don’t want to do ANYTHING. I spend a lot of time thinking it’s easier to be finished. Any advice? Please!! — I know I should put “1 foot in front of the other” but I can’t start that or know how. Because life is attached to the loo or the shower, (I get diarrhoea a lot) I don’t have the ability to make plans. I’m often cancelling .

KMF Constant fatigue and antidepressant
  • replies: 4

Hello I have been taking an antidepressant since November last year. I am experiencing the side effect of constant fatigue which I’m finding very challenging. I would love to hear from anyone who is or has experienced this side effect. I will be touc... View more

Hello I have been taking an antidepressant since November last year. I am experiencing the side effect of constant fatigue which I’m finding very challenging. I would love to hear from anyone who is or has experienced this side effect. I will be touching base with my care team soon - I can’t keep living like this. Thanks

Iwanttobenormal New here and looking for advice on ECT
  • replies: 3

Hello. New here and hoping to find information to help me make the right choice. I was diagnosed with depression 20 years ago but its not till you look back over your life and realise that you have been living with it all your life. I finally underst... View more

Hello. New here and hoping to find information to help me make the right choice. I was diagnosed with depression 20 years ago but its not till you look back over your life and realise that you have been living with it all your life. I finally understood why I had been feeling like I felt for so long. Fortunately I responded well to medication and have been able to control it from overtaking my life. Until 2 years ago when I slid into a major episode I have not been able to control despite trying a range of new medication, and has overwhelmed me to the point that I am barely functioning. Now my psychiatrist wants to try ECT. Immediately I went into shock that this treatment seems the only option left; I was hoping meds would kick in, and wasn't aware that ECT is still being used as a treatment. Regardless the process has begun for me to have ECT. So I am hoping to find people who have had ECT treatment and are willing to share with me their ECT journey. My psychiatrist has provided me with some information, but I would like to hear from those who have been through it. At this stage it seems my only option.

Pad Dissociative Disorder
  • replies: 8

Hi there. Im suffer from Dissociative Disorder this was only officially diagnosed by not so long ago on top of my major depression/panic disorder. However when it was discussed and then diagnosed it answered a lot of questions as to my mental health ... View more

Hi there. Im suffer from Dissociative Disorder this was only officially diagnosed by not so long ago on top of my major depression/panic disorder. However when it was discussed and then diagnosed it answered a lot of questions as to my mental health condition since i was a kid. The disorder symptoms had progressively worsened in the past 4 years. I'm still coming to terms to how to live with this disorder on a daily basis and the triggers which can start an episode. I actually had an assessment for the DSP this week and the questions i was asked by the assessor relating to the disorder came as abit of learning curve for the assessor on what can occur with it. I was just wondering if anyone else may know of this disorder and any advice etc about it. Because quite frankly it can be quite scary in trying to deal with it and trying to explain to family and friends about the disorder as their only knowledge of it what they know in google and that is not very flattering in their description of the disorder. Thank u

ojguac I wasn't fully honest with my psychologist. What do I do now?
  • replies: 4

I have had one session with a psychologist after getting a mental health care plan for anxiety. She was really lovely and I definitely feel like I click with her. In the session we went through a lot of the big traumatic things have happened in my li... View more

I have had one session with a psychologist after getting a mental health care plan for anxiety. She was really lovely and I definitely feel like I click with her. In the session we went through a lot of the big traumatic things have happened in my life and I kind of just briefly explained them all. The whole time I managed to be really talkative and shared a lot. When she asked questions about how I feel in my daily life, I answered with what I thought was honesty, telling her that I am anxious all the time but that it's not too bad. She also got me to do the DASS test again which came back with results all in the 'normal' range. After leaving, I have been thinking a lot about what I said and how I actually feel and am now hyper-aware of my anxiety throughout the day. I realised that I am constantly worried about something... whether that be feeling anxious in social situations, worrying what others think of me, constantly replaying past conversations over and over in my head, always feeling sick even if I am not sick, worrying about being sick in public situations etc. I realised I don't think I'm ever really relaxed. I'm unsure why I wasn't able to tell her this, though. I'm not sure if it's because I didn't actually realise how debilitating my anxiety is, and perhaps because I've always felt like this I just thought it was normal and that I am actually only "anxious" on really bad days if that makes sense. I also think I wasn't able to be fully honest with her because I feel like other people have it worse than me and that I'm not doing too bad in the grand scheme of things. I mean I am still able to get up and go to uni and work, I have friends, I used to do well when I was in high school, I come off confident to other people. How do I tell this to my psychologist? How do I tell her I wasn't completely honest in our first session - kind of without me even realising. I'm scared she will think I'm just faking it or backtracking on what I said last session because I want sympathy or something. I don't want sympathy, I just want her to know how I feel so that she can help me. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Jrocky Unable to access mental health services for my child
  • replies: 4

Hello, This is my first time posting on this forum my 9yo daughter has struggled with anxiety since she was 2 but has only recently been diagnosed. She sees a psych (after a long time spent on many waiting lists) and her pediatrician has recommended ... View more

Hello, This is my first time posting on this forum my 9yo daughter has struggled with anxiety since she was 2 but has only recently been diagnosed. She sees a psych (after a long time spent on many waiting lists) and her pediatrician has recommended seeing an occupational therapist as well to help her better deal with some of her triggers. The problem is, I’ve called every private OT in my area and nearby areas and either their waiting lists are closed or are incredibly long; the shortest one she’s on is around 9 months but even then they couldn’t be sure that it wouldn’t be longer. I’ve tried the public system but after about 6 phone calls in one day, going around in circles, they’ve told me that she’s too old for community health (only up to 8 years old) and despite having a “child and youth mental health service”, they don’t have any OT’s within their service. Our local health service is Nepean (NSW) if that’s relevant. Our GP can’t think of any other avenues to pursue to try to see an OT. Im completely at a loss as to how to help her. Does anyone have any ideas? Thank you!

glowbrain How to tackle my perceived "resistance to change" in therapy?
  • replies: 3

My therapist (“Dr D”) got frustrated, labelling me resistant to change. I reject the claim stated that generalised. However, there is a pattern over my life and the year with Dr D which could be reasonably interpreted that way. Dr D’s homework assign... View more

My therapist (“Dr D”) got frustrated, labelling me resistant to change. I reject the claim stated that generalised. However, there is a pattern over my life and the year with Dr D which could be reasonably interpreted that way. Dr D’s homework assignment: why I am resistant? I’m at a loss how to start. If it was that easy to uncover, I’d have found clarity some time in my previous multiple decades of talking, writing and reading about a maladjusted life. I did extended work on my mental illnesses and personal struggles, and intermittently saw positive or dismaying results from professionals, programs and peer support groups. Including discouragement with, and/or criticism about: SSRIs, SNRIs, CBT, ACT, DBT, 12-Step programs, mindfulness, EFT, etc. I have several ideas about what is critical for changes, shared with Dr D. She dismissed most as either too academic, or too situation-specific, or too much about distancing from my own emotions and experiences, or too depersonalised to offer ways to take responsibility. For an example, I have had chaotic sleep patterns for years. I started trialling a new medication, forcing me to be consistent rising, eating then dosing before 8AM in order to avoid problems with the medication suppressing my appetite or later interfering with my sleep. I worked on my morning routine, but failed to tackle my social-media-until-after-1AM habit. My earlier rising produced fatigue that muddled the potential benefits of the medication. I saw this as doing the best I can with my limited self-control and attention. Dr D apparently sees it as me sabotaging the meds trial, or me blaming professionals for not giving me infallibly complete instructions. I should be taking more responsibility to do problem-solving to get on top of both my sleep and my medication in a way that works for me. Could there be some motivation that explains me not being fully enthusiastic about trialling the medication? That also throws light on my alphabet soup of past discouragements and rejections above? Seems unlikely. Should I try exercises built abound finding your place on the "stages of change" aka Prochaska's Transtheoretical model? Writing a play splitting myself into an enthusiastic persona versus a negative one to have them talk it out? Analyzing a table of pros and cons? Imagining a rock-bottom catastrophe that would make imperfect remedies seem worth it? Something else? What?

BballJ Medication & Anxiety
  • replies: 9

Hi all, I just wanted to reach out and ask of people's positive experiences with medication for anxiety & depression - I am not looking for recommendations on medications or names etc as I know this against the forum rules - I just want to see if the... View more

Hi all, I just wanted to reach out and ask of people's positive experiences with medication for anxiety & depression - I am not looking for recommendations on medications or names etc as I know this against the forum rules - I just want to see if they have indeed helped people. I just had a trip to my GP as my health anxiety has caused so many issues in my personal life that it has become incontrollable, my GP thinks it will be best if I go on medication as I am already speaking to a psychologist. I am open to the idea but again just wanted to know did medication help you in your recovery from anxiety and depression? Thank you in advance Jay

Talitha Ceasing anti-depressants
  • replies: 5

Hi there, I am considering ceasing anti-depressants that I have been on for over twenty years. I realise I need to slowly wean off the medication and will first seek advice from my GP. I would like to know who else has ceased their medication after a... View more

Hi there, I am considering ceasing anti-depressants that I have been on for over twenty years. I realise I need to slowly wean off the medication and will first seek advice from my GP. I would like to know who else has ceased their medication after a long time and if you suffered any side effects? Also, did your depression/anxiety return or were you able to function without medication?

As an organisation that supports people from across Australia, Beyond Blue acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of Country and their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay respect to Elders past and present.

First Nations Peoples are advised that this website may include reference to and images of deceased persons.

Beyond Blue is committed to safe inclusive spaces, policies and services for people of LGBTIQ+ communities and their families.

Helpful information

Stay in touch

Sign up below for regular emails from Beyond Blue, filled with information, advice and support for you or your loved ones.

Stay in touch

Talk it through with us, we'll point you in the right direction.

Call 1300 224 636

24 hours / 7 days a week

Chat Online

24 hours / 7 days a week

Email us

Get a reply in 24 hours

Copyright � 2026 Beyond Blue Ltd

All rights reserved

Contact us Terms of use Privacy policy Site map