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Guest_26809678 Should I stop my SSRI?
  • replies: 1

Hello, considering stopping my long term (18 year long) use of SSRIs for depression. I feel bad most of the time now so am not sure what good it is doing, if any. I tried increasing the dose and became suicidal so thats not an option. I tried another... View more

Hello, considering stopping my long term (18 year long) use of SSRIs for depression. I feel bad most of the time now so am not sure what good it is doing, if any. I tried increasing the dose and became suicidal so thats not an option. I tried another SSRI briefly and put on 10kg so that is also not an option. I feel like my personality has changed over the time I have been using it, I very seldom feel joy and I miss this. My life has become very small. Has anyone done this and have any advice on their experience? I feel I have to at least try it. At the time I was diagnosed it was for clinical depression but my most prevalent symptom day to day is anxiety.

PleaseHelp Sensitive topic Denial
  • replies: 1

My ex partner is in denial about sexual assault allegations that she & another woman made to me about an ex partner of hers. We have a young daughter together & we have been through family court which I initiated. With the support of an ICL I was abl... View more

My ex partner is in denial about sexual assault allegations that she & another woman made to me about an ex partner of hers. We have a young daughter together & we have been through family court which I initiated. With the support of an ICL I was able to have a restriction placed upon her from bringing her ex into contact with our daughter. I did this because her denial was so strong that she started to call him a good friend shortly after he was released from Jail into her parents care & what may have been a disclosure from our 3yr old daughter that he may have done something to her as well around the same time. When we first met she said that he would mentally abuse her & her parents would always take his side, belittle her & claim she was lying, apparently he was like a son to her dad. Years later after having our child a traumatic event in her life triggered a repressed memory & she disclosed he sexually assaulted her. I did not handle it well & jumped very fast to talk with her father as I feared for her & our daughter's safety. When I did so she shifted & said that she was uncomfortable with me instead to stop me. The disclosure was buried behind our subsequent breakup as I was gaslit & constantly forced to defend myself from constant lies & a new twisted reality in which nothing made sense. We got back together months later as none of that was real, I wanted the games to stop & I wanted my daughter to have a united family. The narrative became that she only said uncomfortable with me because of her traumatic day & I was not supportive. I also repressed the memory. Shortly after we got back together her ex was released into the care of her parents on bail after committing a violent assault & his ex disclosed to me that he had raped her too. My ex had previously had him blocked from contacting her 10yrs & had claimed she wanted him nowhere near our child as he was a psychopath & she feared him. But after his release to her parents & my protest to them which was rejected harshly, to avoid that same harshness she denied not just the sexual assault but everything else as well including his ex's claims. We broke up shortly after & I sought the restriction as she began to use my concerns for our daughter against me & claimed my efforts to protect our daughter was coercive. I am struggling to believe that she has been following the restrictions. She has conditioned me to not bring it up & I have to put faith in the restriction but I just can't. Please help.

Brisbane_women ADHD & Driving
  • replies: 1

Hi everyone, I am looking for peoples personal experience on late adhd diagnosis and if they were told they needed to inform Transport of Main Roads of a Medical Condition that is likely to effect their ability to drive safely. It’s been brought to m... View more

Hi everyone, I am looking for peoples personal experience on late adhd diagnosis and if they were told they needed to inform Transport of Main Roads of a Medical Condition that is likely to effect their ability to drive safely. It’s been brought to my attention through experience that adhd is on the list of conditions that require you to inform the TMR (transport department). The website wasn’t clear and I uploaded a medical certificate I thought was what they wanted. They wanted the form F3712. I rushed to inform them as my GP kept emphasising that I have a commercial license and he believes I require periodic reviews to maintain my license. My psychiatrist never said anything to be. But I never asked. She know I was a truck driver and provided a note for my work. I only see her every 6 months and I was concerned that I would get pulled over and drug tested. And the test will show the medication. As a result my license was suspended pending that form being filled out and if not submitted my license being canceled.I was diagnosed when I was 6 and medicated until 10 years old then stopped. I’m now 34. Through out that time I have managed my very mild symptoms if any with no issues. I have a perfectly clean driving history. I have also had a truck driving job for 6 years. Prior to seeking medication. The reason for me seeking help now was to see if I was medicated would it help me pursue studying for another career as I am currently a truck driver and don’t want to do that for the rest of my life. Current situation i had to get an emergency appt with my psychiatrist. Not an easy thing as she only works part time. She had to take the form home to speak to a work colleague and I picked up the form. I noticed she missed a part of the form that was obviously her part to fill in. Ticking the boxes private and commercial boxes. Now I’m waiting for the medical side of the TMR office to be able to speak to my doctor to confirm what’s missing on my form and process it. This has been the biggest mess and the most regrettable life decisions I’ve made. I’m a casual worker. So this has cost me the ability to work and make a living. I have complained to the OHO because I believe this is a communication issue between psychiatrists and patients. But I’m not holding my breath. What I have learned about this so far is: it’s due to Jets Law which came in to play in 2008. You can be fined if you fail to disclose a medical condition that is likely to affect your ability to drive safely. You must be assessed based on the medical standard referred to in the ‘Fitness to drive guide 2022’’ it’s very vague. Looking forward to hearing from anyone.

Guest_69643663 Where to get mental health services on weekends
  • replies: 5

Hi, my partner is struggling with his mental health but is extremely reluctant to take time off work to see a professional. We have the weekends off, but I can’t find access to really anything psychology wise in Sydney to sign him up to. The solution... View more

Hi, my partner is struggling with his mental health but is extremely reluctant to take time off work to see a professional. We have the weekends off, but I can’t find access to really anything psychology wise in Sydney to sign him up to. The solution is not to convince him to take time off, it won’t help. If anyone knows anything that would be really helpful. We are going to go on a mental health care plan soon.

Unholy_Idiot Alternative Medicine and disability.
  • replies: 4

So this is a bit of a strange thing for me to openly talk/ask about, but I’ve acquired myself a prescription for medicinal weed as it helps with the anxiety I feel from my epilepsy. I’m also going through a lot of legal issues with my former partner/... View more

So this is a bit of a strange thing for me to openly talk/ask about, but I’ve acquired myself a prescription for medicinal weed as it helps with the anxiety I feel from my epilepsy. I’m also going through a lot of legal issues with my former partner/mother to my due to my mental state, so I’m in the process of getting an official diagnosis and my own place to live. But the biggest thing I’m finding myself struggling with is my finances. It sounds like a cop out but I truly believe I have some form of ptsd preventing me from being able to maintain a “typical” job so I feel like the next logical step is to try and get onto some sort of disability pension. But I can’t find any simple explanation as to whether I’m eligible or not. I also feel like I’m using these as an excuse to not work, but I genuinely do WANT to be a “normal” member of society but no matter how hard I try I just can’t do it. Like I said, any explanation I can come to always ends up feeling like it’s an excuse over an actual reason. I just want to live my life and be the best dad I can be without worrying about my finances but god damn is living expensive even without my medical weed. Any sort of advice or support is appreciated. No matter how small it may feel to you, it means the world to me.

Guest_69639852 Headache/flinching feeling, like everything is too much
  • replies: 1

Whenever I get overwhelmed by emotions (anxious, frustration), or there are too many noises/audio in the environment I get this strong head feeling like a balloon is growing bigger my head. It makes me want to hide and I slam my hands on my ears when... View more

Whenever I get overwhelmed by emotions (anxious, frustration), or there are too many noises/audio in the environment I get this strong head feeling like a balloon is growing bigger my head. It makes me want to hide and I slam my hands on my ears whenever it happens. I used to smack my head to try and make it stop. I mostly hunch over and hold my hands and scratch my palms to feel safer or more comfortable. I get too freaked out that I usually can’t speak either or I don’t want to move. I don’t know why I do this. I’ve been told by psychologists and friends I have traits of autism. But when I was young I already had an assessment done and I was told I don’t meet the criteria. It’s confused me a lot ever since and I feel unsure if I am autistic or not. I have other traits that align with autism or neurodivergence, but if that’s not the case then I don’t understand myself. It depresses me a lot.

Just Sara What's it like on a psych ward?
  • replies: 45

Hi all; This topic often comes up so I thought I'd create a thread to inform, and discuss concerns of people scared to ask for help from a hospital. I've worked as a mental health peer worker since mid last year so I totally understand the stigma aro... View more

Hi all; This topic often comes up so I thought I'd create a thread to inform, and discuss concerns of people scared to ask for help from a hospital. I've worked as a mental health peer worker since mid last year so I totally understand the stigma around being admitted. I spent two weeks on a ward a few years ago so my post is from lived experience as well. Depending on your circumstances, being admitted voluntarily or involuntarily isn't really any different except if you're violent or are at risk of self-harming. In these instances patients are sent to a ward where they can be monitored more closely than on other wards. Think of the MH system as a scale from 1 to 3; at each level you're being assessed to move to the next level of care with less monitoring and more independence, eg. wards can be closed or open depending on whether the patient is a risk to themselves or others and has proven themselves to be actively participating in their own recovery. Assessments are carried out by a psychiatrist assigned to the patient on admission or the next available time permitted as they are extremely busy or it's in the middle of the night. Nursing staff take daily, and sometimes hourly notes to support the assessment process. They follow the Dr's treatment plan which includes medication both regularly administered and PRN for crisis situations when people need something extra to help them cope. In my own case I was prescribed a daily anti-depressant with PRN anti-anxiety as a back-up which I only requested when I couldn't sleep or was distressed. People with more severe symptoms are treated with medication in alignment with their particular diagnosis and responses. Sometimes it takes a while to test what the best medication is, so letting staff know how you feel with any new drug is really important. Their notes are a direct link to your psychiatrist and are discussed every morning in a combined clinical meeting to identify the best avenue of treatment and ward movements for each patient. As you can imagine, patients at each stage of the scale will differ in how they act, respond and engage with others. Focusing on yourself and recovery is the best way to approach your stay. Hope this helps. Looking forward to comments from members. Kind thoughts; Sez

Davey_NSW Withdrawal from medication
  • replies: 8

Hello everyone, I’m coming off almost 15 years of an SSRI, which is being managed in conjunction with my GP. I have managed a reduction in my dose and have now been completely off my meds for about 2.5 weeks. I am still experiencing withdrawals such ... View more

Hello everyone, I’m coming off almost 15 years of an SSRI, which is being managed in conjunction with my GP. I have managed a reduction in my dose and have now been completely off my meds for about 2.5 weeks. I am still experiencing withdrawals such as insomnia and foggy mind. Any tips on how on how to manage these withdrawals and how long I can expect to experience the withdrawals?

RoseK ECT and stigma and feeling alone
  • replies: 9

Hey everyone, I have had many ECT treatments and I’m 25. I find it really hard to be doing this sort of treatment and have it so stigmatised and having to keep my mouth shut due to the way I am viewed when people find out. I feel really alone. No one... View more

Hey everyone, I have had many ECT treatments and I’m 25. I find it really hard to be doing this sort of treatment and have it so stigmatised and having to keep my mouth shut due to the way I am viewed when people find out. I feel really alone. No one I know has ever had it and I can’t find any sort of support groups for those having the same treatment. I feel like stigma surrounding it hasn’t improved since that “one flew over the cooocoo nest”. It’s really hurting feeling on such an out and being silent. I even looked on the public hospital websites in my area, I know they do ECT but it wasn’t even acknowledged, only tms. My doctor has told me he doesn’t believe tms will help me and so that’s not an option and really only for mild depression. Anyone else suffer with the same sort of isolation/lack of support?

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