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Treatments, health professionals and therapies

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Idontevenknow Inpatient Care
  • replies: 4

Hi All, Does anyone have any insight on what its like to be in a specialised mental health inpatient unit. I might have a planned admission soon and not gonna lie I'm kind of scared as to whats going to happen. I've been admitted to hospital before b... View more

Hi All, Does anyone have any insight on what its like to be in a specialised mental health inpatient unit. I might have a planned admission soon and not gonna lie I'm kind of scared as to whats going to happen. I've been admitted to hospital before but never to a specialised mental health unit. Any tips, advice, personal experiences would be helpful. Thanks heaps

kiwikp Psychologist/Psychiatrist
  • replies: 3

I'm a support for somebody with depression. He has tried 3 different medications without success. He is reluctant to try a fourth as he says after 3 you have to move onto a psychologist or psychiatrist, is this true? He has been medication free for 2... View more

I'm a support for somebody with depression. He has tried 3 different medications without success. He is reluctant to try a fourth as he says after 3 you have to move onto a psychologist or psychiatrist, is this true? He has been medication free for 2 years and is suffering terribly.

Lana87 Weaning off meds after a decade
  • replies: 2

Hello There, I was just after some real life experience and advice! I have dropped the dosage in the last week, in a bid to get off my decade long use of antidepressants. I started when I was 21 and now feel I am in a good, stable place and would lik... View more

Hello There, I was just after some real life experience and advice! I have dropped the dosage in the last week, in a bid to get off my decade long use of antidepressants. I started when I was 21 and now feel I am in a good, stable place and would like to wean off slowly. After consulting with my GP I am decreasing in increments over the next few months. Hopefully off after that! I have yet to find anyone who has successfully gotten on this particular medication after such a long period of time. I am currently experiencing dizziness, loss of appetite, flu/like symptoms, fatigue, night sweats - alot of sweating, just feeling vague and out of body feelings. What have you experienced?

josh88 Timely and accessible medical support for mental health is not good enough
  • replies: 4

I'm sure that there is a lot of really great work out there that beyondblue and others do, which is great, however i feel like for many people (like me) who are experiencing mental health issues, serious enough to require medical intervention, but no... View more

I'm sure that there is a lot of really great work out there that beyondblue and others do, which is great, however i feel like for many people (like me) who are experiencing mental health issues, serious enough to require medical intervention, but not serious enough to warrant immediate intervention or support from crisis support services, that they do not receive the timely support that they need. This has been my journey to try and access the help that i need: Booked in to see GP (+1 week) GP and I agreed that i needed to see a psychiatrist to help manage medication and look at other options. Recieved a referral. Called to book in to see Psychiatrist. Clinic says that the Psychiatrist is on holidays until the end of the year and not taking new patients. Asked to be booked in to see someone else there. Clinic says that I need a new referral. Go back to GP and ask for new referral. GP sends a referral to the clinic, and suggests calling them in a week to arrange an appointment. Call the Clinic for appointment (+1 week). Am told that the earliest appointment to see any psychiatrist is in October... I can't wait until October for help, so now i need to go back to my GP, again, to get another referral to see a Psychiatrist, which could also have lengthy waiting lists. I know this may sound somewhat petty but i really feel like part of the problem with access to mental health support, particularly medical help, is that it is so bureaucratic and inaccessible for people who need support and intervention as soon as possible. I am interested to know if others have experienced this or similar things though.

Paw Prints Psychologist no longer contactable, what happens to my records?
  • replies: 4

Hi all, Because I moved a few years ago I had to start again with a new Psychologist. I had been seeing her monthly, she went overseas for 2 months last August & I felt at that time I would try & manage without seeing her when she got back. I became ... View more

Hi all, Because I moved a few years ago I had to start again with a new Psychologist. I had been seeing her monthly, she went overseas for 2 months last August & I felt at that time I would try & manage without seeing her when she got back. I became very unwell in January & it has taken me until last month to feel able to see her and get the help I need. I got an updated MCHP from my GP & rang my Psych. Telstra message advised her number was no longer connected & the building she had rooms in has been sold & now has new tenants. My GP has the same details for her & when I check the National Health Services Directory she is still listed with that number & address (site says updated last feb). I have googled her name, but all hits come up with what I already have. She was not part of a practice. I don't know if she has retired/died or just moved away. What happens to my notes/records. This is really worrying me that I have no idea who may now have access to them. Paws

16sundayz Dissociation
  • replies: 3

Does anyone mind if I ask this question? When you have dissociated can you hear people if they are talking to you? I’m asking because my psychologist said he was talking to me while I was dissociated and when I came back he asked me if I heard him an... View more

Does anyone mind if I ask this question? When you have dissociated can you hear people if they are talking to you? I’m asking because my psychologist said he was talking to me while I was dissociated and when I came back he asked me if I heard him and I said no. So I've suggested to him that when he's notices I've dissociated that he keeps talking to me as it might bring me back quicker even though I can't hear him. Does anyone have any other ideas I can ask him to do?

Mil How to make oneself go see a psychologist?
  • replies: 19

Hi all, I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I suppose I'll get re-oriented if there's a better section of the forum for this. I'm a 28-year-old woman with a bit of anxiety. I'm seeking to get this treated as it's lately been mor... View more

Hi all, I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I suppose I'll get re-oriented if there's a better section of the forum for this. I'm a 28-year-old woman with a bit of anxiety. I'm seeking to get this treated as it's lately been more crippling than before (I have anti-productive anxiety that makes me procrastinate) and I feel like it's starting to affect my sense of self (I feel like I've become an over-worrying, nagging, whining person when I used to take most things with good humour). My issue is, I've never been to a psych and I'm not really good at discussing private/intimate matters such as these so it's quite terrifying and easy to find excuses to not actually do it (I don't have time/money for this - which is true in a sense, but I'm the person deciding how I allocate my money and time so... blah). Instead I'm stuck into this phase of just thinking/talking about going to see someone. Plus I don't currently have Medicare. I recently learnt I might be able to get it, but instead of investigating this further I'm writing this. Or, as soon as I have better days, I tell myself I don't really need this, that I'm just being over-dramatic or too lazy to tackle my own issues myself, that it's not that bad etc. And it IS not that bad, I'm still functioning, just not very well sometimes and self-loathing is starting to kick in. I don't know. It sounds like a very "privileged problem" compared to some people who are in much deeper discomfort. But at the same time, I don't want to slide further down so addressing this now is probably wise. Anyone else going/gone through this? I know there's no miracle trick and I just need to do it. But it'd be nice to hear from people who have been there. I also have an unrelated (I think?) issue that I don't know what to do with but it might be best to discuss it in another post. When I'm ready. Have I mentioned I'm a professional procrastinator? Ergh! Anyway, thanks for reading and thanks for this awesome website. Mil PS: Sorry if my English sounds a bit weird at times, I'm not a native speaker.

Paul2019 Psychiatrists, medication and diagnosis, oh my.
  • replies: 4

Quick background, I have always been a bit "dweeby" and I'm an IT professional by day. I've struggled with anxiety-like symptoms for about 20 years. I've been to my GP more than once, started on anti-depressants, but they made no difference to my day... View more

Quick background, I have always been a bit "dweeby" and I'm an IT professional by day. I've struggled with anxiety-like symptoms for about 20 years. I've been to my GP more than once, started on anti-depressants, but they made no difference to my day to day life, anxiety medication was better but felt like I was using the wrong tool for the job in the sense that, it dealt with the majority of the symptoms, but I wasn't getting "better". That is, I just felt like I was maintaining. I've also done the free medicare health plan, but honestly, the psychology had little to no effect on my overall feeling of well being. My GP said that the next step is a psychiatrist, which isn't covered by Medicare, so before I go out and shell out a whole bunch of cash for more treatment, I'm looking for some other forum users who might have gone down this path. What condition were you going to get help with? (Feel free to omit this if you feel you'd prefer) What was your experience like? How did it compare to seeing a therapist or psychologist? How much did you pay (if you don't mind) and how many sessions did you need (or want, if you couldn't do all that you wanted) If you stopped, why, and would you go back? I know it's a rather generalised question

nicola21 ECT bad experience
  • replies: 2

Heyyy, so I've been struggling with depression and anorexia for 5 years. I received 30 ect treatments and whilst it did help with my depression I've had terrible side effects. I can't remember anything, literally my short term memory is dreadful and ... View more

Heyyy, so I've been struggling with depression and anorexia for 5 years. I received 30 ect treatments and whilst it did help with my depression I've had terrible side effects. I can't remember anything, literally my short term memory is dreadful and there's chunks of my life missing. I have an inability to focus completely, I'm experiencing aphasia, no math aptitude and its completely messing with my social skills and its causing me to have more panic attacks because I can't pursue my future because I am completely incapable. Did anyone else have these negative side effects and/or know what to do about them. I'm really struggling