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bigstar Just a message for those who are scared of medication.
  • replies: 3

5 months ago I tried to admit myself to hospital after not sleeping for 13 days and I was psychotically depressed. I went in there begging them to just make me unconscious. Of course they didn't. They sent me to my GP and I had no choice but to try m... View more

5 months ago I tried to admit myself to hospital after not sleeping for 13 days and I was psychotically depressed. I went in there begging them to just make me unconscious. Of course they didn't. They sent me to my GP and I had no choice but to try medication. After thirty years of dealing with this sickness--I finally got on the meds. I just recently returned from travelling Europe on my own, I'm back at work, I finally have my self back again after a year of crippling anxiety and 5 months of the most crazy hopeless depression. It's a weird and precipitous turn around and I still have my bad days but I am basically back to my old self again. Wait, I'm better now! I could never even get on planes or travel I was that anxious all the time. And look at me go now. I know there are a lot of people out there who are still thinking about meds and I just hope this might inspire you to do it if you like the sickness is insurmountable. Don't feel like you're giving in. You don't have to do this on your own. I wish you all way more than luck. X

Suet suet Clinical versus generalist psychologists
  • replies: 2

Hi, I have been seeing a generalist psychologist to work on my depression and anxiety for about 2 months now. I have gone to 3 sessions with her so far but I don’t find it very helpful though. I guess my issues are: 1) my engagement problem that the ... View more

Hi, I have been seeing a generalist psychologist to work on my depression and anxiety for about 2 months now. I have gone to 3 sessions with her so far but I don’t find it very helpful though. I guess my issues are: 1) my engagement problem that the counselling is unhelpful. I lean pretty much on her and I don’t do much practice outside the sessions etc this can be an issue! 2) the psych i am seeing isn’t a good fit for me. Yet I am trying to find another GP to fix my engagement problem. so the second issue I suspect is that my psych is generalist not clinical one. Should I find a clinical psych? I wonder if the later would make a difference because clinical psych have done more training and they are able to offer a broader range of psy therapies. They do charge a higher fee as far as I know (the Medicare rebate is higher too). so anyone can give me an idea please if this is true ? thank you

Beetle Generic AB's versus brand AB's- expeiences anyone?
  • replies: 11

HI There My antidepresssant went generic this week.But I stick to the brand name since I am over the moon that it works and won't switch to another company just because of the price.I am happy with the drug i take and terified that i might feel worse... View more

HI There My antidepresssant went generic this week.But I stick to the brand name since I am over the moon that it works and won't switch to another company just because of the price.I am happy with the drug i take and terified that i might feel worse if i switch to generic! Apparently generic drugs are not exactly the same then the brand name drugs. Has anyone expereince with that? has anyone switched from a brand name drug to a generic drug and felt differnt? I am really looking forward to your answers beelte

Happy_Feet Electroconvulsivetherapy
  • replies: 2

My adult son is about to undergo electroconvulsive therapy after years of fighting depression and suicidal thoughts. He has the support of his family. He is splendid and his life matters greatly to us. Has anyone else walked through this therapy with... View more

My adult son is about to undergo electroconvulsive therapy after years of fighting depression and suicidal thoughts. He has the support of his family. He is splendid and his life matters greatly to us. Has anyone else walked through this therapy with their son? If so, did you see lasting benefit?

Polly101 My Job is getting me down
  • replies: 7

Hi guys, I dont really know where to start but my boss has pulled me into a meeting last week and told me my anxiety and depression has been affecting my job performance. He said I would not have a position unless I get myself sorted and this next ro... View more

Hi guys, I dont really know where to start but my boss has pulled me into a meeting last week and told me my anxiety and depression has been affecting my job performance. He said I would not have a position unless I get myself sorted and this next roster my hours were cut. I don't know where to look for support and advice, and I feel quite intimidated by my boss. I feel pushed by him into talking about these issues and very much like I am worthless as a worker at this stage because of the comments. Some people have suggested HR as a way to help negotiate some terms while I get help for my mental health but I am too scared to contact them without consulting my boss. I am also to the point where I feel like I should complain about him with the hours being cut and the way I was spoken to by him, but no one heard the meeting so it is only my word. I am going to the doctors tomorrow for some help but this feels like I am hitting rock bottom. I didn't want to be forced into going to the doctors but I'm scared if I don't do anything I may end up jobless. I love my work to keep me busy and my friends and customers are great. But my boss has ruined what I feel is one place I feel safe and to be myself. It's been stressing me out and most likely made me perform worse. I would love to hear back from anyone with advice or maybe sharing an experience that's similar. It has honestly been a struggle the past week to feel ok.

silicontrip Worried about being unable to continue receiving treatment.
  • replies: 13

I'm currently seeing a Psychologist and a GP for my medication. I've used up all my mental health plan visits, so my psychologist costs have doubled. My GP was bulk billing but is now also charging for visits, who I have to see for a script every 4 w... View more

I'm currently seeing a Psychologist and a GP for my medication. I've used up all my mental health plan visits, so my psychologist costs have doubled. My GP was bulk billing but is now also charging for visits, who I have to see for a script every 4 weeks. The medication my GP has put me on has made vast improvements to my day to day life. Now I'm not sure about how much I can discuss about my medication, my GP has mentioned something regarding it that is now causing me to worry about being able to continue receiving treatment. His solution was that I need to see a psychiatrist but will cost about 4 times as much as my psychologist. From the sounds of things if I don't, I won't be able to continue with my medication, but these costs are starting to really blow out. Are there other options? Or people who know of not so expensive psychiatrists? sorry for the vagueness as I'm not sure what I can discuss here. Thanks

BipolarKitten Dsp rejection
  • replies: 3

Hi all sorry if this is in the wrong spot - I was unsure of where to put it. So hopefully I can keep this short. I'm on my second Dsp application, the first one was rejected because I wasn't "stable" enough and the suggested to wait a few months and ... View more

Hi all sorry if this is in the wrong spot - I was unsure of where to put it. So hopefully I can keep this short. I'm on my second Dsp application, the first one was rejected because I wasn't "stable" enough and the suggested to wait a few months and then reapply rather than appeal it which is what I've done but I just received an email saying that I failed to meet the 20 point criteria however not only did I submit the same information and letters (and then new stuff as well) as last time, but they never bothered to contact me to give me a capacity assessment which is something they did last time. I guess really I'm at a loss as to how I met the 20 points last time but not this time and I don't know if I should launch a review, an appeal or submit an entirely new application. Has anyone else been in this position? Unfortunately I've only got until the first week of November with my looking for work exclusion so I don't have loads of time to sit around and figure out my next steps. Just FYI I went in with bipolar 2, adhd, and agoraphobia, all diagnosed and treated. Psychiatrists notes (going back over ten years), hospital summaries and gp letters submitted. Thanks everyone!

Lurkette Problems with getting a mental health diagnosis (long)
  • replies: 2

I'm a migrant, so I don't know how mental health stuff works here in Australia. My ex partner was very abusive. I migrated to Australia to be with him. After a few years, I finally left him. I'm in a safe place now and I don't have contact with him o... View more

I'm a migrant, so I don't know how mental health stuff works here in Australia. My ex partner was very abusive. I migrated to Australia to be with him. After a few years, I finally left him. I'm in a safe place now and I don't have contact with him outside of a few lingering legal issues. After being in the relationship with him, I'm very anxious, afraid to leave my new safe home, and I have a low mood/little energy. I'm also dealing with flashbacks involving old acts of abuse. So I probably have some mix of PTSD, depression, and anxiety. Maybe other stuff too. After being in this relationship I need a formal medical diagnosis to bring to court to show what effect the abuse had on me. I need it to document how disabled I am. I need a diagnosis to show every agency I'm dealing with to make sure I get access to the right treatment and services. I've been through 4 different programs, including asking to be voluntarily committed into the psychiatric ward of the local public hospital. I keep assigned to under-qualified people who aren't allowed to give a psychiatric diagnosis. They're happy to talk to me in sessions, but this apparently isn't a real medical record of having mental health problems. In the meantime, I can't apply for a disability pension because I don't have a diagnosis. Is this ... normal for Australia? Is it normal to refuse to diagnose people with mental health problems? Or to make it this difficult to get a diagnosis they can hand over to other people to get access to the services they need or to document the results of abuse they've suffered?

Coastie1990 Very worked up right now RE: psychologist referral
  • replies: 3

Hey I was on a MHCP in 2017. I decided to switch to a BOMH this year so I could get extra visits (covered by Medicare). Just found out tonight that my referral was rejected because it only covers psychologists in my local area (the Central Coast). Ve... View more

Hey I was on a MHCP in 2017. I decided to switch to a BOMH this year so I could get extra visits (covered by Medicare). Just found out tonight that my referral was rejected because it only covers psychologists in my local area (the Central Coast). Very annoying but it looks like the BOMH is useless. I am planning to just get another MHCP. But my receptionist thinks I will have the same problem? That I must have a psychologist from my local area. Is that a recent change? Or is it just for the BOMH? I didn't have this issue for my MHCP back in 2017?

NeuroticAF Erectile Dysfunction after stopping SSRI - Extreme anxiety and worries about permanent damage
  • replies: 2

Background: Male, 20 years old. I have some kind of health anxiety disorder (have been diagnosed), but at the time of diagnosis it was apparently quite peculiar. I essentially have the mental health version of hypochondria. For 6 months of my life th... View more

Background: Male, 20 years old. I have some kind of health anxiety disorder (have been diagnosed), but at the time of diagnosis it was apparently quite peculiar. I essentially have the mental health version of hypochondria. For 6 months of my life this year I was so obsessed with the prospect of becoming schizophrenic (something which wasn't actually happening/never happened), but I ended up developing paranoia just because I was so dreadfully anxious of developing paranoia. I essentially started developing symptoms just by focusing on them so much. I started having regular panic attacks because I thought that I was losing my mind, and was having regular doctor's appointments and psychologist appointments to help me deal with it and arrange a plan of attack. I ended up taking an SSRI anti-depressant for the anxiety which actually worked very well when it kicked in. I was in a relationship of 3 years at the time, which has now ended because I felt I needed to see other people (this will become relevant soon). I didn't really have many sexual issues while on it for the most part, but towards the end of the 6 month period I found myself losing my sex drive completely and having trouble maintaining erections. I dealt with this with a mixture of alcohol (drinking before having sex), and medication. This worked with my ex, and I didn't really worry about it too much. Now that I'm single, and dating a girl, things have gone south very quickly. After my first date with her, she came back to mine and I just couldn't get an erection, no matter how much I wanted to. We were making out, the whole thing, but it just wouldn't happen. She left, and I was very frustrated, and I decided to stop taking the medication cold-turkey. I've seen her twice since then, both at my place, and the same thing has happened each time. I am now worried that I have a permanent PSSD type situation going on. I have intense anxiety around the idea of never being able to get an erection around a woman ever again (my anxieties always tend to be worries around permanent problems). So, I picked up some (very expensive) medication, and am hoping it works, but I don't think it will. My anxiety is stopping anything physical from happening. I am able to maintain erections when I'm calm and by myself, and can reach orgasm reliably, but whenever she's around it all stops. Should I go back on the SSRI? Should I see someone? I'm lost.