Immediate support
Immediate 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 discussion

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
Jump to
Start a discussion

All discussions

Start a discussion

singleorigin Scared of medication
  • replies: 4

Hi everyone, I visited a psychiatrist last week for treatment for my severe anxiety primarily, along with depression. I have a family history of anxiety and lived with it from an early age. After a comprehensive review of my life, the psychiatrist re... View more

Hi everyone, I visited a psychiatrist last week for treatment for my severe anxiety primarily, along with depression. I have a family history of anxiety and lived with it from an early age. After a comprehensive review of my life, the psychiatrist recommended an antidepressant as she said I would need to gain some perspective away from anxiety so that I can begin thinking rationally. The problem is I have long avoided medication as I am petrified of the side-effects. I am emetephobic and am deathly afraid of anything that can potentially cause gastrointestinal upset as I have suffered from IBS for most of my life and it is already debilitating. I did tell this to the psychiatrist and she said I may need to come back for further therapy on this issue. I'd like to know if there is anyone else here who may have felt the same or similar. The fear is so strong that it could be compared to thinking that the medication was in some way poisonous and a deadly threat. The psychiatrist said this is a chicken-and-egg kind of problem. I wish there was a way through because right now I feel rather helpless. Thanks, look forward to hearing from you.

Guest_3712 The Strangest, funniest or embarrasing things that have happened in a therapy session
  • replies: 127

Hi All, After some persuasion by a fellow poster I thought it might be a good idea to share our stories of " When therapy sessions go Wrong" or are just downright funny and/ or awkward. Surely I cant be the only one that has had these encounters. Min... View more

Hi All, After some persuasion by a fellow poster I thought it might be a good idea to share our stories of " When therapy sessions go Wrong" or are just downright funny and/ or awkward. Surely I cant be the only one that has had these encounters. Mind you I have been in therapy for many years and only recently have found some of these episodes amusing. So if you have reached that place where you can have a bit of a laugh at yourself or maybe its the therapist who's done something strange please share , So I'll start with a couple of mine. Just a couple of small teasers to get the ball rolling Early in my therapy I was totally embarrassed to share anything , and could only talk if my psych turned his chair around. Now he was only a short fellow and the chair had a high back, so all was good and I started to unload. My psych was quiet and I thought listening intently until I heard the unmistakeable sounds of snoring! Yep my deepest darkest secrets had put my psych to sleep! UMM had a lot of explaining and grovelling to do. Another time I became so paranoid that my secrets were going to be discovered by people that worked in the medical offices -other docs, receptionists etc so during one session I grabbed his paper and pen and refused to let him write any notes of our session! Of course I didn't think till after I went that of course he would write after I left - probably best I don't know what he wrote after that session! So that's it , if you have some stories I'm sure others would love to hear the lighter side of therapy . Take Care Stressless

Scruffy1 How often to see a therapist?
  • replies: 4

Hi all new here. Firstly can I share my story? For most of my life I have had anxiety and OCD I have always been able to deal with it myself but I have found things have been getting worse over the last 18 months when after many years of no one knowi... View more

Hi all new here. Firstly can I share my story? For most of my life I have had anxiety and OCD I have always been able to deal with it myself but I have found things have been getting worse over the last 18 months when after many years of no one knowing what it was I was finally diagnosed with a rare incurable medical condition (not life threatening but debilitating). After a separate health scare associated with this condition I finally had major surgery 5 months ago. since I had this surgery I have been getting more and more depressed and lacking any form of motivation to even do the things I enjoy. I have never suffered depression before. i finally worked up the courage to ask a GP for help and have had a mental health care plan drawn up and have been referred to a psychologist but as I have used up all my sick leave and annual leave when I had surgery I am restricted to making appointments for after work but these are hard to come by (first one was 6 weeks after getting mental health care plan and next one is almost 2 months away) my question is how often do you need to see a psychologist for it to be beneficial and is 2 months between appointments making the whole exercise a waste of time?

startingnew Going off medications......?peer advice wanted
  • replies: 14

Hi guys Ive checker the scales once again and im still gaining weight and its only been aince i started these new meds. I dont know what to do. The weight gain isnt good for mental or physical health but i cant budge it. I was warned id probably gain... View more

Hi guys Ive checker the scales once again and im still gaining weight and its only been aince i started these new meds. I dont know what to do. The weight gain isnt good for mental or physical health but i cant budge it. I was warned id probably gain just a few kgs when i firstly started but ive gained a whopping 15kgs I know alot of that is also because ive been abit lazy but geez in only 4 months ive been on them im questioning if its worth it anymore!. They work fantastic for my anxiety and depression but if i go off them i know what will happen and it wont end well. Ive already changed meds 3 times and i dont want to change anymore. Actually both of my tablets cause weight gain! The first ones made me sick and shed the kgs like flies but these ones are shocking for weght gain What would you do? Im stuck. I know your not health professionals i want peer advice on what the heck to do cause its stressing me more having all this weight put on Im going to increase my exercised to an extra hour a day as well but my god 15kg in only 4 months is ridiculous!!

Hypersleep Do you find ginger foods/drinks help with nausea/upset stomach? I want to try some but not sure where to start.
  • replies: 57

I've been having trouble eating lately, with a mix of reasons and severity. (If you'd like to give me some advice on that I have another thread on the introduction forums.) So I'm looking for the easiest ways to have ginger foods or drinks. I find th... View more

I've been having trouble eating lately, with a mix of reasons and severity. (If you'd like to give me some advice on that I have another thread on the introduction forums.) So I'm looking for the easiest ways to have ginger foods or drinks. I find that if I wake up too early I get a particularly upset stomach, sometimes throwing up mucus or phlegm in the period between leaving bed and doing an activity, not much though. If you have any other things that help you relax in the morning food based or otherwise don't hesitate to tell me, but I'm really wondering how I can try ginger easily. I've checked the forums for the keyword ginger but didn't really find anything quite like this.

Tacita PMDD - women's experiences of SSRIs and St John's Wort
  • replies: 7

Hi, I have been diagnosed with PMDD and have a huge reluctance to go on the Pill or SSRIs. I did try a pill, but it had a side effect I could not tolerate, so I came off it - with a horrific emotional crash! I know I'll keep having to reconsider whet... View more

Hi, I have been diagnosed with PMDD and have a huge reluctance to go on the Pill or SSRIs. I did try a pill, but it had a side effect I could not tolerate, so I came off it - with a horrific emotional crash! I know I'll keep having to reconsider whether an anti=depressant might be the best thing in the interests of work, family and relationships, but for now I am trying calcium carbonate and St John's Wort. It os too early to judge the efficacy of this. I'm curious about women's experience of using St John's Wort and its effects, and also of women who use SSRIs. If you take an SSRI for only half the cycle, as doctors have recommended, do you feel sadder in the two weeks you are not on it? Are there emotional effects of coming off and on cyclically like that? Thanks in advance. Tacita

Guest876 Starting back on Medication for Anxiety and Panic Disorder
  • replies: 1

Hopefully I'm doing this in the right part of the forum, if not please move to where suitable. I was on Medication for around 2 and a half years with great results, before being on it at my worst I was constantly anxious, having 2-3 panic attacks a d... View more

Hopefully I'm doing this in the right part of the forum, if not please move to where suitable. I was on Medication for around 2 and a half years with great results, before being on it at my worst I was constantly anxious, having 2-3 panic attacks a day and the depression from the panic attacks was rather severe. I tapered off in March and had little side effects during the taper (know this isn't the same for everybody) and for the first couple of months been off the drug I was still feeling my usual self. But the last month or so I have seen signs of my anxiety and panic coming back and decided the pros outweighed the cons with the medication so am now back on a very low dose. I just want to keep a little log on here not just for my benefit but for others who may either be getting on the drug for the first time or getting back on it again after some time off. There's a lot of bad posts about it on the internet and I don't really remember what side effects I had when getting on it for the first time so want to detail any and how severe and etc, also will probably relax me typing about it. Day 1 - I took my first dose an hour or so ago. The first time around I had a panic attack taking it which was purely due to me panicking (go figure lol) this time around I am still rather jittery about taking it again and wondering if I'm going to have a bad reaction (even though I was on it for over 2 years :/) which is obviously my anxiety. I bit flushed but nothing out of the ordinary and I do kind of recall sweating a fair bit on it especially early on so will keep track of that. If there's anything anyone wants to know about the first week or two on the medication let me know and I can tell you if I'm getting any of those sides. The main sides I got once I was on it for a while was a bit of weight gain and some lethargy but have come to realise I am more lethargic and less motivated off it than I was on it. Anyway hopefully I can be of some help on here during the time of getting back on it, thanks

beety Drug free treatmemt
  • replies: 5

Hi, my partner has been on AD for anxiety and depression for about 6 months, suddenly hit a crisis episode and wants to wean off the drugs. What can I expect? He won't see psychologist or Go back to GP. I would just like to know if it can be done ? I... View more

Hi, my partner has been on AD for anxiety and depression for about 6 months, suddenly hit a crisis episode and wants to wean off the drugs. What can I expect? He won't see psychologist or Go back to GP. I would just like to know if it can be done ? I'm not hopeful that it will work and scared of the fall out. He won't listen when I tell him I think they are helping it that there are other AD to try... advice please

Ricstix Getting ETC logistics proving difficult
  • replies: 3

My first post here. The medical staff I have encountered are great but I am fighting world war three with health service providers. To cut a very long story short, I need ETC and here are a few relevant facts to explain my situation. * I have private... View more

My first post here. The medical staff I have encountered are great but I am fighting world war three with health service providers. To cut a very long story short, I need ETC and here are a few relevant facts to explain my situation. * I have private health coverage for this treatment. * High blood pressure indicates the procedure should be done in a full operating facility (public hospital.) * Personal circumstances and distance from the nearest public hospital makes treatment as an outpatient there unfeasible. * Because of the restrictions placed on patients in a public inpatient mental facility, (even as a voluntary patient,) there is absolutely no way I would submit myself to a public inpatient facility. The very professional psychologist at the inpatient facility had what I thought was a great suggestion. Check into the (close) private facility and have the ETC done at the public hospital. The suggest plan was that I would take a Taxi or Uber the couple of kilometres to the public hospital and the hospital mental health transport would return me after the treatment was completed. Simple? The Public Hospital had no issues, but the private would not play ball. The Private Hospital’s response, “We can’t do it because of the logistics, who is looking after who, and who is responsible. And it doesn’t work in with our program. We just don’t have the resources.” (It has taken a great deal of willpower to refrain from commenting on the Private Facility’s response.) I would like to know if anyone has any suggestions on how I can find a private mental facility (that is close to a public hospital) that has enough smarts to pull off this seemingly herculean task of monumental proportions. Or, any other suggestions that will enable me to have ECT in a proper operating theatre with private hospital room facilities. Many thanks in advance.