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Cyclone Alfred - Mental Health Support

replies: 1

Hey everyone, We acknowledge that many of our Forums members here are currently facing the impacts of Cyclone Alfred and might be feeling uncertain, afraid and overwhelmed. We wanted to create a separate post here to come together during what may be a distressing time for many of us to support one another. Recognising that the impacts of a natural disaster can occur both before, during and after, we have prepared some resources which we hope can be helpful: From the Queensland Government, Useful information to help you get ready for a cyclone:Home | Get Ready Queensland Emotional Preparedness: Prepare your mind | Australian Red Cross Three-steps-to-emotionally-prepare-for-the-disaster-season.pdf What now? Coping after the event: Coping after a crisis | Australian Red Cross Maintaining wellbeing in the face of long-term stress | Australian Red Cross Emergency preparedness guide | Australian Red Cross As always, if you wish to speak to a counsellor, the Beyond Blue Support Service is available via phone 24/7 on 1300 22 4636 or via beyondblue.org.au/get-support for online chat. Stay safe, everyone, and take good care of yourself during what can be a deeply challenging time. Kind regards Sophie M

Meet your community champions!

replies: 10

Hi everyone, We wanted to share with you the way that our wonderful Community Champions are here to support you. You may have noticed that a few of our Forums members are labelled ‘Community Champion’. Community Champions are volunteers within the Beyond Blue Forums who: have the time, skills and empathy to support other members regularly; help to welcome new members; are actively engaged members that help set the tone of our community. Our Community Champions are regular contributors to many conversations across the forums. They are a consistent and friendly voice that have committed to sharing their experience and expertise with this community. They are not health care professionals or clinicians. Like you, they have an experience with a mental health challenge or diagnosis – either for themselves or someone they care for. This forum is for people who understand what it feels like and have a lived and living experience of mental health challenges. Our Community Champions help everyone feel comfortable and confident by demonstrating what excellent peer support is all about. Click here to find out more about how you can become a Community Champion! This incredible team are excited to introduce themselves below, and we are sure you’ll see them around the forums in conversations important to you.

HELP..Am I posting in the right section?

replies: 10

Welcome to those who are considering posting for the very first time, welcome. Thought I would repost part of the words that Chris B posted awhile ago, (2014) as I can hear that people are unsure if they are posting in the right section or worried that they are posting "the wrong thing". 1.A good title makes the difference Just like a headline in a newspaper, when scanning the dozens of threads to click into, it’s only natural that people will choose the ones that resonate with them most. A title that entices the reader, or asks a question, is likely to get a better result than something non-descriptive like “Depression” or “I don't know what to do”. If you think you’re not good at choosing titles, leave it till last. Spend time writing your post, then perhaps choose a sentence from what you’ve written as the title. 2.Join in threads that have already been posted We all have our own unique stories, but part of the reason for joining a forum like this one is because you know that you will have a lot in common with others who are posting. Before starting a new thread, have a look through the current topics being discussed and see if there’s a conversation you can join in with. It can be quite common to have a handful of very similar threads happening at any one time, with members seemingly unaware that there are others right there who are going through the same thing. Talking to other members on their threads is a great way of getting yourself known so that when you post a thread of your own, people may respond quicker because they recognize your name. 3.Choose the most appropriate section for your post Many people browse the forums looking for stories specifically to do with pregnancy and parenting, employment, grief, loss, separation etc. Going straight for the “Depression” section may seem like the easiest option, but this section is often the busiest, so your post is more likely to get lost among the threads. Making good use of the different forum sections not only helps keep the forum relevant, but you’re more likely to find others who are going through the same experiences as you. Also, if you're wanting to discuss issues of trauma, abuse, suicidal thoughts or self-harm, it's really important you post in the designated section to avoid triggering others who may not wish to read about these topics. Mostly..just come and chat, we are here for you. Our amazing wizards in the background will see your message ends up in the right spot. Sarah

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Do I feel emotions or do I just don't understand them?

replies: 5

This is a bit of a rant, sorry. This is probably not the most important thing somebody will post about, however I've been struggling with this for so long and it's kinda gotten harder to deal with. Sometimes I care about nothing. When I say nothing, I mean nothing. I've found myself start to drift away from certain things. I talk less to my friends, a lot of my conversations consist of small talk and the inkling to just get out of there. I fill my time up with assessments as I can avoid people, I hop from interest to another quickly without a care and dread seeing people often. I've recently discovered I care about NOBODY. Metaphorically I would take a bullet for nobody, I don't really feel emotions towards people except negative ones often. I don't know if its selfishness, or if it's the inability to create bonds with people. I think it would be the latter as I often find myself feeling empty or hollow. I have no hobbies. I dread spending time with my friends. I don't care about my family. I don't care about my animals. I don't have a connection to my emotions either, god this is really hard to write an explain. I'm not very good at explaining emotions and I often feel like I'm faking them. Like I know when I'm supposed to be happy, I know when I'm supposed to feel sad. So I pretend to feel this way. I recently had a family member pass away and I told my self over and over again, 'we didn't see them often, it's normal I'm not sad, it's normal I'm the only one in the room that doesn't have a good memory shared with them to talk about' but soon I realized that that's not how I should be feeling. Sorry for the rant, and sorry if I posted this in an inappropriate place as I only signed up a few minutes ago but is it normal to feel like I don't understand myself and my own emotions? Is it normal to not be able to identify or explain them?

Help please - want to find people to help with my ex husbands infidelity with best friend and neighbour past 4 years but all denial and narcassistic!

replies: 1

Hi there, please in need of some help to find the correct threads. Would like to see forums on infidelity and be able to share my story in a safe place. Very lonely journey as no one really understands the grief journey unless travelled themselves. T... View more

This is an excerpt from my 19 self during my bipolar. Did you ever write anything like this?

replies: 1

It was called “the book you I’ll ever need”. This is not a home just a temporary house. Home is what you want it to be, a place of ease and comfort that lovingly welcomes you regardless of your circumstances. Most of my garden is not mine when an unidentifiable seed is casually planted with my struggling plants that grow in pots. I am powerless. Cannot drive, ride a bike, I can only all and when I get approached they are confused on how to take me one. Instead of sugar in my cup it is salt. I am sick of the lies, backstabbing, gossiping, betrayal and ill-advised advice. NO. I do not have a Jon or any govt. welfare benefit - they are loose cannot say mad and crazy they make me feel. Not worth a breath. I am tired of waking up each day. I am scared of myself. I feel like I can keep doing things like when I was 17 years old and younger consumed by the darkness felling emotionally alone. I had no real stable relationships because I i still had to keep fighting for that tines, minuscule drop of attention. This is what hurts me and I see it and live in it, stop doubting me: I will prove you wrong even if I _ _ _ Just to prove you wrong because you never had the the guts to believe in me - not once. Not once. If you did you would not feel that I am all talk and no walk. Stoping trying you are just, correct and right there is nothing to prove - not to me anyway. I believe you, I am listening and trying as best as I can to understand you. I mean it. i am going to end it at here I’m not sure if anyone would like to read the rest I just wonder if I could write about how I feel now...it shocks me what up e written e.g. “Not everyone knows where and when and what they want to do, seem, learn and live happily with. People are still figuring it out. e,g if you have dreams and you want them, what is stopping you ? Reach for it! Listen to your heart, mind and soul. If you can convince youself.... you are bound to find someone see that straight away J .

First post

replies: 3

Hi, this is the first time I have ever been on any kind of forum. I decided to join because I did a Google search about anxiety over a new job and found some really helpful and relevant comments. How do I get back to that forum, I'm not sure what it was called. I have Bi-Polar, OCD, and very bad anxiety, but generally pretty high functioning. Really struggling to keep my anxiety under control in a new job though and looking to hear from the experiences of others and share experiences.

Hi

replies: 2

Hello My name is Dave, I'm 34, married with two kids. I have had depression and anxiety since I was an early teen and diagnosed with Bipolar disorder at the age of 24. I have had extreme highs and lows that thanks to correct medication has been less frequent. However I still have my bad days with periods of downs that bleed into many aspects of my life. I'd love to share my experiences over the journey and hopefully find and provide support. Thanks

Never thought I would be here

replies: 3

Hi, I am Amy. I moved to Australia 12 years ago. I lost my Mum in March this year and have been struggling since. Well, I was probably struggling the 5 years she was sick but now that she is gone, I am probably worse. I have been to a few counselling sessions and while it has helped with the grief quite a bit, not sure if it helps with my depression. I am married but there is always the feeling that my husband doesn't get what I feel, because he is not an immigrant and he never lost anyone close to him. And I just feel really lonely, as my Mum was my best friend whom I talked to all the time. I wish I can find a support group who experienced similar thing, but it is not easy. I did ring AGCB for support group but apparently the group was full and so was the waiting list. I am an active member of a church but surprisingly it did not give me much support either. So maybe I hope I can feel connected here? Thanks for listening to my rant.

New member introduction.

replies: 3

I think the last time I signed up to any message board was when I was 15. So please bear with me, I'm basically new at this. I'm not sure how much we're supposed to share on here, so just a quick intro for now I guess. I'm a 33 year old single Mum of 4 children aged under 10. I've battled with depression, anxiety and PND in the past but honestly thought it was behind me. Once it hit me that I was experiencing those feelings again though, I still can't for the life of me pinpoint when and why it started again. All I know is that I feel like I've felt this way forever and I'm starting to lose hope that it's ever going to get better. I think that's enough for an introduction. Hopefully not too much of an overshare. Thanks for reading, and it's a pleasure to "meet" you all.

Heya

replies: 2

Hi peoples ... Man these things are hard to start... Jimmy Recard is my fake name on here because it said not to use my real name. I'm a 36 year old guy still stuck in the 90's. I have had Anxiety, panic problems, quite bad depression, and depersonlisation since my teens. When I was 16 I had a series of panic attacks (panic disorder) mainly brought on by myself with alcohol and not eating enough, then being too sick to eat. This lasted for a whole summer, I couldn't go anywhere without getting very dizzy, then panicking. I then stayed at home a LOT that summer, which even without panic attacks, for a 16 year old very active young dude, is hell! When going back into school and schedule the next year I found it helped a lot, but formed lots of fun little phobias, and I then ended up failing school and just leaving. Finding work after that, I was starting to progress and was able to push through a lot of mental barriers. I then found work at a very stressful workplace, which paid good money though, I easily went into a rut of ... I guess emotional eating, binge drinking, the usual. The stress built up wayyy too much, I eventually booked 2 weeks holidays, then on that holidays, my panic disorder started again when I stopped eating so much junk food, but then also not eating enough good food either. This time while I was driving my car, I was almost 2hours from home, not that long of a drive, but every minute of that drive was filled with panic, just because I wanted to get home. My 20's were then filled with agoraphobia, major depression, depersonalisation, a bit of what seemed like psychosis. I couldn't get anywhere to get help, I had a mental barrier it seemed, that was about 500m from home. I had no job, no life, no goals, no ambition, no friends, no reason to wake up. For one part of a winter, I didn't bother going past my letterbox for about 2months because I didn't have the energy to put up with a panic attack that day from trying to keep pushing my barrier. This lasted about 10/11 years, and a few other problems along the way, long story finally shortened. I'm now mid 30's, only started SSRI's a couple years ago, which has helped HEAPS, but is not a full cure. I'm now trying to rebuild my life, find a job, and try kick some anxiety in the assface!

new thread

replies: 8

hello, i am new here. i joined to see if starting a thread would provide some insights...

Hello

replies: 6

Hi, I am 54, male and have walked a thin line with depression and anxiety for some time. It came to a head some 23 years ago when in my previous employment in a bank I was involved in a hold up. I fell down a huge hole that took some time to climb out, thanks to my wife, family and support I am here today. Lately I feel that I am falling in that hole again, pressure from work and high stress levels both at work and home is slowly getting to me. Stress of short of income and family concerns as my son is fighting for custody for his beautiful daughter is not helping me. I am thinking more and more of the "what ifs"... I seem to always be wrong ...... and I am starting to doubt my own decisions both at work and home. I just need to chat

Cyclone Alfred - Mental Health Support replies: 1

Meet your community champions! replies: 10

HELP..Am I posting in the right section? replies: 10

Do I feel emotions or do I just don't understand them? replies: 5

Help please - want to find people to help with my ex husbands infidelity with best friend and neighbour past 4 years but all denial and narcassistic! replies: 1

This is an excerpt from my 19 self during my bipolar. Did you ever write anything like this? replies: 1

First post replies: 3

Hi replies: 2

Never thought I would be here replies: 3

New member introduction. replies: 3

Heya replies: 2

new thread replies: 8

Hello replies: 6