Staying well

Sleep and anxiety seem to go hand in hand

replies: 3

I have difficulty getting of to sleep I usually end up watching a TV program on my tablet and fall asleep half way through I then wake up and can't get back to sleep and then I start getting anxious as I am awake and the rest of the house is asleep. ... View more

I have difficulty getting of to sleep I usually end up watching a TV program on my tablet and fall asleep half way through I then wake up and can't get back to sleep and then I start getting anxious as I am awake and the rest of the house is asleep. I get even more anxious if I look at the clock (I try not too) if it says something like 3am and I an awake so I lie in bed imagining all these things that might be wrong with me as I am awake. I have tried going to bed later and doing some puzzles or reading I might then drop off for an hour or so then wide awake I sometimes get up and make a cup of tea at 3am. I do not sleep during the day and do not feel tired during the day, perhaps I am one of these people who don't need a lot of sleep. Anyone got any ideas on how to get to sleep naturally the worst is waking up in middle of night and lying awake I often read a book and then must drop off again as book is on floor when I wake. If I go to bed at 9 I will be awake at 1am, if I go to bed at 10 I will be awake at 2am, if I say awake till midnight I will be awake at 4am then it's at least an hour before I get back to sleep I would just like to go to bed at say 10pm and sleep till alarm goes off at 7am, anyone else have my problem

A Five-Year-Old Girl

replies: 2

In 2018, I was extremely upset while walking home from school. I was heart broken by a group of best friends who left me and I was unsure of how to cope with life. I lost track of the time because every day seemed the same, I had severe irritibality ... View more

In 2018, I was extremely upset while walking home from school. I was heart broken by a group of best friends who left me and I was unsure of how to cope with life. I lost track of the time because every day seemed the same, I had severe irritibality issues, I had not showered nor brushed my teeth in a week, my hair was very untidy, there were deep purple bags visible under my eyes, and there were wrinkles and self-harm marks visible. I was walking with my head down and considering suicide that day due to breaking down in tears in a class, almost destroying school property and causing a fight, and a mother and father who berated me. A trailer almost ran me over, however I did not have a single thought nor care towards it. A five-year-old girl from a nearby primary school skips towards me and says with glee on her face while pointing to my school: "Do you go to this school?" I replied in a monotone, low, and quiet voice that was followed by a sigh of disappointment: "Yes." The girl replied cheerfully: "Okay. Bye now." While she skipped away, my head turned upright and I smiled. I hope that she knows that my friendship with the same group of best friends who left me has been reinstated since, and I am continuing to live and thriving years later.

Psychiatrist won't treat me

replies: 8

Hi everyone I recently admitted voluntarily. I saw a new doctor who dropped a bombshell - your diagnosis is wrong, we've ruined the last 10 years of your life and you were never really that sick, its just a minor condition we missed and all the stuff... View more

Hi everyone I recently admitted voluntarily. I saw a new doctor who dropped a bombshell - your diagnosis is wrong, we've ruined the last 10 years of your life and you were never really that sick, its just a minor condition we missed and all the stuff we've filled you with is why you've been a basket case. A number of issues happened during the four days I was admitted, so I eventually told a nurse it wasn't helping and there was no point me staying. Apparently being a voluntary patient means nothing. 12 hours later I was woken up with police at my door and detained for 12 hours for an involuntary assessment. I'm not sure thats legal but anyway it happened. I got over it, followed through with gp and psychology appts. Today I received a letter about the follow-up id booked with the psychiatrist. Not treating you due to your breach of trust, go see your gp and find someone else. Wow.

🎶Music 🎶

replies: 6

What music / artist / song do you relate to, or find helps you through? (A rough patch) And why? Can be be more than song, or more than one artist. THEN: What music makes you feel good, helps you feel better, makes you feel good about yourself? What ... View more

What music / artist / song do you relate to, or find helps you through? (A rough patch) And why? Can be be more than song, or more than one artist. THEN: What music makes you feel good, helps you feel better, makes you feel good about yourself? What music / song / artist/ band can you connect to on a more personal side? I want to know if music helps anyone else, as much as it has, and continues to still be helping me in my journey. MUSIC IS THE ONLY REASON I’M STILL ALIVE

Need help staying clean

replies: 4

61 days clean... it’s been a rough few days for me, all I can think about is getting a fix. sometimes it consumes my head 24/7, so hard

Acceptance- is this our biggest challenge?

replies: 7

Acceptance is in the mix, in terms of the process we have to face where it comes to our demons. Like all the other factors in our quirky lives with mental illness challenges, we often have more intense fights to endure. We have to accept we have a me... View more

Acceptance is in the mix, in terms of the process we have to face where it comes to our demons. Like all the other factors in our quirky lives with mental illness challenges, we often have more intense fights to endure. We have to accept we have a mental illness- no mean feat before we can feel relaxed in our own skin. We have to accept being “different”, not normal and we have to accept others wont/don’t/cant understand. We have to accept the download of all this and the discrimination from nasty people. Then there’s the challenge of accepting ourselves. To top all this off we have the the computer. This machine has made incredible advances in communication, knowledge sharing and we as a result are far more aware and educated. But there is a downside….misunderstanding. In respect to forums we shed our outer skin, expose our deepest thoughts and in many cases display information about our inner thoughts we would not normal reveal. This can have ramifications. I’d argue that we with emotional needs far greater than normal and sensitivity at peak levels, that we are prone to fall into traps on the internet more often. Facebook is a good example. I covered this in an article (google) “topic: is social media good for you?- beyondblue”. Bullying from some quite nasty people had occurred with me over a 5 year period by one low life person that surprisingly was a popular fellow with others…for a time. Until people realised his inner persona wasn’t all that nice as his exterior appeared. By the time harm was done, the personal messages of “take more medication and go back to your doctor buddy” cut deep and there was no way I could just “laugh it off”. Internet disputes place us in a situation whereby you feel you cannot avoid them. We humans cannot agree about everything. But the worst thing about internet communication is, we don’t see the smile when the other posts, we don’t read the words how they were intended to be received and we certainly don’t have a vision of the good nature of the person…that often is clouded. We need to always try to move forward because the bigger picture of life itself is important. It isn’t an easy task because we are still chewing at the bit about our side of a story…so we have to be brave if we are going to use computers as our tool to talk, find common ground and swallow our pride. Acceptance, our greatest challenge? I think so. To accept ourselves and focus on the bigger picture. What do you think? Tony WK

Constant urge to do my bit

replies: 11

Since several years, I have had this constant feeling that I want to do more and do my bit to help out the needy and those who cannot stand up for themselves. I am always on the look out of like-minded people who would be able to share how they help ... View more

Since several years, I have had this constant feeling that I want to do more and do my bit to help out the needy and those who cannot stand up for themselves. I am always on the look out of like-minded people who would be able to share how they help out in the community and actively support the causes that are close to them. This feeling of mine is quite strong and often makes me feel helpless that I am not able to support people who may need me. I often help out with donations but I feel the world needs more of it which again brings me back to the feeling of being helpless. Are there any of you in a similar mind space? Would really like it if you could please share your experiences. Many thanks!

Getting off SSRIs

replies: 2

Hey all, I’m wondering how anyone has coped with reduction and complete withdrawal from SSRIs and how long did the symptoms carry on? I am on my 8th day and wondering how long symptoms will last? ie,.... *the pins and needles, numbing in the face *th... View more

Hey all, I’m wondering how anyone has coped with reduction and complete withdrawal from SSRIs and how long did the symptoms carry on? I am on my 8th day and wondering how long symptoms will last? ie,.... *the pins and needles, numbing in the face *the light headedness and feeling faint at times *the sweating *manic behaviour(isn’t too bad but depends on who I’m interacting with, chilled people are fine but naturally argumentative people are setting me off) thanks in advance

HOSPICE LIVING ...

replies: 4

Death and Dying is Alive, believe it or not. That's why hospices exist. Best would be "At Home". As our body collapses, various levels of support can be used. Eventually only very professional stuff, very expensive and tricky, might be needed. Betwee... View more

Death and Dying is Alive, believe it or not. That's why hospices exist. Best would be "At Home". As our body collapses, various levels of support can be used. Eventually only very professional stuff, very expensive and tricky, might be needed. Between these two extremes, we "living" people can be so upset. This discussion topic is for the End_Of_Life feelings. Our End_Of_Life existence is not usually comfortable. That's why so many chemical "Downers" (alcohol, tranquilizers, THC, etc) are so popular. Being sensible and awake to real life is so scary. In this topic, we will try to make this End_of_life stage less scary. Dying and death are natural. That's a scary secret.

Merry Christmas in 2020

replies: 66

Hi Everyone, I did try and do a search for Christmas 2020 on the forum and kept getting a message stating something like "Page not found" every time I tried to click on the word Christmas. Maybe the Grinch is trying to steal Christmas yet again! If t... View more

Hi Everyone, I did try and do a search for Christmas 2020 on the forum and kept getting a message stating something like "Page not found" every time I tried to click on the word Christmas. Maybe the Grinch is trying to steal Christmas yet again! If there is another thread about Christmas, can someone pleas let me know. Not everyone celebrates Christmas, I understand that. This year it may be especially difficult as well due to Covid and so many other issues people have in life. This year will be our first without my Dad. As I was decorating the tree I was thinking of Dad and the Christmas celebrations we had as children. Way back then we were able to go out in the scrub and cut down a native Christmas tree. This year I have to work Christmas Day so I won't be able to attend Church, nor a Christmas Eve service as family are coming for dinner. I am very thankful that at present we are still able to plan for some of the family to be together. I have no idea how busy I will be Christmas Day at work. Hopefully people will be relaxed and happy! Christmas can mean different things to everyone. It may mean nothing and that is okay too. If you'd like to share thoughts here about Christmas, the end of this year or any other celebration you have happening soon, please do so. Today I am trying to boil a Christmas pudding! I have to ensure the saucepan has water for 3 hours! In the past I have neglected this step and ended up cooking the saucepan when it ran out of water and the pudding was a rock! Wishing you all a great day no matter how you are spending it. Peace to all, cheers from Dools

Pinned discussions

A Bouquet for Pearls - share your appreciation for other members

replies: 715

All discussions