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startingnew Different therapies- have your say
  • replies: 5

Hi Everyone. I find when im reading alot of threads people are unsure of what therapy they would like to go with or are unaware that there are more options than what meets the eye. Some often feel embarrassed or hopeless when the therapy they are in ... View more

Hi Everyone. I find when im reading alot of threads people are unsure of what therapy they would like to go with or are unaware that there are more options than what meets the eye. Some often feel embarrassed or hopeless when the therapy they are in isnt helping or find it is making them worse. Therapy isnt suppose to be comfortable but if its not working for you, then speak up and seek other options as well. So i am interested to know from my peers what therapies you have tried or are currently trying and why/ why not you find that therapy works/doesnt work for you? i have been trying CBT before having a break and i was one of those 'its hopeless or im a hopeless case' people. I found it was good to get things off your chest however it wasnt helping me because it was bringing up alot of stuff but i wasnt being taught skills to be able to cope in between sessions. I found i learnt more on here and the people from bb and through reading materials than my therapist who is paid to help me. Any thoughts and opinions are welcome

MooRich94 Apprehension/Anxiety Towards Antidepressants
  • replies: 5

Hi everyone, so I’ve been avoiding taking any antidepressants now for years due to feeling like I will be a complete failure if my life has come down to taking a pill to feel happy. Unfortunately my depression/anxiety has come to a point where it’s g... View more

Hi everyone, so I’ve been avoiding taking any antidepressants now for years due to feeling like I will be a complete failure if my life has come down to taking a pill to feel happy. Unfortunately my depression/anxiety has come to a point where it’s getting very hard to manage and i’m So over feeling sad and exhausted so I feel as if I at least owe myself to give antidepressants a crack. What I am worried about are the side effects. Can someone with experience please give me comfort. Will they make me gain weight? I don’t have any self esteem as it is, I don’t see how that’s going to help me?! Will they make me fatigued and exhausted and moody?! No desire for sex?! What’s the point of taking them when they sound like they make life worse. My first doctor who tried to prescribe them to me even told me not to read the pamphlet that comes with them because it will scare me off, so of course I did and I didn’t take a single one. Please give me some guidance, I am out of other options. I live in a rural area so face to face counselling isn’t available. I just want to be happy again and stop wasting my life feeling so miserable and run down all the time. Thanks everyone.

selfportrait Psychiatrists won't treat me
  • replies: 2

Late last year I had a falling out with my psychiatrist over late payment of fees (I'm on Centrelink because my depression and chronic fatigue have kept me off work since 2015), and I had to stop seeing him. I've been trying for several months to fin... View more

Late last year I had a falling out with my psychiatrist over late payment of fees (I'm on Centrelink because my depression and chronic fatigue have kept me off work since 2015), and I had to stop seeing him. I've been trying for several months to find a new psychiatrist, but every one I've contacted has declined to take me as a patient because of my specific medication requirements and now apparently my reputation as a difficult patient. The meds I'm on can't be prescribed by a GP, and I ran out of them almost a month ago. I'm very ill and desperate. I know that every psychiatrist has the right to refuse to treat me, and without any money to my name I don't really have any recourse. I don't know exactly what kind of advice I'm even looking for, but if anyone has anything they can share, I need any suggestion I can get.

sjay88 Weird sensation in legs when trying to sleep since Psychiatrist increased dose of Antipsychotic
  • replies: 3

About a month ago my Psychiatrist increased my dosage of Antipsychotic and while it has done what it is supposed to do, it has now left me fighting for sleep. I get this weird feeling that in my legs that makes me or feels like it makes me want to mo... View more

About a month ago my Psychiatrist increased my dosage of Antipsychotic and while it has done what it is supposed to do, it has now left me fighting for sleep. I get this weird feeling that in my legs that makes me or feels like it makes me want to move my legs all the time, it seems to occur and worsen after about 2 hours of taking meds. It is a weird and very uncomfortable sensation which is preventing me from sleeping. Has anyone else found this side effect to occur, and what was done about it. I am worried that it is just me, or that I am just imagining it. I never know with these things and I am getting very anxious about it. I have a complication as well by means of a illness that can and does affect my muscles and it feels like since the increase in the Antipsychotic, this has been enhanced. I just don't know, am I just imagining it, or is it something new for me to deal with. Any thoughts, on whether i should tell my Psychiatrist, I don't want him to think I am a complainer, should I just put up with it for the sake of feeling more in control mentally. Kind Regards Sjay88

Moonstruck Can you see two GPs at same time?
  • replies: 5

..Have been with my regular GP for nearly 10 years now and happy with her and treatment of my physical condition - no complaints. She referred me on different occasions for anxiety/depression to free visits with a psych counsellor which was helpful. ... View more

..Have been with my regular GP for nearly 10 years now and happy with her and treatment of my physical condition - no complaints. She referred me on different occasions for anxiety/depression to free visits with a psych counsellor which was helpful. I am in a really bad way now, very very low, and realising I urgently need help. I feel on chatty light hearted terms with my GP and don't feel comfortable letting her see "the real me" how desperately I need help now. When there for medical reasons, scripts, check ups etc ...(I am doing fine physically) I put on a happy front and can't bring myself to break down and reveal how serious my mental condition is now. Is it so terrible for me to visit a totally new GP, just for a referral to psych sessions - because I am calling out for help here...but would another GP see me, if I already have a regular one??? We are advised constantly to "seek help, first port of call should be your GP, ask for help"...well I am doing just that....but I know my current GP too well in a friendly way after all these years to reveal my innermost emotions. Please advise.

akemi Please help - Free/subsidised (more than Better Health) for DBT/ACT?
  • replies: 4

Hi, I'm in desperate need of help. My boyfriend is very close to crisis point, and has been suffering with mental illness for most of his adult life (he just turned 30). His experience with therapy (since teenhood) has nearly always been negative - e... View more

Hi, I'm in desperate need of help. My boyfriend is very close to crisis point, and has been suffering with mental illness for most of his adult life (he just turned 30). His experience with therapy (since teenhood) has nearly always been negative - every psychologist he's been referred to has always employed CBT which simply does not work for him (he's quite alexithymic/cannot comprehend his own thoughts and feelings and finds classic CBT incredibly frustrating), and the cost of therapy has been extremely prohibitive for him (even with a Better Health Mental Health Plan) because he is a low-income earner (less than 50k before tax) and has no support from his family. I cannot support him on my income either. He feels completely trapped, he lives paycheck to paycheck and spending money on therapy that has thus far been unhelpful means he is dissatisfied, unmotivated and disenchanted. I've managed to convince him that perhaps a different type of therapy may be more beneficial (DBT, ACT, Interpersonal) but finding a therapist that specialises in these has been hard, and the ultimate hurdle will always be cost. Can someone provide ANY suggestion or advice on what we can do? I feel like he has slipped through the cracks of our government's various mental health options. He doesn't fit the category of "Young Person", his income isn't low enough to get a health care card, he doesn't have any other special concessions. He knows that he needs help, he wants help, but he just can't afford it and we don't know what to do. Today he told me he's thinking about different ways to kill himself because he feels so lost. Please help me.

Drew1986 When do you admit yourself to hospital 😢
  • replies: 2

Hi I’m 31 years old. Just signed up. First post. I don’t know where to start. I’ve had anxiety and depression since I was 15. I was diagnosed with ptsd at 19. I now have had an episode. Something I’ve never felt before – unwanted intrusive thoughts. ... View more

Hi I’m 31 years old. Just signed up. First post. I don’t know where to start. I’ve had anxiety and depression since I was 15. I was diagnosed with ptsd at 19. I now have had an episode. Something I’ve never felt before – unwanted intrusive thoughts. I have since that event curling up in bed any chance I get, crying, sleeping, angry outbursts, no energy no want to talk or do anything. I haven’t found anything that brings me peace so to speak I’ve seen gps more than could even count. Seen 2 psychologists but felt it wasn’t for me. One physchatrist which I don’t even recall. I’m numb. I’ve had tragedy after tragedy and since that episode I feel I’ve begun crashing into the realisation I need help. Docs have upped my meds. I feel no better. Any suggestions or advice would be most welcome. Thanks

HappyHolly Private Mental Health Hospitals?
  • replies: 4

Hello! I have suffered from anxiety on and off for over 20 years. I am seeing a psychologist and have been on antid’s for years too. I have been having quite a hard time lately and have been looking into a 2 week inpatient program at a private hospit... View more

Hello! I have suffered from anxiety on and off for over 20 years. I am seeing a psychologist and have been on antid’s for years too. I have been having quite a hard time lately and have been looking into a 2 week inpatient program at a private hospital. It is very expensive, so not something I would take lightly, however I would love some personal experiences and whether time at a hospital has helped you manage your mental illness? Was it worth it for you? Did it give you strategies that would have been hard to get in one hour weekly sessions? Any pros / cons? Thanks in advance xx

Spanner744 bi polar. no help. dont have a mental illness in Australia..
  • replies: 4

i have bi polar. seeing a gp at the moment.. im on a pension.. ive had it for many many years. has always been impossible to get help from anyone ive struggled. i cant afford the fees psychiatrists charge. there the only ones that are able to perscri... View more

i have bi polar. seeing a gp at the moment.. im on a pension.. ive had it for many many years. has always been impossible to get help from anyone ive struggled. i cant afford the fees psychiatrists charge. there the only ones that are able to perscribe the correct meds.. my gp is not trained in mental illnesses at all... im on medication buy not working... even though they are flogging mental health everywhere... its fairly land... you will get no help no resolution nothing.... its a scam to make. money for foundations and psychiatrist. a scam totally

Guest_161 just had first psychologist app.. feel weird/stupid and confused
  • replies: 27

Iv just had my first appointment , due to loosing my brother in january, iv been feeling angry, depressed, sad,guilty, i just cry all the time, initially i was contacted by palliative care and was asked if there was any counselling needed, i failed o... View more

Iv just had my first appointment , due to loosing my brother in january, iv been feeling angry, depressed, sad,guilty, i just cry all the time, initially i was contacted by palliative care and was asked if there was any counselling needed, i failed on 2 attempts and didnt turn up as i just felt i would be a crying mess and in reality they cant bring my brother back. But its been the past month or so that i felt i needed some help as iv also lost a couple of friends and a few other issues in life and its been making me feel even more emotional, so i decided to see the gp and get a referral . First thing was i was late, morning traffic plus rain so i was already embarrassed before it started, then i just had no clue what to say and felt stupid again that I'm over reacting and of course I'm gunna be upset with my loss, i didnt sleep last night because i was so stressed i would just cry and not get any words out but then i managed to go 10 minutes with out crying and then felt like well if I'm not crying and I'm here for grief wtf ? ( i did manage to cry as the more convo went on ) I'm not sure if it was because my session was only shortdue to me being late but she didnt really ask me a lot of questions apart from what feelings are you experiencing and when i did cry she just sat there and looked at me , i felt uncomfortable , i didnt get to talk about a lot in depth and felt like i spoke to fast and jumped to saying something else n just didnt make sense. my main issue is my grief but i have a few other issues i delt with in the last few years going through my brothers sickness and still dealing with them which makes my grief worse , will she ask me about other things or do i just bring them up ? she did mention she felt like i hold my feelings back i was unsure of what she meant and she said I'm not here to be your friend , this is all in confidence , I'm here for support with out the judgement , i just said i know that i guess I'm here for help but when i start to talk i cry i dont want that. i DONT KNOW JUST FEEL WEIRD