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hazza11
Casual Contributor

New to website and been struggling....

Hey,

Suffered with depression (MDD) most of my life and last year was diagnosed with high levels of anxiety and PTSD.

Been really overwhelmed lately, struggling with my studies, struggling to sleep and do the normal everyday things properly. I am not suicidal like I have been before, but tired of going through the same cycle all the time, if that makes sense.

Slowly, I have been becoming a bit more anti-social because of a few reasons I suppose. When I tell my wife about my depression it seems to make things worse because she doesn't really understand it and I feel like I have little support around me at the moment.

I have been thinking of finding a social group for people suffering with mental health, has anyone done this before? I think talking about my story and listening to other would be beneficial and different from one on one with a mental health professional, which I don't think I get a lot out of at times.

 

Thanks for taking the time to read my story.

9 REPLIES 9

Re: New to website and been struggling....

Dear @hazza11

A warm welcome to the forums. Sorry to hear you are struggling, but glad you arent' suicidal. Depression is painful enough without the millstone of suicidality "thrown" in. 

I'm pretty much exhausted at the moment so I feel like I don't have much I can say, but I did want to welcome you and encourage you to keep posting. Feel free to search the forums on things like PTSD (A diagnosis we have in common) and join the conversations. Or start new ones about your interests or questions. I'm sure you will be made welcome by the others. We are a pretty honest, caring and supportive community here. You will find that tends to go right across diagnoses.

Please take care of you. Living with depression is very exhausting work. I wish you wellnesss - whatever that means to you.

Hope for connecting with people who "get it" endures... 

Kindest regards,

Kristin

Re: New to website and been struggling....

Hi there @hazza11

A big welcome to the forums to you!!

Major depressive disorder can be very overwhelming and I really feel for you. The fact that you are studying must make it very hard too, and I can see that you would struggle. Although good on you for studying, this is great!

The fact that you are reaching out for help is a real sign of strength in itself you know - pat yourself on the back for that. A lot of people try to struggle on their own and it only makes things worse and worse.

I think a social or a support group is a great idea. There are many different organisations that can offer this. Can you tell me which state you are in and I can see if I can drum up some contact details for you.

The other thing is, you have come to a really good place here. There are many people here who can give you lots of support and hope.Some of our wonderful members include  @Troubled_One @shanc @peace @PeppiPatty and @kristin

Also, you mightlike to have a look at this discussion about depression and anxiety and see what some other members have to say.

Keep on posting @hazza11 - you have friends here!!

Hobbit.

Re: New to website and been struggling....

@hazza11

Hi and welcome to the forums, it takes a fair bit of courage to post your first post so, congrats on that first step, i know myself and others here, know what you mean in regards to the same cycle, i have been diagnosed with depression and anxiety as well as bipolar, one thing i have found with this forum is that you are not alone, and that others are going through or have been through perhaps not the same but similar expierences, and i know if you search through using the search button thing up top, you can find pages where people have spoken about what helps them etc.

I understand about anti-social, i tend to pull away from friends, or others when i am feeling down, but here i found some good ways to help keep me motivated per say, hints or tips and tricks to help with opening up.

I am lucky in i have a really good relationship with my psychologist, we have used a few techniques to help me deal with anxiety, using mindfullness, in as many aspects of life as possible i find that helpful for me, there are some breathing techniques that i also do which i find helpful, and i know some others have other things they do also.

Oh and i use music a lot, i have specific playlists to help me with my moods, for me music can adjust my feelings of depression and anxiety it helps reduce it.

but like i said, they help me, and everyone as we know is different, but again welcome aboard and i hope you find some things that help you here

Re: New to website and been struggling....

welcome @hazza11 , Glad you've found us here. While it isnt face to face I do think this is a great and friendly social place to share some of the difficulties we face with mi. 

I would also like to meet other people in real life with mi or having similar issues to me like single parenting, but living in a country area makes it difficult and the mental health people i see dont know of anything like that around here. 

I was wondering if it is something that bothers you that its hard to explain to your wife, that maybe she could go to some counselling with you or that you could maybe write her a letter about how you are feeling. If it was something that was on your mind that is.

I tend to withdraw as well, though im not really a social butterfly at the best of times! Its something that i'm working on, trying to reach out a bit and even just say hello to other mums at school etc. I just have to rememeber to breathe while freaking out about talking to new people!

Hope that being here helps somewhat,

LJ

 

Re: New to website and been struggling....

 

Thank you @Hobbit

I am in Adelaide, SA, so any contacts/groups would be great thank you.

Re: New to website and been struggling....

Thanks @Former-Member for the welcome.

Some good ideas about how to communicate my experiences with my wife. I will keep it in mind, I think explaining mental health is one of the hardest things. All of the thoughts going through the mind is hard to explain, but is something hopefully I will be able to do one day.

Living in a country area would be difficult because of fewer services, people etc. Hopefully something group wise pops up for you 🙂

Re: New to website and been struggling....

Hi @hazza11

I found Neami in Port Adelaide, who do Community Outreach Support and Community and group programs for people with mental illness. Their website with all the contact details are here. They actually have quite a few locations around Adelaide, which may be closer than Port Adelaide for you, and they are all listed on the website too. I know Neami rather well and can say that they are a fantastic organisation.

The other one I was thinking of is to try and contact the Mental Illness Fellowship of South Australia, which should be able to point you in theright direction too. Their website is here.

I hope this information helps you, and remember to keep posting - you will find loads of support here on this forum.

Hobbit.

Re: New to website and been struggling....

Welcome @hazza
There are grow groups in South Australia too, no referral needed just turn up..you can find if there is a group near you at www.grow.org.au
Grow is run by folks like you and me with lived experience, it has a fairly structured meeting but I liked the fact it was structured and I still do, gave me opportunities to hear from people like me, and I found I could help others too!
Free (gold coin if you want at end of meeting to help pay for operating costs). What I love about grow is we can share phone numbers if we want and there are often socials arranged between meetings to catch up and go for a walk or a coffee...

Re: New to website and been struggling....

Hi hazza,

 

I hope I can contribute to your problem and make you see some new light into this.

 

For me I have these problems and they do not go away, only when I face them I see that I can. But yes when I am not facing them that is when the problem is bad. In amongst that time I try and do my best to sort things out.

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