Welcome to the Friends, Family and Carers Group Hub! Introduce yourself here 🙂

Seeking advice and support.

I am feeling overwhelmed with the responsibility of supporting my sister who has schizophrenia.

Parents both died in the last 7 years and there are no other family members who can assist.

We live in different states, so I can only help in person every few months.

She is no danger to others, but is unmedicated, does not keep herself or her apartment in a healthy state and drinks a bottle of bourbon a day which smoking constantly.

She is 57 and I cannot get her to a GP as she refuses but I am increasingly worried about her health as she has permanent hacking cough and drinks constantly.

I feel responsible, I feel guilty that I can't fix things no matter how or what I try.

It's getting on top of me.

Hi all, i have a 30 year old son who has OCD and I suspect may have mild autism as well. He was married for 2 1/2 years and his wife decided she didnt want to be married anymore and now he is living back with my husband and I. He manages to hold down a job (thank

God!) but he is very moody and often doesnt have the energy to do what he needs to do. He has started to see a psychiatrist who is supposed to be one of the highest experts on OCD in the country and is trialling different meds.

This has been happening since he was approx 12 years old and he was admitted to inpatient mental health care in his teenage years. Up until then I had a normal healthy child.

Seeing him suffer so much and not being able to help is gut wrenching as a mother. I just want to be able to reach into his head and take this OCD out and throw it in the garbage where it belongs 😞

Hello and welcome @Lovey777 , @ms_sister , @Greyhound , @Fairlyvintage

How are you going today my friends 🧡

Letting you know that you are not alone

@tyme

A warm welcome to you all @Lovey777 @ms_sister @Greyhound ,

We hope to see you around.

Feel free to tag us into your posts by typing "@" in front of our names.

I know how challenging the caring role can be at times, so it's great to be able to connect. To share what makes us keep going. To share our ups and our downs.

Hope you are all well.

@Shaz51

Hi all, my husband was diagnosed with bipolar type 1 in January this year after experiencing a manic episode. It has been a tough journey for both of us. I am struggling with feeling like all the pressure is on me to maintain the house, working just to get by and balancing that with caring for him. He has just had another episode, this time a depressive episode which has required a hospital stay. We are soul mates, best friends and have been married for 27 years. It’s been hard feeling like I am his carer rather than his wife. I miss the person I married all those years ago. I hope I can get him back real soon. I feel terribly lonely in how I feel so hoping there are other carers that can relate to how I am feeling and have some advice.

i came here looking for the same. my husband went in to a nervous shut down 2 years ago triggered by a work issue. i have fought really hard to keep our marriage together, he says he doesnt want to be married but his behaviour doesnt reflect his words and after 29 years i know him pretty well. we just had 3 really good months, planning out future together and then over the weekend like a light switch something triggered and he has gone back to not wanting to be together and shut me out again. Yesterday he finally admitted he needed help went to the Dr today and was given a request for blood tests and will follow up when they get the resuts. This was a major breakthrough as he was controlling it with running and the gym. He would get the high of a morning run and a afternoon gym session then crash. Nobody knows because he is functioning as normal and hides it so well. This has been emotionally draining i cried every day for the first 18 months, he loved me and was so caring before this work incident and then went into a full functioning depression and nervous system shutdown. He came out of it over the Valentines weekend this year and as said earlier has gone back this weekend. i would love to know where to seek support that still provides me with privacy

Hi @Beachwaves71,

Welcome to the forums! Thank you for sharing this with us.

It sounds like the last two years have been incredibly tough, and I can hear just how much you've been carrying while trying to support your husband through these changes. After 29 years together, it makes sense that these sudden shifts would feel confusing, painful, and emotionally draining.

It's encouraging to hear that he was able to see his GP and ask for help. That sounds like a really important step.

I’m also mindful of how much this has affected you. You deserve support too. If privacy is important, you might find services like Carer Gateway https://www.carergateway.gov.au/ helpful, as they offer counselling and support for people caring for loved ones experiencing mental health challenges. Of course, you're also very welcome to keep connecting here on the forums or both.

How have you been taking care of yourself through all of this?

New here. 36 yo son currently in acute care following psychotic break a couple of days ago. Also diagnosed as being on the spectrum aged 8 but I suspect we've been papering over the cracks for many years trying our best to keep him afloat, and that diagnosis has probably been masking other complexities. He's on a DSP but now undergoing a battery of tests as they try and figure out what's going on. Grieving the loss of life as we knew it - but feel like this crisis might be a blessing in disguise and he might actually get some real help and support now. Thanks for reading....

Welcome @Yaccagal-2 hope you find this to be a supportive and caring community 😊

I wish all the best for your son in his recovery journey 🤞

I'm so sorry to read this and hope you're getting support from loved ones. My son very similar and now in a MH unit - they are unwell, and when they cant see it for themselves they become very vulnerable to their own behaviour. My husband and I have tried so many different strategies - he ends up in MH units (where he is now), they medicate him. He's not compliant with medication, so they put him on monthly injections. HE improves. Then he convinces them to wean off the medication, the medical staff who do this provide insufficient support and guidance. A few months late, we're back to square 1.Hang in there