Really in a bad way and cannot get help.

Hi @Jlol it sounds as though things are really moving towards a boiling point for you and I hear your frustration about not being able to find help when you need it.

When you say that there are no therapists or counsellors do you mean there's a lack of availability, or that none have been suitable for your needs?

It sounds like this is a scary position to be in and that you've been reaching out but haven't been able to get the level of support needed. I am interested to hear what sort of help you feel you need most right now?

Thanks @Ru-bee

>When you say that there are no therapists or counsellors do you mean there's a lack of availability, or that none have been suitable for your needs?
I mean both I guess. I need trauma counselling and there are none in my area that are both available and affordable (even with MH Care plan). I attempted to get help via my workplace's EAP but they said they were unable to help with trauma, as a lot of 'regular' therapists have said.

>I am interested to hear what sort of help you feel you need most right now?
I think what would be most helpful right now is help to get on top of big, every-day, but important life things that I just do not have the capacity to do myself right now: Eg, do my taxes, pay bills, go to doctors appointments, car repairs, etc. I just cannot get on top of these "normal" things anymore and the longer I leave them the worse they get, of course. Work gets hugely in the way of this, yet I cannot take time off work as the cost-of-living is such that I cannot afford to miss a day of pay.

I hear that you've explored a lot of options so excuse me if this is a silly suggestion @Jlol but have you looked into online trauma support? I find that often psychology clinics that operate online will have less wait-times. Or even using a practitioner database like the one the APS has that allows you to search specifically for practitioners who work with trauma. Talked is a similar service that might be a bit less overwhelming in terms of the volume of practitioners on there. Again, I hope these aren't just all the same suggestions you've heard before, it sounds like you have been pretty thorough in seeking support.

Getting on top of all those life admin tasks can be so hard, and they get overwhelming when they pile up. I wonder if it is possible for any of those to be outsourced at all to take anything off your plate. Are there any friends or family that can lend you a hand?

Hi @Jlol

I'm sorry to hear that you are having such a hard time at the moment. I'm glad you reached out here on the forums and shared some of what you are going through. I hope that this and the replies you receive help you to feel less isolated.

I totally understand where you are coming from with the battle to not get ripped off with businesses. Its like the feeling of being valued as a customer for your patronage is not there any more with a lot of places. I know it can be frustrating but if you can put small things in place to try an not let these things get to you/affect you as much it may help the way you are feeling. I once had a psychologist tell me "There's no point in banging your head against a brick wall. In the end the only person that gets hurt is yourself". It never occurred to me until I had that vivid picture in my head that the things out of my control are only hurting me more when I think/worry about them. When you notice yourself feeling the anger/argumentativeness is there something that you could do to try and pull yourself out of that moment to move on from it?

Its disappointing to hear that the MH services that you have reached out to have been less than supportive and available to you. You mentioned that you've spoken to your GP and perhaps have a MH Care plan in place (?), I know how frustrating it can be but could you go back to your GP and explain how you are feeling and how you MH is deteriorating and say you need to see someone. They might know of some psychologists that have availability or could push you towards the top of a list if they understand the deterioration?

I have also utilised EAP through my workplace... i like you needed it for trauma, however the psychologist that I saw was only focused on getting me back to work and not dealing with the trauma. While I understand your need to see a psychologist that can properly help with your trauma, I'm wondering if you might be able to use the EAP in another way that could help you at the moment to build the skill and tools to help you with those everyday important things until you can see a trauma specialist?

Something that help me with those everyday things that get out of control is to write a list and then break the list into smaller and smaller tasks/things until it seems more manageable. For example doing your taxes could be broken down into the smaller tasks of finding reciepts/invoices that you need to claim, then maybe putting them into groups for what kind of expenses the are for, then maybe writing out any additional claimable items (driving or WFH expenses etc), and then calculating what those actually are. Perhaps when this is all done, you could start the process online. These things don't all have to be completed on one day either, even 10 mins a day, just to make a start and keep chipping away at it. I also find that writing a list of all these smaller steps helps as you can cross it off when you are done to make it feel like you have achieved something. Its always looks good to have a few lines crossed out even if they are all for the same thing!

Warm regards

SkySeeker22

Oh yes, emailing back and forth would be challenging @Jlol? When I mentioned online counselling I was referring to video sessions, or even phone sessions, is that something you'd be interested in giving a go? Or even instant messaging is an option now