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Falling between the cracks

dehahaSenior Contributor19 Sept 2024, 9:26 pm AEST

Falling between the cracks

Hi everyone. I am seeking some advice.

I was diagnosed with CPTSD, Panic disorder, chronic depression, and anxiety 25 years ago.

Since then, I have been hospitalised 3 times for being in an " unsafe " frame of mind. The first 2 times, my recovery back to fully functioning was about 4-6 months. ( with help of increased meds, cbt, etc)

However my most recent hospitalisation was in January of this year, and 9 months on, I am still as unwell as I was a year ago.

My gp thinks it's because of menopause, so I have been given HRT which I have been on for 4 months now. I did, in the first 2 months of treatment, start to feel some improvements but they were short lived.

As this is the first time I have been this unwell since loosing my husband, I am facing a barrage of new obstacles which I am struggling greatly with.

I live in a share house and I am self employed. This year, I have managed to work about 1 - 2 days a week. Most days I am not capable of driving let alone working. As I live alone ( not with family or dependents ) I am not entitled to a health care card.

Due to my mental health, I have no friends and zero support system.

I can only afford my psychologist or gp once a month. ( yes, I have had my free mental health plan appointments this year already.

I feel as if I have completely fallen through the safety net of supports and services available for mental health patients. I feel so alone, unsupported and terrified every single day and don't know what else to do. I am getting very worn down. My constant anxiety, depression and panic attacks mean I am not even managing to eat more than a couple of bites a couple of times a week.

I would greatly appreciate any advice, ideas or strategies as I am really struggling.

Thanks so much for your time and apologies for the disjointed post. Pretty brain scattered.

4 replies

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In response to: Falling between the cracks

tymeModerator19 Sept 2024, 9:58 pm AEST

Re: Falling between the cracks

Hey @dehaha ,

Welcome to the forums. It sounds incredibly hard to navigate some of the challenges you have mentioned.

Good on you for reaching out. It takes a lot of courage to reach out to an online community.

In yourself, do you think what you are going through is menopause related? Or is there something else?

What are things you enjoy doing? (I recognise it's probably hard to find things you enjoy at the moment). What are things that keep you going?

We are here for you.

In response to: Re: Falling between the cracks

dehahaSenior Contributor19 Sept 2024, 10:19 pm AEST

Re: Falling between the cracks

Thank you @tyme . I appreciate that. The last few weeks in particular, I am only coping with watching TV. I love to read, but don't have the concentration for it .

In response to: Re: Falling between the cracks

ENKELISenior Contributor19 Sept 2024, 10:53 pm AEST

Re: Falling between the cracks

@dehaha hi there. I completely understand what you mean about HRT - for me it worked great for the first couple of months and now aside from stopping hot flushes I am just as depressed if not more than before.

I am confused as to why you are not eligible for a health care card though. If you are only working a couple of days a week surely you should be able to get one?

GP and psych appointments are really expensive that's for sure. I am currently not working and struggling as well. I know my mental state has deteriorated somewhat in the last 12 months.

What sort of things do you like to watch on TV? Do you have any subscription channels or just free to air?

I hope you start to feel even a tiny bit better soon 😍

In response to: Falling between the cracks

MJG017Senior Contributor19 Sept 2024, 11:13 pm AEST

Re: Falling between the cracks

Hi @dehaha, it sounds like it has been an extraordinarily difficult year for you. I know what it's like to feel there's not many options left once the free or subsidised MH visits have all been used up. Especially without and family and friends around to support you. It is so damn difficult! Not much income, no support around you and it just spirals out of control.

The only thing that really helped me start to get some control back was the free support options. The forum here has been a massive help for me, as well as a men's mental health group I found. It's all helped me to feel more connected and not as alone. Eventually this had led me to start finding more things to fill my days with and slowly I've started to feel more and more positive. It's taken a lot of time and effort and it's still very much a work in progress, but I fight the urge to withdraw back and keep reaching out and maintaining contact with people who understand what i'm going through. So I think you've done really well to reach out here and share what you have. So keep up what you've started and hopefully you'll start to see that you aren't completely alone and there are people out there (like here) who care and want to help and support you.

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