I want to survive this and hear from other survivors like me

@Realness i guess for me, i have to actually feel safe that i can tell someone how bad things are - my support worker said i did well but i dont feel like that, i dont know. Going at this alone at the moment 😞

My good friend [edited by moderators] has been pretty unsupportive throughout this experience and i'm getting sort of over it - she doens't have much interest in the struggles to get mental health care which is fine but i dont have anyone else - no therapist to talk to - no one i trust.

I have a few good friends but i dont have a person i feel i can fully lean on through this mental health crises.

@Realness @Appleblossom @Dimity @Former-Member @NightFury @Captain24 @Eden1919

Hello to everyone surviving magnificently

 lol that's a tree near my house.

@EternalFlower @Realness For me, Trust = feeling safe and comfortable with someone that I feel I can share anything with. Only 2 people I can honestly fit that, one is my GP. My friend has chosen to share her past with me, a past that involved lots of MH issues.

a friend who when I mentioned tempted to visit a particular town, without hesitation asked if I want company and quickly started saying about ideas for the trip. 4hrs non stop drive one way, a road trip I won’t do with just anyone.

after seeing psychologist for 2+ yrs with whom I don’t feel comfortable to be open with when things aren’t on positive track, I’m waiting to get appointment with different psychologist. Used to see a psychiatrist, I define him as a waste of space plus waste of my time.

@Former-Member lol that made me smile

My psychiatrist i loved to bits and one day he dumped me like a? A what? Sack of potatoes? I don't know ?

Wouldn't look at me and sheepishly said he couldn't help me and chucked me out mid-admission at a psych ward wen I was in deep crises. I still bump into him in the ward and oscillate between ignoring and a weird familiar "HI DR M" - he mostly keeps his head down.

I like the sound of your friend and that four hour drive.

@Former-Member so nice u have the GP altough i'm upset about your therapist. Therapy relationships, when they go wrong, in my lived experience, can be super upsetting. i hope you are able to connect with someone soon, if you want to, or feel a bit clearer. My experiences with psychiatrists and psychologists have been pretty disappointing. I find it rare that i feel seen or heard by them.

@EternalFlower My current GP has tried more than once within last couple years to refer me to see one of two different psychologists in town I live in, neither are taking new patients and already have long wait lists.
guy that my previous GP referred me to saw me once each 3mths. In brief, first appointment he triggered me, 2nd appointment he said something I knew wasn’t true, 4th (final) appointment he said something that showed he hadn’t been fully listening to me.

hoping to do the road trip within first few mths next year, depending on physical health for both of us. The saying is small world. We both have a connection to small country town that neither of us have been to for many years

@Former-Member every 3 months is a bit slack of him and STILL managed to trigger and upset you - not good enough!

nice of ur gp to try get u in, though. My Gp is also encouraging me to seek out a new psychiatrist and im a bit over it and not keen to book an appointment

I have had mostly male psychiatrists and one psychologist.

I have a really nice psyciatrist i just see for admissions, he is very pesonable and i travel interstate to see him which is intense of me lol

first appointment with psychiatrist he chose to do, what I think was, part of exposure therapy, throwing me into the deep end @EternalFlower. At start of 2nd appointment, after reading letter I had wrote, I remember he saying that type of therapy he uses is only way for trauma and involves going over and over the same thing until it no longer upset me.

due to part of verbal abuse that happened decades ago I’m still not comfortable crying unless I’m safe in my car or at home. Burst into tears that day as soon as I was on the footpath in front of business he works from. After being in tears for days I phoned BlueKnot who were wonderful

In 2nd appointment with psychologist I gave her timeline of my past. Who, my age and brief description. Her thoughts, plans etc on helping me I have no idea, no idea if they ever existed.

wording about psychologist I requested to be transferred to mentions “helps identify goals”, space for people to “explore their experiences”. Current psychologist has said the new psychologist works very different than her.

time will tell. Was thinking of not going to see anyone next year. Realised Not giving the new psychologist a chance if I did that and this one might be a better match.

when I was working, I was referred to counsellor etc through EAP few times. One I had a great connection with who taught me things about myself I didn’t realise

@EternalFlower Have you been able to get a counselor or psychologist underNDIS?

@Former-Member Good luck with your new psychologist. Changes can be hard but maybe worth it.

I am very heightened and fragile but trying to do the right things.

🐥💙🍎

Sending hugs @Appleblossom

I’m mentally exhausted and feeling can’t do or say anything right. Almost everything I do or say seems to get me in trouble