Introducing myself and gaining understanding

Hi @Bec1985,

A very warm welcome to the SANE Forums!

Thank you for sharing your story with us all.

I'm sorry to hear that things have been overwhelming for you and you are unsure of where to start. You have alot going at at home with four children and a partner who is struggling with his own issues. I would imagine that this would leave you with not much time for yourself and feeling pretty exhausted! Do you have any professionals helping to support you?

I'm glad that you've found the forums and can take some time out of your day for you to recieve support from others here because you are important too!

Looking forward to 'seeing; you around the forums

Rockpool

Hi @Bec1985

I'm very glad that you've shared your story here, and a big welcome!

I'm 31 and have two kids, a girl whos 6 and boy who's 4. My lil guy is very busy and we're currently going through referrals for some behvariour and milestones problems :(... its not a huge shock but devastating. I'm a single mum and have had a rough time of it lately and also have no family supports or respite options... so hearing you on how tired you are!!

The challenges you've faced (and won!!) with your partner sound so difficult but defitnitlely show what an amazing strong woman you are to have been able to persevere and get things on track. Its not unusual to need a break after such a long time of caring for your children and partner to need a break yourself! Just really hard to get one! Would it be a possibility that the dad look after the youngest two for a couple of hours each week on a weekday mornig for you so that you could have a regular time to look forward to each week when you could just get a cuppa (or sleep!) or go to a group?

I was also thinking, i'm lucky i have a really nice GP who is happy to just listen and support and offer advice when i need him. If you're not happy with your mental health team, change them. If youre in Melbourne there are probably lots of places to try (im in regional SA so not sure on whats over there sorry!). I was also seeing an awesome psychologist that has helped me so much and it was free for the first 10 visits after i got a mental helath plan from my GP, maybe that would be helpful for you too? But you dont have to do anything either! Glad you've found us here, and hope that you find some support and friedship here as I have,

LJ

Hi @Bec1985

Welcome to the Forums! It's nice to meet you.

Sounds like you are super busy caring for your family and you. That's a big load. It's not wonder you're feeling tired! What sort of things have you done to manage to say afloat this long? I ask this because it shows so much resilience.

@Former-Member suggested some wonderful ideas - taking a break, even if it's only 15 - 30 mins to have a cuppa. Sometimes planning 'relaxation' can also be stressful, so sometimes giving yourself permission to lay low (e.g., have a cat nap, watch your favourite t.v. show, sit in the sun for 15 mins) can help.

You asked if anyone had any experiences with MIND. I thought I'd point out that we have a couple of moderators , @-karma- and @Babooon here that work for MIND. They could potentially help you out with any service related questions if that's what you're after?

Again, welcome to the Forums! I hope to see more of you around here. BTW, what are you up to on Friday? Want to come to our online dinne - the Friday Feast?

CB

Yay @Bec1985, looking forward to seeing at dinner! Feel free to bring a virtual food of plate.

It's amazing to hear your story - you've found so much strength and motivation in dark times. If you ever doubt that you can't pull through, remember to look at what you've gotten through already.

Pity to hear about your worker, but I'm glad to hear that you're wanting link in with support again. Could you get in contact MIND and request another worker? @Baboo or @-karma- will not be on here until Monday and Tuesday next week so if you have questions for them, feel free to '@' mention them in post.

Hi,

I was thinking that there may be a parents group for parents of children with special needs, i know there was one in my old town (which was a small place!!) that i heard of through school. Sometimes places like child and youth health centres have information about things like that? Might be a way to meet new people with similar stuff... and I was just thinking there may be something here like that that I could do as well possibly... It is incredibly busy when you're following up on so much for kids. My lil guy was really quite ill last year, we spent lots of time in and out of hospital and then appointments, his physical health has been better this year since surgery in January but he's struggling in lots of ways... its really hard. The day to day stuff is exhausting but emotionally its also really draining and difficult to see him having these issues. But he is hilarious and cheeky and i love him so much!

I can imagine your 3 year old must get frustrated with not being able to express herself. Must be really difficult for you all.

I saw a thing for family support from MIND but never followed up on that either but i do have a mental health support person who comes and visits each week for a catch up/help with the house work or what ever i need really. So I'm pretty lucky already!

LJ