Mental Health and Older Australians

Hey there @Snoopy56 Thank you so much for posting and sharing your story. "A perceived idea is that if a person has managed to out of the system for that long then one must have developed coping strategies by now?" - This is a painfully common reflection from other members of the forum. I am sorry about the lack of systemic support in your recovery. A very painful thing to navigate, and many others have mentioned having to go 100% out of pocket to find a decent practitioner who is highly skilled in treating BPD.

We hope too that nation wide there's more of a focus on mental health recovery and support, across the lifespan for all Australians. If you do want to chat about this beyond our forums, are counsellors at the Help Centre are a wonderful bunch. You can book a call here. In the meantime our forum community is here to listen and sit with you

@Snoopy56 Welcome to the forums.

I do agree that the health system in general, seem to think older people are a drain on the system. It’s something I’ve come across both with mental, and physical health.

I’m wondering if Coronavirus is going to throw the door open on mental health, now that’s it seems to be affecting so many in the community. Time will tell I guess.

I hope you find this psychiatrist helpful. Take care.

Hi there, I am in agreeance with you on that, there are too many holes in the current Mental Health system, too many places where people can slip between the cracks and feel lost. Turn to the Intenet and youll find an overwhelling source of stuff, but its mind boggling, and also annoying is the number of companies wanting to enlist people into their programs (at a Cost of course) I can understand the frustration. Only new on this site myself I have yet discover what resouse are availabe here. I am 60 and currenty obtaining qualifications in Mental health with an intent to support those who grew up though our era, Do you have anyone you talk to about what you're experiencing?

Welcome to the forums @WithYou. Join in anywhere you feel comfortable.

A tip. The @ brings a dropdown, that’s our tagging system.

I too have been diagnosed with BPD at the age of 30 and am now 42. I relate to the struggles you mention, and as I age I feel the support available declining. I’ve struggled with drug addiction (marajuanna) for many years, and luckily it was through rehab that I discovered Dialectical Behaviour Therapy. I did not realise that BPD behaviours are very similar to that of an addict in addiction, and so DBT therapy can assists ppl who have either or both. Over the past 4 years I have been practicing DBT, which not only helped battling my addiction, but also taught me practical tools that have allowed my personality to grow and BPD symptoms subsiding with weekly therapy.

@Dang Welcome to the forums.

Its good to see you joining in. You might like to check out the Good Morning thread. It’s a good way to get to know others around the forums.

A tip. The @Brings a dropdown. You can tag others and we get a notification to respond. Take care.