Weekend is right around the corner. Hopefully that will give you a spark. Usually help me reset.
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Incredible thread.
Have read most of the posts in here.
Well done HM on starting this discussion.
Who knows how helpful itās been to many individuals in the Blitz community ?
Iāve been planning to contribute in a more personal way but not sure of how much to share.
I wanted to touch on how those close to you can actually make things far worse with a few innocent words.
For context, I have attempted suicide twice.
Once in my early 20ās, and again when I was 40.
Though the 2nd time, I halted the attempt just in time as I knew it was too selfish to leave my son at such a young age.
In every way, he has saved me !
Anyway, earlier this year I was round at Mumās place.
As any Wog will identify with, I was sitting at the large dining room table in the middle of the kitchen whilst mum was making lunch.
Canāt recall what preceded this comment from my mum, she saidā¦
" youāre okay, you just donāt value life " , obviously referring to the more recent attempt, or perhaps a more general observation based on me botching financial opportunities.
I was taken aback at how flippantly she made the comment, at how she was unaware how hurtful those words could be.
Despite what some Blitzers will think, I just donāt believe it would be worth the effort to broach the subject with her.
It would only serve to sadden her, perhaps even send her into depression.
Why would I risk doing that to a 75yo woman ?
I still love my mum, I always will, I just have to learn to cope with the odd insensitive comment.
Thought the above story is relevant as it illustrates how ill equipped those close to you may be in dealing with these issues.
When I was early 20ās and took a whole heap of pills (125 to be exact), I remember getting back home after a couple of days at Wangaratta hospital, my Uncle sat me down and said attempting suicide is what a loser does.
Iām a young man, barely an adult at that time, and in my head Iām thinking āyer, I know Iām a loser, thatās why I attempted suicideā.
Of course, I know he is using reverse psychology, even back then, but manā¦is that the best youāve got ?
What about simply asking āwhatās going on in your lifeā ?
Just listen !
Anyhow, I just wanted to put forward these thoughts.
Iāll leave it there other than to say, apologies to those who I have had run ins in the past on Blitz.
I am stubborn, and can be opinionated.
Sometimes, that comes thru in my posting and I take it too far.
No malice meant and I will work on this.
This sad Danny Frawley news is a wake up call to many of us.
Shwatterās words from yesterday are ringing in my earsā¦invest in your mental health !
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His speech yesterday was brilliant, and captured the complexity of mental health very elegantly.
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Hi Ice
Just lost a friend to suicide 3 months ago, posted on here when it happened. I work with farmers and see what you posted everyday. We also have a daughter with a significant mental health issue, going through some big challenges at the moment.
What I can say is that you are important to people in ways that you may not know. You are also valued in ways that you may not have thought of. You are not alone.
Take care, you have people on this thread you can message at anytime.
Include me on this list if you like.
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Thanks kindly for sharing your personal story. Are you OK now, mate?
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Thanks John.
Not really sure how to answer that as I donāt know what āokā is.
Certainly I still have some general life issues to deal with in terms of financial and possible legal, but arenāt we all dealing with those things.
In terms of potentially harming myself, that was 9 years ago now, and I feel my mental health is reasonable at this time.
There are others clearly struggling day to day, which is why I didnāt feel it relevant or proper for me to contribute till this time.
If the Danny Frawley tragedy did not occur, I probably would have continued being a silent reader of this thread.
Feels good to share though.
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You may have to step down dosages.
Slowly.
200mg to 175, give it 3-4 weeks, step down to 150mg, another 3-4 weeks.
Takes months.
Yeah I will have to do that. I definitely went to fastā¦thought I was going ok on 75ā¦but then bang!
Thanks for sharing.
As I said a few days back, Iāve got a lot of admiration for people who deal with these issues and come through them. The irony is that folks like your uncle who see these things as a weakness will never understand the strength it takes to survive. Itās a sadly prevalent attitude.
Keep cracking on.
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Mental health issues are driving Australians to visit their GP more than any other health concern.
But GPs say theyāre struggling to keep up with demand because mental healthcare is complex and often requires more time than a standard consultation allows.
A survey of 1,200 GPs published today by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) found two in three doctors reported āpsychological issuesā as the most common ailment they now treated.
āIf you think about where you can go if youāve got a mental health issue, there are very few places,ā said Harry Nespolon, president of the RACGP.
Dr Nespolon said the shift from institutional to community-based care for mental health patients, as well as a waning reliance on religious institutions for pastoral care, has led to more Australians using GP services for psychological support.
ā[GPs see] everything from relationship problems all the way through to people with severe schizophrenia,ā he said.
āIf you do come into a crisis ā¦ often a GP is a trusted person thatās been taking care of you for 10 or 15 years.ā
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This is a good thing, it means there is growing awareness and willingness to seek treatment. Iām assuming the underlying prevalence of cases has always been there, I think that is a reasonable assumption, which means something is working.
The system now needs to catch-up to ensure all these GP visits can be a) referred to specialists and b) have no, or extremely minimal, out-of-pocket costs.
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Through the sadness for many this is hopefully a legacy that he leaves.
A difficult skill to learn is that no person saying anything to us determines how we feel. We get to choose. Often people will say āhe/she said xyz and it made me feel abcā. It didnāt make us feel a certain way. We chose to in relation to the comment and equally we can choose a different reaction.
Eg - In the car on the way to work, you are cut off by another driver. He doesnāt look or wave and chops in and you have to brake hard.
You have a choice. You can get angry, take after him and be aware of his car in the traffic for the next 10 minutes cause you are gonna give him a finger or ear full or whatever. Or, you can say to yourself, that wasnāt a great bit of driving but he might generally be a respectful and careful driver that made a poor decision. How you choose to react will affect how you feel. His driving didnāt make you feel bad, your reaction to that driving either will or wonāt. Itās difficult to eliminate but giving control to others to determine or affect your mindset isnāt a good thing.
Itās probably obvious stuff and is all about what we can control. Perhaps the example doesnāt read too well but I came across it a while ago and it best gets across what Iām trying to say. Personally, I think that itās a very important skill to develop.
Good write up bltn, all the very best. Go Dons.
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A colleague with whom Iām close-ish outside of work and who has experienced similar with our employer just sent this. I thought a chuckle might not go astray:
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Not a complaint as such but more an observation, but why is this thread in general gibberish - does it need to be moved to a more sensibly named forum perhaps, appreciating the significance of these brave people and what they face day to day.
Sorry to complain.
I find this fascinating, is it because that people are more willing to seek help, or is it because we are medicalising normal emotions?
Itās purely about the simplest stream to offer access, often via Medicare, to people needing help.
You can ring a psychologist, sure. Go direct and pay 100-200 dollars an hour. Or you can go to a GP(still reasonably accessible for most), get a mental health plan with 12 heavily subsidised sessions with a referral to a psych.
More people should be seeing GPS as their first step. Thereās still a lot of stigma around seeking help, and getting the āOKā from a doctor to do it helps a lot of people take that step.
What I didnāt care for in that article was the mention that it takes twice as long to consult with someone seeking help with mental health. Gets in the way of their tick and flick model of treatment and drops them from $240 to $180 an hour?
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Yeah that side has always been an issue. I had a family dr who first diagnosed me. I had been always sick, always going to see her but we couldnāt find the cause. I think she always suspected but she was old school and did it by numbers, ran every test she could. She told me later she was getting refered to the board and told off for spending so much money on patients. She told them to stick it, it was her job to diagnose people correctly.
In the end she advised me she believed I has severe depression. That convo was like breaking a dam wall, I collapsed and spent 2 years trying to find my way back to something approaching normal. She didnāt think I would ever return and was amazed that I did.
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Iād like to know peoples thoughts on medication if anybody cares to share them? Is it helpful? Does anybody regret going on it? Best/worst things about being on medication? I know all meds and people are different.
If I wasnāt on some sort of meds I would either be dead or a really messed up individual. Very helpful, but you do have to live with the side effects. Lack of libido at times, weight gains, limiting alcohol due to impacts the two have together, probably others but no idea.
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Iām not really sure where I would be, either. Iāve been on it for about six months or so now, and I believe it has made a difference. My family says itās made a huge difference, so I guess I would trust their word.
Even more noticeable is what happens if I go off it for a few days. I have been known to snap a little bit as well as find myself with an extreme lack of energy and motivation. I might sleep in until 12 or 1 if I donāt have a plan for the day.
Iām not really sure how I would be getting through this year. Iām going through a time of great upheaval right now. Some of you that know me may be aware that Iām leaving the U.S. and returning to Melbourne in a few days. Iāve just sold a house, am trying to sell a car, have parted with a lot of personal possessions and memories, have said goodbye to a beloved pet, and am now in some sort of weird limbo where I am living out of a suitcase in my parentsā unit for a week until we all get on the plane.
My oldest son is celebrating his 10th birthday in two days and heās depressed as heck. He doesnāt want to leave. His only concept of Australia is from a trip he took when he was two, and also everything explained to him by his mother. Iām scared to death that heās going to be unhappy. Worse, Iām scared that one day heāll resent me for uprooting his life and taking him away from family and friends. I think he understands why we are doing it (and there are many) but Iām still concerned. His younger brother is a much freer spirit and is extremely adaptable; Iām not really worried about him at all.
Iāve done this before, and I got through it just fine, but this time it is so different. There are children involved - children who were born here, have always lived here, and may not entirely understand what is about to happen.
Marrying the person I did has been a tremendous blessing, and we have two wonderful boysā¦ but it is always cursed by the fact that one of us will never truly be āhomeāā¦ with the way things are in America at the moment, as well as the declining health of her mother, it was time.
Back to the topic at hand - I really believe I would be an absolute hot mess of a person right now without meds. I believe what I have is mostly a chemical imbalance.
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