Mental Health Issues?

[AMY22]

So, I wanted to know how many people here suffer from any mental ilnesses or disorders, wether it's depression, anxiety, an eating disorder, whatever. I have been feeling a little down lately, and I really don't have anywhere to go that doesn't involve me dragging my problems onto someone else to deal with.
I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), I was diagnosed when I was 19 (although I could have actually had it for 10 years). Now I'm 22 and I'm still learning about how I am affected by this, I'm still learning about the disorder itself, and there isn't much help avaliable specifically for sufferers of PTSD. I used to go on a forum, but one day someone blew up at me and a few people who were friends with this person joined in the attack. Needless to say I've never gone back, and there is no other forum like it on the net. I was so shattered I even stopped seeing my therapist, and I haven't tried talking to anyone since. Well that was a few months ago now and it's all starting to get to me again, and I've felt rather crappy for a few days.

This isn't a 'boo hoo, poor me' opportunity for me, I just thought I'd see if there are others around who are suffering from something too. I know very well that more people are suffering from something than most people realise...

So feel free to share anything...

 

[Snakeluvver2]

Two of my friends suffer from Bi Polar II disorder
Its hard to know their cycles sometimes...

 

[AMY22]

I was diagnosed with Bi-Polar, and depression, and OCD, and ADD was questioned, until I was finally diagnosed with PTSD. From that I know a little on Bi-Polar because my doctor (who had been my doctor my entire life) was convinced that's what was wrong with me. Then he put me on more medication, I gained 15 kilos in 7 weeks, and I never saw him again.

 

[naledge]

My mum has bipolar. My ex-girlfriend had it too, that was just too much for me to deal with, especially because she never took her medication, going off prescribed meds is the worst thing anybody with a mental health issue can do. It took around ten suicide attempts in two months for her to realize that.

I can only talk to a few people without freaking out, could be some form of social anxiety, probably isn't though, self-diagnosis never works and I don't think it affects my life enough to warrant seeing a professional about it, I can just play it off as being anti-social haha.

I think misdiagnosis in regards to mental health is a bit of a problem, it seems like in the last couple of years so many teenagers I've met have been diagnosed with Bipolar. Like, 25% of people my age that I've met in the last two years. Especially here, our mental health professionals are being extremely overworked, in our city of 30,000, the second largest city in S.A, and only last year we got our first full time psychiatrist.

Another problem is the fact that males don't seek help because they fear that it's a weakness, our societies gender roles really pee me off. In the last five years at my school, five boys and no girls have committed suicide, and, in my opinion, that is solely because the girls are brave enough to seek professional help or talk to there friends. Talking about problems isn't a weakness, it's a strength.

Mental health is a big issue in Australia, it affects so many, and there isn't enough being done about it. Especially with children and teenagers, I've only very recently seen advertising campaigns targeted for a teenage audience from Beyond Blue, more of this would be nice.

I guess to summarize everything I've said; we need more therapists, people need to talk more about their problems rather than just hiding them, especially men. Teenagers have more mental health issues, especially relating to depression, than people give them credit for, and going off prescribed medication is a big mistake.

 

[AMY22]

I agree 100% with the misdiagnosis. They say one in 3 people have depression. I don't know if I believe that. The reason for that is because I have been diagnosed so quickly in the past, you go to a doctor and say 'I've been feeling really miserable, I don't know what it is, I don't know what's making me feel this way', then the doctor says 'I'm going to put you on some anti-depressants, if they work, it might be depression, if they don't work, it still might be depression'.

I was diagnosed with depression when I was 10, I have been on at LEAST 7 types of medication, non of which did ANYTHING, and then it turns out being depressed was only a symptom of an even bigger issue.
Depression runs in my family, so that's why I was diagnosed so quickly. The thing is though, my doctor knows about my family, and he paid absolutely no attention to anything. He focussed only on how I was feeling, and not what was making me feel that way. So basically it took me so long to be properly diagnosed that I'm screwed basically. My PTSD has completely shaped who I am as a person, how I feel, how I act, what I dream about.

My advice to people is- if you are told you have depression straight away, go elsewhere. Find someone who will delve more into you issue before making a diagnosis. And if you've been diagnosed with something but it doesn't feel right, even if there are similarities with the symptoms, keep looking for an answer. I knew deep inside there was more to it than what I was being told, and I was right.

 

[naledge]

you go to a doctor and say 'I've been feeling really miserable, I don't know what it is, I don't know what's making me feel this way', then the doctor says 'I'm going to put you on some anti-depressants, if they work, it might be depression, if they don't work, it still might be depression'.

This reminds me of a story I was told by a psychologist. He was hired (in the 70's or something) to assess the mental state of patients being released from a Psychiatric Facility that was being shut down, somewhere in Europe, I think it was Scotland. Anyway, there was a woman that was admitted a long time before, her family admitted her because she cried for three days straight.

The reason she was crying was because the day it started her husband left her at the altar on their wedding day. Any woman would cry after that, but her doctor diagnosed her with depression and she was admitted.

She was then subjected to some messed up crap like Shock Therapy and some experimental medications, she went on almost every medication they had, but alas, she was still sad (I wonder why, could it be that her fiancé left her, the torture, being held against her will, the messed up drugs she was put on? God they were useless back then) she was in that facility for around fifty years, they completely messed up her life and her mind.

We've come a long way since then, but there's still a long way to go imo.

 

[chickensnake]

I have panic attacks , whenever i go into a crowded place (mainly with other teens/kids, not usually adults) i just get super stressed and scared usually ends up with me having astma attacks aswell. I also have something else but i cant remember what it is called i was 12 when they told mum i have it i think it starts withe an O or something, i will find out and post it this arvo.

 

[melgalea]

i suffer from severe anxiety attacks, am on extremely strong medication for it, plus have other medication incase they get out of control. have nearly ended up being admitted to hospital quite a few times...
it can get quite bad, the attacks, u cant breath, u cant walk, and u cant leave ur house, u just want to lay in bed and die.
hav been suffereing from them for about 5 years now. but its slowly gotton better over time.
i have a fear of things going wrong, catching diseases, dying and all that sorta crap, that is what sparks them. plus i cant handle being around people i dont know and crowds... its a crap thing to deal with, but alot of people have it, i am just one of the unlucky ones that have it quite badly. also have ADD, which my daughter has inherited, but she has bad ADHD.
cheers
mel

 

[Tinky]

I am currently being treated for depression, however feel that this is related to ongoing relationship issues rather than a mantal issue.

Also I am doing a 'lifestyles' course for alcohoilics, (been dry all year).

 

[moosenoose]

I've had bouts of depression and I wasn't able to pin-point why. It took a visit to the doc to get me back on track, and I think one of the problems many sufferers seem to have is that they don't want to seek help with it, and the repercussions of that being that they spiral further down into the depths. Not a nice place to be! It's good for friends of such people to encourage them as much as possible to seek help. I seem to be back on track these days, but do know where some people have gone with this.

Cheers

 

[captive_fairy]

I have PTSD after I was in a severe car accident and nearly died...i now freak out any time Im in a car if Im not driving...I was also diagnosed with ADHD when I was younger and have more recently been suspected of bipolar

 

[junglecarpet]

I have PTSD after I was in a severe car accident and nearly died...i now freak out any time Im in a car if Im not driving...I was also diagnosed with ADHD when I was younger and have more recently been suspected of bipolar

I have only just started getting over that as well... I was in 2 car accidents within months of each other (not both me!!) and I would freak out if I wasnt driving or if it was in the wet (my most severe accident was in the wet) The only person I really trust driving me around is my partner as he is very safe when he drives and he knows how I feel about accidents. I still get antsy if its raining or if he is getting close to the person in front of him - even though he is still a safe distance away, I just overreact

I had an extremely effed up childhood and lost my family and I went through an extreme case of depression and was just ready to give up on everything. This went on for years, but one day I just, snapped out of it? I realised that living my life like that was not worth it and that I need to have the willpower to change. Now I am happier than ever! Dont get me wrong, I still have my depressed days where I just feel empty, but they are rare now and usually happen if someone has said something mean to me or yelled at me over the phone (I work in a call centre)

 

[Pythonking]

I top all of you guys my mothers a psychologist, deal with them issues

 

[junglecarpet]

AMY22 - try this forum, I found it helped me ALOT and there are alot of people who can help you not feel so alone

Online Support Groups and Forums at DailyStrength

 

[captive_fairy]

I have only just started getting over that as well... I was in 2 car accidents within months of each other (not both me!!) and I would freak out if I wasnt driving or if it was in the wet (my most severe accident was in the wet) The only person I really trust driving me around is my partner as he is very safe when he drives and he knows how I feel about accidents. I still get antsy if its raining or if he is getting close to the person in front of him - even though he is still a safe distance away, I just overreact

That pretty much says what happens to me...except I cant trust anyone driving except me, I guess cause Im in control...anytime im in a car with someone else driving I have to hold onto the handle and the chair and use the imaginary brake...at first I held on that tight that all my knucles went white and my hands would ache when I got out of the car. My grips loose now its been 7 years but I still have to hold on.

 

[captive_fairy]

I top all of you guys my mothers a psychologist, deal with them issues

haha...love it

 

[junglecarpet]

That pretty much says what happens to me...except I cant trust anyone driving except me, I guess cause Im in control...anytime im in a car with someone else driving I have to hold onto the handle and the chair and use the imaginary brake...at first I held on that tight that all my knucles went white and my hands would ache when I got out of the car. My grips loose now its been 7 years but I still have to hold on.

I was doing that the other day... my roomie got a new car and wanted to take me for a drive and I was holding on and using the imaginary brake and he just laughed at me and said "no brake there" as a joke... not good lol

 

[Dotora]

Im a Mental Health Nurse but ignore this post, I'm going away for a few weeks lol

 

[Tinky]

Pythonking,

Mrs Tinky has a major in Psychology and Biology

Biology => sex
Psychology => Brain

Biology + Psychology => ******ing with your head

As I said, ongoing relationship issues

 

[Jewly]

We have a woman at work who apparently has mental health issues and she really plays on it cause she knows she can't be fired because of it. She lives closest to work but is late every single day and gets away with it. She regularly takes time off work because she's too tired to come in but then is seen to have been on Facebook until the early hours of the morning.

She was even caught out once posting on Facebook that she had a great time at a comedy club one night but had been too ill to come into work for days before this. When she's late, we often ring her to see if she's ok, and you can tell that she's been asleep but she makes out that she's been 'passed out' but then can turn up at work 40 mins later and is absolutely fine.

This week she was caught out hiding paperwork that hadn't been processed in her desk and she also didn't process some credit card payments that she was reminded to do for 3 days in a row and yet nothing happened to her.

Everyone is getting so jack of her getting away with things and it's causing the office morale to go downhill but the managers are determined to keep her on, why I have no idea cause they have more than enough grounds to fire her. They have recently stopped her from ringing in and talking to the staff cause she wants to go on and on about the dramas in her life for up to 40 mins at a time. Now if she's not coming in or is going to be late, she has to ring the managers direct line but she often calls it knowing that the manager doesn't start until 9am so she knows that someone else in the office will answer it.

Whilst I sympathise with anyone with a mental illness (I've suffered from depression for years myself) it really annoys me when people play on their illness and don't treat others fairly.

This is how pathethic the situation is. This week they have hired someone to replace her BUT they are still keeping her on, and just taking all responsibility away from her, so that when she doesn't show up for days on end, it doesn't really impact on anyone.