Mental health

[CasperJ]

This a pretty serious topic. I am not coping. I should probably see a therapist because I’m struggling with depression and a somewhat weird and slightly scary form of anxiety. I know depression is very serious. It almost killed me two years ago. I stopped myself though. I never told anyone until last year and the friend I told made me tell my parents. Nothing was done. I still feel so numb, or guilty or just so hurt. I’ve been coping for three years now, but I never did it well, and resorted to pretty harsh ways of coping if you get what I mean (not drugs btw, the other coping method that should never be used). I’ve met other people with depression but I never really talked about my experience because I wanted to help them but I didn’t want them to know about me. 

 

My my anxiety is another really long paragraph. It started when I was about eight. I didn’t think much about what I was going through until I was twelve. Every night, I’d get these horrible nightmares, which is nothing out of the ordinary for an eight year old. But the dreams never went away. I still get terrible nightmares today. The dreams seem to get worse as I get older, and nothing has made them go away. It’s called nightmare disorder, or dream anxiety disorder. I know that it’s just a dream, but it wears away at you when you watch everyone you’ve ever met die repeatedly in gruesome, graphic ways every single night. It has also made the whole coming out process harder because of this reoccurring dream where all of my queer friends get shoved into closets and then stabbed through the closet. 

I know I should see a therapist but I don’t know how to ask my parents to see one, and I can’t talk to the school councillor because I’d have to talk to the principal and my mother works at the school. What can I do?

[Guest]

I understand you're worried but it seems you are still young and have a reasonable chance of recovering. I let my mental illnesses get the best of me for nearly 23 years because I was ashamed of what I had done to try and cope ( that thing you mentioned and drugs and alcohol too) and that I would let my parents down. You have to know that your family only wants what is best for you so I think you have to take that leap and ask for help. I want you to know that all the people in the mental health treatment community are kind and compassionate and only want to help you. So please get help while you are young and learn the things it takes to get better. 

[skinny_bitch_88]

Please talk to someone about it! I see you're in Australia - have you tried contacting lifeline or beyondblue?

[Guest community6seasons]

Like someone said above, your parents are on your team. Ultimately, they only want to see you do well. Just go and talk to them about your fears. No need to go into the details with them. Just let them know you are struggling and need help.

[CasperJ]

38 minutes ago, skinny_bitch_88 said:

Please talk to someone about it! I see you're in Australia - have you tried contacting lifeline or beyondblue?

I haven’t contacted anyone. 

Thx @community6seasons I’ll try to talk to someone.  @ABryonJ.maybe  I hope you also feel better and thx for the advice

[Claire1983]

I agree with the other's I know it's difficult to bring it up, but please see a therapist.  I have anxiety as well.  I put of dealing with it for YEARS and I can tell you from experience that the sooner you start to deal with it, the easier it will be to manage.  Good Luck

[Baam]

+1 to what @skinny_bitch_88 (awesome name) said.

 

Here are some links for you since you're an Aussie:

 

Beyondblue, one of the best mental health organisations we have. They have online forums like AVEN and lots of information on mental health including contacts and how to get help. You can even get in email correspondence with one of their mental health professionals or chat online to them. Or call of course. https://www.beyondblue.org.au/

If you scroll right down the bottom of that page I just linked there's a ton of helpful links to pages around their website that I think will be very helpful for you.

 

Lifeline 24/7 phone chat availability: https://www.lifeline.org.au/

 

SANE Australia phone support, online chat, and forums: https://www.sane.org/

 

ReachOut with lots of information and forums: https://au.reachout.com/

 

Headspace (for young people) with a lot of nice information and resources: https://headspace.org.au/

 

If you're in South Australia, here's our state's mental health services information: http://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/SA+Health+Internet/Health+services/Mental+health+services/

I'm sure there's similar pages for your state if you're not in SA.

 

I hope one of these resources can lead you to the support you need. It's really super hard talking to people in real life. I never managed to speak a word to anyone. I used beyondblue mostly to help me scrape by when I needed it most. I hope you find the strength to get help, everyone deserves it. It's not right that no one did anything upon finding out about it, I've been through that with my anxiety and I am really angry with how people reacted looking back. I was a kid and they should have recognised it (it was really obvious I literally had a panic attack in front of three or four teachers) and got me help, and your parents should have helped you reach out as well. Unfortunately people just aren't educated in mental health and so when people see someone suffering they turn a blind eye because they don't know what to do. It's getting better but it's still a problem.

 

 

[Celyn: The Lutening]

I've been there too, and I promise that healing is possible.

As you're in school, I highly recommend seeing the school counsellor, it'll be a good thing that your mum will find out because she'll be able to support you at home just like the counsellor will at school.

The above suggestions for support are good, but given the "closet" dreams, you may want to look into Aussie LGBT support groups, like QLife. You don't have to mention that aspect to anyone face-to-face, though if you don't want to.

The doctor's is also a really important resource for any of us with mental health, a lot of people are really against medication (I was at your age because I didn't really understand what it did) but it can be the thing that puts your life back on track.

 

Best of luck, and I lurk on AVEN way to much so I'm often around if you want to PM me anytime, if you just really need someone to talk to (I'm an Aussie too so there won't be a crazy time difference  )