Lived Experience Forum

[Rick147]

Hi there.

I suffer from pretty extreme health anxiety. But as of recently my overall mental health is deteriorating.

I was recently laying down on my phone, it was late at night. Everything was quiet and I can to realise I could hear sort of background noise or chatter, like a quiet radio playing. I checked the next room but there was nothing, the sound stopped once I checked.

I also have constant fears or delusions that I have contracted HIV from being touched. 

i don't believe I have had any other symptoms other then these, I just can't get into see a dr at all. My gp says it doesn't sound like schizophrenia but that's all the info I'm getting.

I really don't know what to do or where to go I feel like I'm not being taken seriously 

[Krishna]

Find a GP who listens and takes your concerns seriously.

[Maggie]

@Rick147 Welcome.

You can ask your Dr for a mental health care plan. They should refer you to a psych.

I agree with @Krishna  find another gp, if your current one won’t take you seriously.

I’m sorry you are struggling with these things at the moment.

Take care.

[Rick147]

I have been told I don’t have schizophrenia, however hearing background noise or soft voices seems not right to me. Is this a normal thing to happen to people?

[haystacks]

Hi Rick147

I would seek out another GP, one that will listen to you at least, it may mean that you haven't got a diagnosis of Schizophrenia, but it might get to the bottom of why you are feeling this way, anyway even if the diagnosis is Schizophrenia, this doesn't mean this is who you are my friend and there is always hope out there, if I can recover you can too.

Haystacks 

[Historylover]

@Rick147   You sound overwrought Rick.  You weren't just extremely tired and half-asleep and the noise was coming from another source?  Were you medicated?

I don't know what else to say. Thinking of you.

[Trytorelax]

Hey mate, don’t jump to any conclusions. Get in to the docs . It could be easily explained. Have you suffered any anxiety?

[SJT63]

@Rick147 

I hear a lot of noises.. it's physical, in my ears.

I have what is called percussive tinitus. Sometimes it sounds like thunder, sometimes like the ocean, sometimes like someone's scratchy radio playing in the distance and I can't quite make out what it is.

But it's not a mental health disorder, it's my ears.

Just a thought.

x

[ShiningStar]

Hi @Rick147 

I just wanted to reach out and welcome you to the forums! It’s great to have you here 

I can hear how worried you are  It’s such a difficult and scary place to be when we can’t make sense of some of the things that are happening for us 

In addition to the great ideas suggested by other forum members, I just wondered if you would feel comfortable asking your GP to refer you to a Psychiatrist? This may provide you with the opportunity to receive some answers to your questions and if necessary, the Psychiatrist may be able to provide some ongoing support 

Alternatively, you could ask your GP to refer you to a Psychiatrist for an ‘opinion and report’ (MBS item 291) which also attracts a Medicare rebate.

Basically, this is a one off appointment whereby a Psychiatrist completes an assessment and provides a written report to your GP which (if applicable) also includes a mental health diagnosis.

Although this is a one off appointment, it’s my understanding that you can attend two additional appointments if the Psychiatrist needs more time to complete their assessment.

If you would like to read some more information about this, you can visit the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists.

Their website www.ranzcp.org  

I also wondered if accessing some additional support through the Sane Help Centre may be helpful for you? Although the counsellors can’t provide a diagnosis, they can provide telephone and online counselling, information and referrals for people living with complex mental health issues and also for the people who care about them.

As such, you could talk through your experiences and concerns and explore some other ideas about how you could address these 

The Help Centre operates Monday to Friday from 10.00am until 10.00 pm (AEST) and you can contact them on: 1800 18 7263.

Their website is: www.sane.org

I hope this helps 

Take care,

ShiningStar 

[Rick147]

Hi again,

I have some more questions, these symptoms extremely bother me,

(on a side note I have seen a psychiatrist who has told me I don't have schizophrenia, however due to my health anxiety I don't believe her)

2 symptoms I currently have:

-my mind feels like it fires off thoughts that have no meaning, it's like I'm having a conversation and inside I'm battling my own thoughts about saying something completely irrelevant. It's like it has Tourette's.

-I feel like I disconnect a little sometimes, I have had this in previous years.

for me I'm terrified this is schizophrenia, I relate everything back to schizophrenia, it's hard at the moment as everyone is on Xmas holidays and I can't see my psychiatrist again for a few weeks