Welcome! Introduce yourself here 🙂

[Beachboots]

Hi all, new here (35M) and experience anxiety and depression.

I have no friends or family to confide in, so it’s pretty lonely. I hope to connect with people who get what it’s like to wake up at 2am in a panic, or not be able to get out of bed for days at a time. I even avoid peak time trains because sometimes i get sad and cry and i don’t want to put that on someone who happens to be sitting next to me. It’s just tough every day.

i am also concerned about some unhealthy ways i’m coping (alcohol)

i see a GP and Psychologist but at the end of the day, they send you on your way and you’re alone again. I am hoping others here can relate to the constant struggle. I sometimes think it would be nice to have those AA meetings you see in movies except for people who are struggling with mental health, so it’s not so isolating and to have something to look forward to.

Anyway hello everyone.

[Tryhard]

@Peregrinefalcon Hi. Just logged a referral for my son but unfortunately due to my postcode, the guided support program is unavailable at this time. It's not easy finding help. 😞

[Peregrinefalcon]

Oh noooo @Tryhard I'm so sorry 😞

I will say, there are new postcodes being rolled out all the time so it may be something to keep an eye on.

He can definitely still reach out to the service and speak with a peer worker or counsellor through SANE's drop-in service.

There are also peer chat options on ReachOut.

Autism Awareness Australia also has a good list of resources that may be helpful for adults with autism.

I hope that can help in any way 💛

[Former-Member]

☀️ Welcome! ☀️

Welcome to the forums everyone who joined since Saturday: @Abw @afejuwupa @annae @Anon2931 @AnxietyQueen @Aroundandaround @Beachboots @beaker @BluestBlues @Carnationmum @Coolbanana @CroissantEgg @Duckie1 @Earling09 @Horsey @Karnak12 @Kelly16 @Kelly8 @LucilleBat @Maggotbrain @NicoleJanr @Nil1 @Pearls @r3n3gadesquirel @Rocky51 @Sadbear7 @Shani313 @Suesammie @Trentrecover @WaNadia 

Welcome to the forums! I’m TuxedoCat, I’m one of the peer workers here on the forums. The Peer workers, Moderators and Community Guides are staff and forum members who are here to keep the forums a really safe and supportive place for everyone! I hope you find our forums a really special place where you can 

• Seek support for yourself 
• Offer your experiences and support to others 
• Get to know other folks who “Get it” 

Some of you have already begun posting (yay), but I wanted to welcome everyone and give you a bit of an "in" with the forums here! 

Firstly, if you’re up to it, I know we’d all like to get to know you a little better. Wanna have a go at answering these questions? 

1. What is your favourite self-care activity? 
2. What are you looking forward do in the forums? 

I’ll go first: 

1. At the moment, I like playing a video game called SpiritFarer to wind down. I've played 7 hours since Saturday which is quite a bit (whoops!) but it was super calming so that's fine
2. My favourite thing at the moment is hearing stories from everyone. We all have different backgrounds and experiences but all feel connected!
3. I also wanted to share my favourite social thread: Share a cuppa? is a beautiful thread where we can check in on each other ❤️ 

I also wanted to give you some handy pointers for the forums 

• Make sure you check-out our guidelines and FAQ by clicking here. They are in place to create a really safe space online where we can share our experiences of mental health and recovery.  
• We also have some guides on how to use the forums and for creating safety online when discussing topics like suicide and self-harm. We know these are experiences many of us will have in our lifetime, but it’s important to discuss them safely and in a way that the community can support you! 
• If you press “@” and then type someone's username, they’ll get a notification that you’ve tagged them 
• You can always tag “@moderator” if you see something that is outside of our guidelines or makes you worry about someone 

Welcome again! 

[Kelly8]

Hi this is Kelly8. I have been through a really tough time at work, and it's broken me. I was ok for a while but they kept increasing the pressure and demands and I didn't feel in control of what I could do or say. I am in my 40's and have never been treated that way, usually I have been trusted to get the job done and I have been able to control the path I took. In the end I would speak less and less and hear "no" from my Manager before I could finish a sentence. I was looking to find some support, share and learn how to deal with the anxiety and stress. I currently can't go in to work, cry a lot and find it very hard to sleep. I am trying to do self care by

1) seeing my friends, 

2) watching light hearted TV (just started watching "Almost Family")

3) spending time with my kids

[Kelly8]

Hi Beachboots,

I hear you regarding the awkward cry on public transport and lack of people to confide in. How long have you been down for? I have been low for a few months now and get teary multiple times each day. I am waiting to see a Psychologist and need to normalise what's happening.

[FloatingFeather]

Hi @Kelly8,

Welcome to the Forums. My name is FloatingFeather and I am one of the peer support workers at SANE. It is really good that you have reached out and shared a bit of your story with us. Please know that you are in a safe, anonymous and supportive place with a lot of caring members. 

It sounds like things have been pretty rough at work for you lately. Especially, as you say, you have always been trusted to do your work and was able to control the path you took. I would imagine you might feel disempowered by this treatment. Is there a HR department or someone apart from your manager that you could speak to about this? Could it be a case that the manager might have taking a disliking to you and is trying to make things difficult for you?

It's really good that you are doing self-care, it sounds like you have some good tools in place around that. Do you find that it is helping at all?

Please take care, I really hope you are okay.

FloatingFeather

PS. On an aside, if you want to directly chat with someone on the Forums use the @ symbol and then start typing their name directly after it. A dropdown box should appear, and you then select their name. This ensures that they are notified of any posts you mention them in.

[Kelly8]

Thank you for your reply @FloatingFeather and advice on how the forum works.

You are right, I have been feeling that my Manager is singling me out. She called me a pushover (in different words) in one of our first meetings. I think she wanted to "coach" me to be stronger like her, but that's not the way I work. I tried being open and vulnerable with her but it backfired - now I feel threatened by her and mentally unsafe. When I last spoke with her she pointed out that I was "tearing up" and that I had a week to pull myself together.

[Former-Member]

Hey @Kelly8, it sounds really distressing for you. I'm wondering what supports you have around you both at work or in your personal life? 

How have you been coping with this so far? 

For me, when I've had similar situations at workplaces I've often checked in with HR, my union or sought advice from community legal centres. For example, LawAccess NSW is free and can give you legal advice on employment things (click here) and you can contact them multiple ways through (click here)

[Kelly8]

Hi @Former-Member ,

I hadn't thought about getting any legal advice. Recently work lodged a Workers Comp claim for me so I can get help. I am afraid to be too specific regarding the exchanges between me and my manager. They are the head of the department and the industry I work in is small... Everyone knows everyone.

Regarding support at work, I can't talk to anyone at the moment without becoming a mess. I also know that anyone I talk to ultimately reports to my Manager so it could get back to her.

Support at home is my partner, who is doing his best. He has depression so understands some of the things I am feeling and is encouraging me to find a new occupation.