Friends, Family & Carers Forum

[pjc11]

hi all, I am feeling lonely and I want to meet new people and see if we can become friends. I am the carer and mother of a family member with a mental illness. I gave up working many years ago now and I miss the friendship social times. I won't say too much about myself at this stage. Please feel free to reply if you are looking for new friends and we can chat. all the best. I am in Melbourne Vic.

[Linmerc]

Hi pjc11

I am also the carer of a family member (husband) with a mental illness and I certainly understand your loneliness feelings. But rest assured, you are not alone and this forum site is the perfect place to vent your fears as well as rejoice over your accomplishments.

Looking after someone with a mental illness can be totally exhaustive on you, so don't forget to take some 'ME' time. Soak in a tub, read a book, give yourself a facial whatever it takes to give yourself some breathing space.

Life really is wonderful, so get out there and enjoy it. Don't let mental illness drag you down because you cannot 'fix' your family member, you can only be there to support and encourage them.

Never feel lonely as this forum site is open 24/7 and sometimes getting your feelings/thoughts down in writing helps you to release your issues.

I am sure other members of this forum will respond to you but you have found a new friend in me.

Stay strong!

[Mosaic]

Hi @pjc11

Hello *waves* and a big welcome to the Forums! I'm Mosaic, one of the Forum Moderators. It is great to have you join us! I do hope you will find it a warm and welcoming place to share your life experiences as a carer for someone living with a mental illness. The Forums really are a great way to reach out to the community, share our experiences and connect with others who may have walked through a similar experience.

I just wanted to let you know that the SANE Forums are designed to be an anonymous community. We certaintly want to encourage people to share their story and personal experiences with others on here, however we just ask that people do this in such a way that does not allow them to be identified in real life. This is just to ensure we maintain our own safety and the safety of others. You can read more about it in the Community Guidelines. The Community Guidelines are a bit hidden on the Forums, so we understand not everyone is across them. I sincerely hope this doesn’t discourage you from continuing to contribute on the forums.

Again - welcome to the Forums! I hope to 'see' you around the place 🙂

[pjc11]

I do understand and thank you for letting me know. pjc11

[pjc11]

Hi limmerc, thank you for the message. I will look ofrward to sharing on here. All the best..

[CherryBomb]

Hi @pjc11

A big warm welcome to the SANE Forums.

It's always nice to have a new friend.

If you feel comfortable let us know a bit more about you. That way when stuff comes up with other members that share a similar experience to you, I might be able to connect you with them. But no pressure to reveal yourself yet if you're not up to it. Only do what you're comfortable with.

I'm just letting you know that part of the job as a moderator on here is link people with each other.

'See' you around.

CB

[hopeandsupport]

Hi pjc11

i understand your lonliness too.  i had a good cry last night when things weren't going too well.  found out my daughter had been missing her medication.  funny just when you think things are getting better they go all wrong again.  i usually i call someone, a relative or friend and have a good talk.  so today it's back to supervising the medication.  keep your chin up.  as linmerc said pamper yourself when you can.  there are plenty of community activities that you can join when you can get some respite too.  it's so easy to get depressed yourself when you're the only one doing the hard yards.  i belong to a support group also who have activities for carers, art classes etc.  all the best, you're not alone!

[NikNik]

Some great tips there @hopeandsupport
I hope things start to improve for you soon too.

[pjc11]

Hi everyopne, im struggling today. I have a family member who is not getting any help with mental illness. FM having help for some years and two years ago was discharged from the mental health so called system!!. FM totally not ready to face the world and even start to think about work or any outside of home activities. FM stays in her room most of the time on the computer, ignoring life as if it may just go away.as a mother i want to fix this and I have another FM in not too good situation aswell. Where do I go for help to help them , like they are too old now to be eligable for many mental health places such as ORYGEN, .Please do not advise me to move away on my own to let them get on with it, thats not going to help any of us. I love them and want to be there for them but goodness its tough. single mum struggling any help ?????anybody going through same or simular please reply to me. I am a mess and cant get out of bed today as it is all ontop of me , day after day, depression and anxiety myself, life is so so hard I dont know where to turn. 

[NikNik]

Hi @pjc11

I'm really glad you turned to the Forums for help. I'm sorry to read that your family members aren't doing so well.

Do you feel comfortable telling us a bit more about the family member you referred to? It sounds like she's been linked in to services before - did she withdraw herself from this? Or was it because she's no longer classified a young person that she had to leave the servcies she was using?

Have you got some support for yourself too (Community support service, psychologist, gp etc)?