Mental Health Help Aus & NZ

Hi all, I realise this is way off topic but I recently learnt a friend of mine took his own life.

He and many others that I know have suffered mental health issues, It was a rocky road for myself, and clearly my friend found no other way out. we offered him help but he must have felt there just wasn’t the way out.

He will be missed, But everyone everywhere needs to know who to contact when they need help or they see a friend or family member in need.

NZ Helplines:
-Lifeline 0800 543 354 or 09 522 2999
-Suicide Prevention Helpline 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOK0)
-Youthline 0800 376 633 or free text 234
-Samaritans 0800 726 666

Or Ring 111 if you’re concerned for yourself or another person.


AUS Helplines:
-Lifeline Australia Call 13 11 14
-Samaritans Call 135 247
-Kids Helpline Call 1800 55 1800
-SuicideLine

Or Ring 000 if you’re concerned for yourself or another person.

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Sorry to hear about your friend, Grady.

Also worth noting that many of the larger employers also provide access to counselling services for their employees, free of charge, for both workplace and personal issues. It’s worth having an awareness of what your workplace offers, if not for yourself then for a colleague.

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@Ryan thank you

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Grady mate, this isn’t off topic at all really. I’m sure we all know (or have come across) someone who has had some mental health problems and it’s pretty heartbreaking to see someone you care about in that bad state!

Someone said Media Spy is a village a few days ago and like a village (I’m sure I could speak on behalf of everyone here) that we care about all of our members and wish them all of the best (even though most of us have never met).

Grady, So sorry to hear about your friend, sending you my support and love so you can make it through this tough time! Keep positive and do things you and your friend did together (doesn’t have to be right away but it’s a part of the healing process).

Good on you for taking the initiative to put this up, it could help someone and if it does, it’s something to be happy about - that you helped someone when they needed it!!

Anyways, back to the fun of this forum.

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WHERE TO GET HELP NZ

The Mental Health Foundation’s free Resource and Information Service (09 623 4812) will refer callers to some of the helplines below:

Suicide Crisis Helpline (open 24/7) – 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO). This is a service for people who may be thinking about suicide, or those who are concerned about family or friends.

Youthline (open 24/7) – 0800 376 633. You can also text 234 for free between 8am and midnight, or email talk@youthline.co.nz.

0800 WHATSUP children’s helpline – Phone 0800 9428 787 between 1pm and 10pm on weekdays, and from 3pm to 10pm on weekends. Online chat is available from 7pm to 10pm every day at whatsup.co.nz.

Kidsline (open 24/7) – 0800 543 754. This service is for children aged 5 to 18. Those who ring between 4pm and 9pm on weekdays will speak to a Kidsline buddy. These are specially trained teenage telephone counsellors.

Your local Rural Support Trust – 0800 787 254 (0800 RURAL HELP)

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You need a referral from your doctor, who should know which psych to refer you to. A certain number of psychiatric and psychological sessions are covered under Medicare with either the full amount or a percentage of it being covered. You used to get twelve sessions each year under Medicare, but I’m not sure how many you get now.

I’m on Avanza, and that works for me.

I hope you get the help you need.

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@mubd - best thing you can do is have a bit of a rest tonight. Call your GP first thing in the morning and have a chat; with someone who directly doesn’t know you and can guide you on some advice - sometimes outside advice really helps, it has in my experience.
Beyondblue has forums that can help, but find someone that is professional, like a GP and a potential referral.
Meds can help and aren’t always a permanent thing. They could be beta blockers, which aren’t as hardcore, again this is what you and you GP can come together with. Be honest with your GP, and they will help.

Look, sometimes life doesn’t feel the best, some media ramp-up’s don’t help, but things seriously get better - in time. As you get older, you live and learn. Life isn’t peachy keen, but experiences make us learn and you can look back and say TF am still around and can be here.

It will get better, trust me!

All the best!

Also if you are feeling really not good right now call Lifeline that’s they are around for 13 11 14

You’ll get thru this. You’ve done the hard bit reaching out and expressing what you feel. Now let someone help you out.

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Friendships change over time, and you have to remember that isn’t anyone’s fault. If you’re uncomfortable with what people say and do, then you’ll naturally gravitate away from them. We’re all influenced by the stuff around us differently (because there’s a lot of different stuff to be influenced by). It’s important to remember to not focus too much on the negative stuff, work on the good stuff and the stuff you can change. You don’t have to even change a lot, little steps are far more manageable than big ones.
But basically, yeah, seek a professional for advice and don’t be afraid to do it. They tend not to be the type of people who judge you, and do tend to be the people who want to help you. They’re the best sort of people there are in this world… if only there were more of them, eh?

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Currently this is six sessions before a renewal of the mental health plan is required, which will give you a further four (so 10 all up).

Yes thats correct as Ive just had 6 sessions and got the renewal for another 4 done this week.

@mubd, there are mental health services and support groups available in my area for people who are gay, so I assume theres similar up in Sydney that may be useful

Hi @mubd - so sorry to hear about this happening to you.

It’s really rough when friends ditch you. I had many friends cut contact in the months after I came out. Hold on to the good ones and sadly you need to let some go.

Try to be nice to yourself - do things you like to do and don’t put any pressure on yourself to be a certain way or do any particular thing.

I would also agree that you need to get to see your GP. If you need a new one, this is a list of gay-friendly GPs in Sydney: https://www.acon.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Gay_Friendly_GP_List_February-2017_ACON.pdf

Get a referral to a psychologist and be honest with that person.

And this may seem shallow and perhaps a little flippant but it’s great being gay and Sydney is a great city for that. Please PM if you want to talk any further.

Sending strength.

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Gday mubd,

Firstly - good on you for coming out!

Secondly, my experience in life as i have gotten older is that less is more. And this applies to friends. I’ve learned the hard way, that I’d rather have 1 good friend, that i can trust (Sounds like friend #2 is that person for you), than 3-4 ‘mates’.

You might just find a silver lining in all the turbulence, which will weed out some of the things you probably do not need in life. The difficult part is while i was in that stage, it felt real shit! Things get better.

Your first step is to see your GP, they will give you a bit of a questionnaire with some standard questions that you’ll need to answer. They will then give you a referral.

Do things that you like for a while, to keep your mind off of things. You can do this and have the communities support.

All the best.

PS: Your city in skylines is EPIC! Keep on building!!

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@mubd hopefully by now you’ve seen the responses and have been able to start the process.

I implore anyone who feels like they are struggling with mental health (for whatever reason) to seek help - please don’t try and battle along alone, there are some great online resources out there to start with, but see your GP, they have access to a lot more resources that can help

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Well some GPs after what happened to me when I was 23 the doctor at he time didn’t know what to do so he sent me to a nurse counselor who was no help so I changed drs and went to a proper counselor she was kiwi but good so taught me kiwi ways of dealing with things

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