Friends, Family & Carers Forum

[Appleblossom]

@maddison 

It can be really hard to know what to do, when to escalate support and when it will be alright to hunker in and pull through on your own.  

The down sides of diagnosis are real.  Yet they are part of accessing support.

Yes some people seem to function pretty well, even though they carry mental health burdens.

Hope you both get decent rest tonight.  

[maddison]

Thankyou @Appleblossom ,

You echoed my thoughts exactly. The uncertainty of correct measures to implement at certain times weighs on me. I think you have also underlined why support is so important. I am lacking this at the moment, with his his cw being inadequate, and also his Mum who had recently relocated to a retirement village, a distance away from us. Everything has fallen on to me.

If I didn't have the support of SANE members at this time, I don't know where I would be. When I read kind messages from other members, who really 'get it's I am overwhelmed with gratitude & my mind feels peace and healing. Thanks💜🙂

@tyme 

Thankyou for your amazing support. Was able to get some good rest, as well as friend.

Things seem calmer, feel unsure how they will pan out over the coming days.

We are both disappointed to find out this morning from ITT, that his cw is again absent today (we were told yesterday that she would see him today) We both agree now, that it is imperative he be assigned new cw. Unsure how to navigate this process, hopefully it can be worked out, asap.💗 Thankyou @tyme 

[maddison]

Thankyou @EternalFlower 

My words do matter!💗 I was made to feel that they didn't. 

Your words matter.

💗💗💗

[maddison]

Thankyou again @tyme 

I am ok. 

Your words were so powerful & helpful. I am blessed to have your support! 💗

[EternalFlower]

@maddison it is so rough that u were not given space and Ur friendship and support for Ur friend matters a lot, and has made such a difference. Hope Ur getting heard as u have a powerful voice and u know Ur friend and what he needs.

[greenpea]

@maddison  hi maddison. There is a lot of co-vid in hospital units at the moment which could be one reason why they didnt want to accept your friend right now. .... has he been taking his medication?

[maddison]

Hi @greenpea 

Thanks so much for replying! It is so nice to have members support on here.

You made an excellent point that I hadn't even considered. My head has been a bit overwhelmed!

Yes, he is currently on CTO due to difficulties in staying consistent with taking meds. He has fortnightly depot through community health service. It seems to be effective treatment most of the time. Currently, we have been experiencing a few different stresses in short space of time. I suspect he is having difficulty processing, & adapting to changes, & that is why he is becoming unwell.

Thankfully, nurses have been coming by each day to check in on him. I'm also hopeful that he can access  more intensive care in the community. It is difficult balancing act to know what is best for another person! Hoping things will calm down for us & will wait and see how next few days unfold. Thankyou💜

[greenpea]

@maddison 🤗

[Appleblossom]

@maddison 

How is your housemate?

Have 'services' come up with anything yet?

In our situation, the cw phoned late yesterday to see how son was going, so that was something.  His court was delayed for a month. Being grateful for small mercies. 

Apple

[maddison]

Hi @Appleblossom 

Nice to hear from you! Yes, it is a case of being grateful for small mercies!💗 Glad to hear it has worked out for your son in that way 

We spent the morning at his local public mental health Centre. Usual cw AWOL again (had to leave work due to a cough..ahem...).

He had lovely social worker sit with him instead, during appointment with psychiatrist. I wrote some "case notes" for psychiatrist, to help give them better overall view & my concerns that things were not stable as of yet.

The appt. Had been scheduled for 11am. He didn't get in until 12pm. Apparently psychiatrist had to make urgent house call so was running late.

I watched, as nurse told another patient that their cw was not in today... Maybe tomorrow?? (I actually thought of you)

I believe there are severe staff shortages everywhere now, & will probably only get worse over winter as covid cases rise.

I feel positive, that my friend was able to at least get professional support today, and also has taken some of the burden off me. I am anticipating that as carers, we will likely have greater demands put on us over the coming months, with system overwhelmed I think being able to be mentally prepared for this is also small mercy🤍💕🤍

Thankyou for checking in with me. I'm grateful to be able to write it all out. 💐