Annalise Braakensiek

Are you OK Masterton

Offers here mate ..got an hour and half spare until the young fella goes to footy

Also forgot to add …Beyond Blue has a depression test and it tells you exactly where you are at ...answer it honestly ...and that's the key be honest with yourself ....and then people can start to get the help they need

No one is too tough , too strong , too mentally strong to get depression

1/3 end up with depression of some sort and everyone is different how they will react with it

A person might be able to deal with incredible amounts of physical pain but mental pain is a completely different ball park

And I will bring up something else ....70% of families that deal with suicide have another attempt from a direct family member

Wasn't fun saying that yesterday when she has 2 other sons and another daughter

Going to speak to the powers at be at my work to offer a lifetime of mental care services to all ex employees as well even if it is having the 1800 help line number available to them

If it stops even just one person ...it pays for itself 1000 times over imo
 
This is something very close to home for me, over the last few years I've had to deal with one thing after another and never really had the time in-between to process things properly before the next one happened and everything just got on top of me.

A few months ago I was just really sad and I couldn't do anything to change how I was feeling, my wife asked me if I wanted to go and speak to someone and I said 'yeah I do', so she arranged a gp appointment (which I need to emphasise how important that was for me, because I wasn't capable of making the call myself the way I was feeling so something as small as that was huge for me at that point)
just talking and explaining everything to my gp I felt was enough for me at this point, I did get a referral to get a mental health plan made up but I haven't, but I will if I find myself feeling that way again.

I'm not going to go into specifics of everything that happened because I could literally write pages, but it's similar stuff to what you guys have spoken about, But I'll give you an idea.
(Even writing it down here is a good way for me to process it and helps)

My issues probably stem from me having to basically rescue my grandmother from my own father who was verbally abusive to her due to his frustration with dealing with her dementia which at the time he probably wasn't fully aware that she had, but is still no excuse.
So I ended up being a full time carer for my grandmother for 2yrs until I just couldn't provide the care she needed anymore, which affected my family financially (and still is) but also affected all of us in other ways too.
I don't regret doing it for one second and I'd do it again but it did put a strain on everybody.

Other than that my story is similar to what you guys have spoken about, these are just a few things.
- Close friends I'd grown up with taking their lives and attempting it.
- My nephew having a skateboarding accident causing severe head injuries and being on life support with my cousin having the choice to turn it off (this happened on new years day)
- My wife's uncle passing away on Xmas morning while getting ready to go to Xmas lunch at his daughters house.
- A close friend and mother of 4 being diagnosed with incurable brain cancer.

And now only last week getting a call from my sister saying her fiancee and father of their 2 small children is missing then finding out 48hrs later he'd attempted to take his life.

If anyone knows someone who doesn't seem happy within themselves, is withdrawing etc
Please ask them if they are OK and ask them if they would like you to organise someone for them to talk to.

When you're feeling down sometimes you can't even get yourself to do simple things to help yourself, it's so important for someone to offer to do these things for you.

I appreciate you guys sharing your stories, you enabled me to share mine and made me more aware that I'm not the only one.

Look after each other.
 
Yeah I lost a very close family member to depression. That was 18 years ago. It gets easier but never easy. Birthdays are still pretty rough.
 
Thanks for sharing your stories on this thread., It is very sad situation when suicide is the only option left to an individual.

Good mental health is very important . I cannot underestimate the positive benefits of a good exercise regime in keeping both physically and psychologically healthy. It has got me through tough times with my ex wife and her family. That family scares the shit out of me due to the prevalence of serious mental health conditions many suffer from. My ex is a violent, angry and nasty women and no doubt suffers from a serious but undiagnosed mental health condition. I won't say too much other than to say she has a history of violent behaviour towards my youngest son (who lives with me), citizens and yours truly. Regular and strenuous exercise has been my saviour. Please take it up if you are in a tough spot/
 
Idk if anyone is familiar with Postsecret. It’s a site people use to post anonymous confessions. People having affairs, thoughts about suicide etc. My girlfriend is an avid follower of it. A couple years ago, the created came out here for a seminar type thing. We went and seen him, and he took questions from the audience. Every second person who got up, spoke about their depression. One woman in particular mentioned that out of her nieces and nephews, there was one she loved more than the others because that child saved her life (presumably from suicide). It made you realise how many messed up people there are. People you pass by on the street every day. I think I’m the only person I know who isn’t on any type of anti depressant. Every second person takes them these days.
 
I take antidepressants every day, in the form of MUSIC.

Without it, I honestly don't know how I'd cope sometimes, music is my comfort and escape when I need to clock off from life for a while.
 
Same here TIGER, music heals the soul.

I have one song that reaches me on a level that no other song does, and funnily enough it is by a band I otherwise cannot stand. It basically spells out how I am and what I feel whenever things get too much for me. I make it a mission to listen to it everytime I hit a spiral as it helps me understand my emotions and more importantly the effect I have on others and helps level me out again. I'm generally a reasonably level person emotionally but I don't handle my emotions well when they get out of control. I can be a pretty poisonous person when I get that way because I cease to function as a reasonable human being, which I hate because I don't handle overly emotional people very well either. I don't necessarily say terrible things or the like, but I become like a black hole and I suck the life out of those around me.

I seem to deal with it better as I get older, I've come to accept things that make up why I am the way I am (chronic illness and the side effects of medication used to treat it,) and as I result I don't stress about it nearly enough as I used to. I think I have different priorities in life now too, my kid brings me a lot of joy and filled a void I didn't know I had.
 
@Cultured_Bogan said:
I have one song that reaches me on a level that no other song does, and funnily enough it is by a band I otherwise cannot stand.
Click to expand...

Is it a Nickelback song? You can always be happy you're not Chad Kroeger…
 
Cats in the cradle - gets me every time.
“A child arrived just the other day” - man that seems like yesterday to me
“What I’d really like dad is to borrow the car keys- see you later can I have them please” - my current reality.

Last week - Leichhardt oval with my 17 year old.
This week - Campbelltown with my 20 year old.
“My boys are just like , they’ve grown up just like me” - 😀👍

Pain, sorrow, regret, pride, happiness and love - all in one song! Might get my guitar out again…...
 
Great Song originally by Harry Chapin who died on a freeway having had a massive heart attack behind the wheel. He struggled for twenty odd years and was famous for about eight, then died ,I think in his late forties early fifties.
On a lighter note I put my depression issues down to a very bad motor vehicle accident and following the Wests Tigers (except in 2005).No medication required that year….....
 
Depression is brutal, it’s suffocating. I used to sit at the train station thinking next train I’m going to jump under. I’d sit there for hours but could never do it, walk away feeling worse, gutless. I couldn’t stand anti depressants so I treated myself. Alcohol, weed, then a heroin addict by 21. I lost my 20’s and 30’s to depression and through that, the gear. Lucky I had a supportive family and a good partner that gave me heaps of time to get myself out. So grateful and life is good now, no, it’s great. But I’ll never forget those days sitting on the train platform...... my heart goes out to anyone with those thoughts, it’s tough.
 
@chickenkebabs Depression is something I've fought for a very long time, that feeling of gutlessness after not being able to follow through with a plan is soul destroying. I am so glad you were able to find the other side, I hope you remain there!
 
@chickenkebabs probably the best post I have ever read on this forum. Congratulations for turning your life around and hopefully it can help others.
 
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