Lived Experience Forum

[Hopeful30]

My daughter is almost 2 years old and Im still struggling with postnatal depression. Owing to less understanding drs I chose to try and let my depression run its course thinking it would get better-but its worse than ever now. Does anyone have a similar experience? 

[greenpea]

@Hopeful30  Hey Hopeful30 and welcome to the forum :). I am much older than you and my kids are all grown up but yes I did suffer prolonged pre and post natal depression badly. I remember it well over 20 years ago and it has stuck with me. It took along time for me to get over it but I got there in the end with a great gp and support from family.

There are some great organizations out there which help now a days. I will tag a moderator to help here as I am not sure of the name/s of them. 

@Former-Member  could you help Hopeful30 with name/s of organizations re postnatal depression thank you.

Hope this has helped. peax

[outlander]

hi @Hopeful30  

im not a parent myself so may not be to much help however i do know of a service that may help. ill add the website here for you as well in hopes that it might be helpful

https://www.panda.org.au/

@PANDA 

[Molliex]

Hi @Hopeful30. I had severe post natal depression. My daughter is now 2 and a half and I have still have depression, but it's not quite the same now.

As @outlander shared, Panda are good. I called them when I was really struggling. They can help you with resources and support services. There is a lot of help out there, it's just not always easy to find.

Welcome to the forum 🌻

[Hopeful30]

@Molliex and @outlander thanks for the welcome and info. Mental health is such a difficult thing to tackle! We lived abroad for some time and the reception from drs was awful-makes you doubt yourself even more. @Molliex I think my depression has evolved from where it started also it feels different. I hope you are both doing well and are somewhere on the road to recovery x 

[Hopeful30]

@greenpea thanks for your support. Its good to know there are others who have gone through this and come out the other side. X

[Molliex]

The best and hardest thing I did @Hopeful30 was telling my GP and getting a mental health plan. I have a good psychologist now who is helping me a lot. I have a few other issues, so it has been really tough, but at least I have a team (quite literally) of professionals helping me. Tomorrow I have an assessment at the the outpatient clinic at the hospital to get some support through there. I couldn't do it alone, and really we shouldn't have to. I want to get better for me and for my daughter. 

I hear your hesitation to reach out due to previous bad experiences. There are really good people out there, we just don't always get them at first.

Some good stuff here: https://www.panda.org.au/health-professionals/health-professionals-resource-hub

Also:https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/find-a-professional

🌻 🌻🌻🌻🌻

[outlander]

mental health really is a challenging thing, the good thing is you don't have to go it alone @Hopeful30
I do hope that PANDA can help you as well.
have you considered speaking with your gp and asking for a mental health care plan? that way you can get some medicare rebated psychology sessions and they can also refer you to someone who is experienced in postnatal anxiety and depression.

[Hopeful30]

@Molliex thats great! I hope it goes well for you tomorrow 🙂 they say it takes a village to raise a child and it seems true for mental health too. Had a meltdown this morning and my little girl reacted to it-pushes me even more to get better for her and my husband. Good luck! X

[Hopeful30]

@outlander Ive spoken to my GP and have a referral to a psychiatrist. Trouble is the wait is so long for them! Some even up to 6 months. Going to have a look and see if I can find one in my area. My GP didnt mention a care plan-we have private medical insurance so hoping some of the treatment is covered. You are right we dont have to face it alone but sometimes it can be the hardest thing to accept help.