Friends, Family & Carers Forum

[Firefox]

Hi - new member to this forum. Actually new to any online support. I’m a mum to an early 20s daughter with mental ill health. She is on a mental health plan but went to a different GP than her usual to get that started. As a first step he prescribed antidepressants, even before she had her first appointment with the psychologist. Is that normal? When she was concerned about potential nausea he also prescribed anti nausea meds. She is seeing a psychologist. She does not talk to me or the rest of the family about what she’s going through. I don’t know what to do. Feeling helpless. 

[RiverSeal]

Hey @Firefox, thanks for joining the Forums and sharing with the community!

It sounds like you are going through a challenging time with your daughter at the moment. You are demonstrating your resilience and strength by reaching out to your peers in the community. It's hard to be vulnerable and you are being brave in sharing your story here.

GP's can provide antidepressants and anxiety medications as a first step in treating mental health issues though you usually need to go to a psychiatrist to get other medications and a diagnosis. Some medications have known side effects and other medications can help with that but it's best to talk to your doctor about these.

It can be really hard to talk about your mental health and particularly with your parents. Maybe in time she might open up to you and you being supportive like it sounds you are which is very helpful. 

I hope this has helped to give you some understanding.

Take care 

RiverSeal 

[Louloubell]

I'm a newbie.   Its hard to know where to start but here goes......I have two adult daughters, the oldest has been diagnosed with complex PTSD and possibly DID (Dissociative Identify Disorder) due to the abuse she experienced at the hands of her biological father (deceased) when she was a child.   I had left him when she was about 5 years old (the other child was 2 at the time) due to domestic violence perpetrated by him.  Unfortunately, he still had access to them after we had separated and little did I know that he had been sexually abusing the eldest during access visits.  Anyway, she eventually disclosed in her mid-twenties (after her father had taken his own life) and it's been hell ever since.  She is incredibly brave, intelligent, creative, talented and troubled and has been accessing therapy for herself for quite a few years.   The next hammer blow - she has recently been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and this has understandably sent her spiralling down.  She is so very angry with me most of the time - and can get quite aggressive.  I have just started having counselling for myself to try and find a way to be of best help to her and to stop myself from losing my own sanity.  Anyway, this is a first step....that has probably been a long time coming.  But I am tired of feeling so alone in this struggle and I can't really share with a lot of my friends due to my own shame and embarrassment.  I don't know if anyone else has felt the same?  Thank you

[Ru-bee]

Welcome @Louloubell, I'm glad that you've found this space and have been able to share your story here.

It sounds as though it's been an incredibly difficult time for both your daughter and yourself. It can be extremely isolating carrying the weight of this around, especially when shame or embarrassment prevent us from sharing with those around us. I do want to let you know that you're not alone in this, and I hope that engaging here will help to make that clear for you. 

It's great that you've been able to get support for yourself in seeing a counsellor, sometimes the best thing we can do for those around us is to focus on our own wellbeing

[Louloubell]

Thank you Ru-Bee.