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Bipolar94
Contributor

Putting up a fight

Right now i feel like im fighting every cell in my body to not self harm.

Its taken years to get out of the habit but it still seems to be the first thought when things get rough.

 

Right now things are still extremely rough and just the next thing that adds to that roughness really sets me off. Like the slightest inconvenience is really hitting me hard.

 

Im still out of work since i left my nursing job in September 2021 due to harassment, bullying and stalking done by another staff member. Its financially killing me, im in debt i thought id never be in. I cant even access my super because there was one week where i didnt get a payment from centrelink as it was my final pay from the previous job. Ive told centrelink how bad my situation is and they dont give a crap. At one point i told them how suicidal i was and i had the police turn up at my place.

 

So on top of dealing with all that on my own, cant afford to see someone about anything! Ive now had a big fight with my mum over something she said that has really offended me and she refused to apologise, saying its my fault for taking it the wrong way but everyone ive spoke to since has said 100% she shouldnt have said it and should apologise. So thats making me feel shit. Then today i got an email from the real estate saying they are switching to a new payment method and i need to set up direct debit. I originally had direct debit set up but i ceased that because theres no way in hell im paying $2.50 to some company to manage the direct debit. My rent is $880 p/f, not $882.50 so i so ive been depositing the rent myself each fortnight to their bank account, theres been no issue with it and currently 3 weeks in advance. I fear this fee thing will come up again, obviously i need to talk to them about it, ask the details etc. But with my extremely bad financial position right now its really just set me off just getting that email. 

I dont deal with financial hardship well. My mum was a single mum with 3 kids and i remember too well of using 5c coins to pay for things, mum being short when buying fuel, using her last $1 to buy bread for school, its really caused trauma in me, almost like PTSD, it got to the point i refused to get out of the car to go in to the shop with her. I remember one night when i was about 10, i was carrying my dinner to the table and accidentally dropped it all and it sticks with me today because i know how rare it was to have a dinner like we did(it wasnt even anything too special, just spag bol). If i ever have to go out to buy something now ill be checking my balance every couple minutes, ill be in line checking my balance to make sure its still there, checking my wallet to make sure i have my card with me, if its groceries i make sure i have at least a $20 note in my wallet(i never buy anything thats over $20 if its food shopping in person), feeling like ill throw up at any point and even when i see the transaction has been approved i walk out fearing they will call me back to say "actually no it now says declined!". I dont take my son with me to get groceries in person because i fear he will turn out with the same fears i have about money. I tend to use online shopping more so i can avoid that embarrassment if it declines, I cant stand using coins now because i feel like its embarrassing to use them. So my financial position now is really stressing me out, i absolutely refuse to go in to get grocery shopping because i know i only have $50 to buy food for the fortnight, i need to be able to review exactly what im buying without everyone staring at me. I hate this! I HATE living like this, the thought makes me sick it literally makes me want to self harm, i cant stand having no money, i cant stand having money be the central thing im worrying about! I went into nursing thinking id have a stable income for the rest of my life! But no! I feel like those three years were completely wasted because im not even in work still! And the thought of going to work as a nurse again scares me because i feel like im no where near skilled enough to be a nurse now.

 

At times i wish i could just check myself into the mental health ward so i know id be getting some support at least.. 😢

9 REPLIES 9

Re: Putting up a fight

Hey @Bipolar94

 

That sounds pretty serious and it might be worth you seeking some help.  You said you wished you could check yourself into a mental health ward, can I ask what's stopping you?

 

You also mention you have been a nurse before, and you would have seen that trying to mend a broken arm be yourself usually leads to a hospital visit thats much worse to treat.  You're at the point where you seem like you have a big wound, and just because it's not visible, does not mean you should not engage some help to set it and allow it time to be fixed. 

Re: Putting up a fight

@AussieRecharger

I wish i could get help, its too expensive.
Whats stopping me is my son. I fear that someone will try to seek out his father, who has been MIA for 9 years now, no one knows where he is, no one has contact with him, even his facebook accounts you cant get a reply from. I fear they will force my son to live with someone hes never met, someone he doesnt know just because hes listed on the birth certificate. I fear they will say im incompetent of caring for my son if i ever get admitted due to mental health reasons.

Several big wounds i think. I get to the point in psychologist sessions where weve just scratched the surface and then thinks go to crap financially again and i end up having to stop the sessions so nothing is really being talked about. 27 years of issues and not a single one has been dealt with.

Re: Putting up a fight

@Bipolar94 - 

 

I get it about your son, but it would probably be worth doing some research or talking to legal aid anonymously to get clarity if thats would be an option they would take. I honestly don't know, but I think sticking your son with a total stranger just because he has a male appendage would be drastic action. You should seek to get answers to that question as it feels like something thats holding you back.

 

You mentioned that you have more than 1 issue, is there one that sticks out that you feel you need to deal with right now?

Re: Putting up a fight

@AussieRecharger

I guess it wouldnt hurt to look into it.

I honestly think the biggest issue that would need dealing with right now would be my fears around returning to a registered nursing position, particularly in aged care. I fear he will be there as many aged care staff move from one place to the next quite often. I have a casual position at a popular aged care facility just 5mins walk from my home but still waiting for my orientation as ive recently had covid. But i fear going there because it scares the hell out of me that he might be there and seeing how close i live to the place, what if he finds out where i live?? And even if he isnt there, what if he gets employed there at some point? And what if im just not in the zone to be a nurse? I fear i will mess up, that ill miss something, that ill bring the whole place down. I just feel like im not good enough to be a nurse anymore.
That would be my biggest issue right now.

Re: Putting up a fight

@Bipolar94 

 

TEll me about him and your fears about him?  Why do you fear seeing him again?  Was it a DV relationship?  Are you afraid of how he will react or how you will react?

Re: Putting up a fight

@AussieRecharger 

 

I honestly dont know too much about him. He started where i worked about 6 months before i left the place. I had been on placement for Midwifery(which ive now pulled out of partly due to this reason....). Came back to work from placement early August and all of a sudden he wasnt the same as he had been before i left for placement. Constant uncalled for comments, following me everywhere i went at work, spying on me and taking note of which car i drove and my number plate, stalking me on social media, sending inappropriate messages on social media, invading my personal space when i had specifically told him im no where near interested and he still persisted, plus more. It was never a relationship, it would have never even turned to a relationship because hes just not my type but he had very strongly made it clear he was interested and wasnt taking "no" for an answer. I had heard from others i worked with there that he had done the same things to another young staff member but she never said anything about it, everyone say it happening though. It was when he started asking how i got to and from work, that he was taking photos of me without my knowledge at the time, asking me about what i drive, that beginning of having a stalker that scared the hell out of me and really started to decline my mental health. That was exacerbated when i told management at work and all they had him do was get him to read a few policies. No apology, no remorse, no changing of shifts, they basically said to me that what had happened didnt matter at all. It was like i had been slapped in the face by people who were supposed to support their employees, provide a safe environment for their employees, i made it clear to them that i no longer felt safe working on the same shift as him. Thats when the self harming began before i went to work, i knew no one gave a crap, it seemed to be the only relief. I didnt care about people seeing it, i was completely out of it. I spent most of my shifts locked in the medication room crying and freaking out, panic attacks, heart palpitations, my heart rate over the shift wouldnt dip below 100bpm, the average would be 130bpm, the entire shift. It was only me and the other RN who could get in the medication room so it was my safe space when at work. I only came out if i absolutely had to.

Im more afraid of how i will react. I didnt respond well to his actions, i didnt respond well to managements lack of action. I was suicidal and left that place before i actually acted on it. I fear that if i see him in the workplace again i will go back to that, i just wont show up at work. I have a scenario in my head of what might happen if i were to come across him at work again and it would go from locking myself away, immediately telling management at the new job about what has happened in the past with him and refuse to return to work until something is done. Thats best case scenario. Worst case being me not turning up ever again and refusing to answer their calls. Or i guess worst case would be self harming again.

I have been in relationships where its been emotionally, mentally, financially, sexually abusive. Everything except the typical physical abuse and i strongly believe my ex's believe they werent abusive because they never hit anyone, i remember them saying that they would never ever hit a woman, thats it wrong. That was before i realised that physical abuse isnt the only form of abuse. So realising so much of what they did was actually abuse and has actually really affected me since realising it. It affects relationships i have now massively, i cant trust people like i used to. In the last few months especially its been weird, remembering things that have happened in the past, especially the sexual things. I had completely forgotten about some things and then my brain one day decides to remember it and id just be sitting there doing whatever, heart racing, frozen in place, crying while my brain replays it all in my head and i cant control it at all. Makes me feel as though its just happened.

So having that history, when it came to this boy(like 21 year old, WAY to young for me) at work who wouldnt take no for an answer and was really freaking the crap out of me i might have overreacted due to what ive experienced in the past. The tiniest thing has set me off. It might not seem like much to one person, a bit of fun flirting from a guy that some women might like, but its been a massive deal for me that has genuinely scared me. Even being out and about, if i have to go out, i freak out if a male is too close now or if i have to speak to a male(apart from my son obviously). I feel sick at the thought of seeing a male doctor, i cancel the appointment because i freak out even if i really need to see the Dr, id be more comfortable waiting 2+weeks to see a female Dr instead. And this is another reason im anxious to get help. There are more male psychologists and psychiatrists out there than female ones near me, the female ones usually have longer waitlist times ive found and id have to travel further to see female(usually 40-60minutes by car).

Re: Putting up a fight

@Bipolar94 

 

I could 99% say that you have experienced trauma and what sounds like a similar type of trauma to domestic violence. I just want to let you know that what happened was not okay, not by him, or your managers or your co-workers. You have every right to feel safe in our community.  

 

Have you ever considered talking to a counsellor who specialises in Domestic violence? It is important that you talk about this to a specialist so you can start to recover. Your brain is going into survival mode, and thats why you have to have physical reactions. 

 

Sane also have counsellors you can talk to. 

Re: Putting up a fight

@AussieRecharger

It most certainly was domestic violence with my ex partner.
At times it really does feel like im just blowing it up, making it seem like it was worse that what it is. Ive had people tell me to just forget about it, that it wasnt really that bad of an experience etc. And its made me really be quiet about it.

I have, it really is just finances that are halting that. And then even the thought of verbally speaking about it makes me want to throw up because i feel like i wont be believed or that what im feeling from it isnt valid.

The last time i was seeing a psychologist i went in with a long list of things but as ive said, that ended before anything was really talked about due to financial reasons.. And even now i have a longer list on my phone of things that i really so need to talk about.

Re: Putting up a fight

@Bipolar94 Maybe pick a topic and start a new thread about it.  We are all here to listen.  I am more than happy to start to help you cross off your list. 🙂

 

It wont be all roses.. but sometimes, a daisy just might do. 

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