seeking support group

[rhubarb_teef]

hi there!!

new to SANE so this is my first post - a close family member of mine is currently in the hospital with quite severe psychosis and may end up with a schizophrenia diagnosis (it’s a little too early for it to be diagnosed yet though as he’s still very unwell). he has had similar severe psychotic episodes before so we know what to expect and that with treatment his condition will likely improve but it’s obviously quite hard right now.

i’m trying to find some kind of community support group either near the east side of the city or in the eastern suburbs that my family and i can attend to talk to other people who have had family members go through similar crises.

we all have friends and each other that we can talk to, but it’s a little difficult to talk to friends about as obviously it’s not a super common thing to have experienced, so i thought it could be helpful to be able to chat to people who can fully understand what we’re going through. we’re currently all working on setting up individual talk therapy for ourselves as well.

any help or suggestions for this would be greatly appreciated - i’ve tried to contact the mind australia carer’s helpline to try and find some resources but they haven’t been able to get back to us just yet.

[dehaha]

Hi @rhubarb_teef 

I am sorry to hear what your friend is going through.  I am glad that they are in the best place for treatment. 

I am really glad that this person has great people around them who sound very supportive and understanding.  I think it fantastic that you are looking for support groups. 

The only thing I can offer is to maybe have a look at the Sane forum thread for family and friends.  You might find some helpful information there.

You could possibly even try Google search for support groups ( ex : Schizophrenia support groups  North Brisbane). Obviously for the area that you live.

Best of luck to you all. 

[tacocat]

Hi @rhubarb_teef 

Welcome to the forums!

Have you looked through Ask Izzy? It's a resource directory for all things support services in Australia. Perhaps there might be something useful on there...

https://askizzy.org.au/

[rhubarb_teef]

Hi,

Thank you so much for that!

We’re lucky - I think it’s easier for us to be supportive as we’ve been through it before and have had time to learn about what’s happening. We know that he’s unwell and will likely get better with treatment and support - similar to an ongoing physical illness.

The first time was more challenging as we initially had no idea what was happening to him or how important it was to care for ourselves as well and access help.

I’ll absolutely look into that, thank you! Have also just realised that I forgot to mention in the initial post that we’re in Melbourne hahaha.

Hope you’re having a great week so far.