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Abcd
Contributor

Depression and young adults and accomodation

Hi there,

 

Is it normal for people treating mental health to randomly tell you to mention moving out of home when you've still studying as young adult and don't have a job and still finding it really hard to cope with depression. Or they make one comment in a initial letter to the GP... Subsequently you ask the doctor about filling out a form re supposedly for a scheme re disability to help re work or experience and 4 months later they are like just keep studying and say not to worry about part time job... like forgotten the form... or the fact they randomly mentioned in initial letter to GP about moving out... Like do doctors want to make random observations and not follow them up...

 

Sometimes I think people seem to think that artificially making you more "normal" will fix depression. Because I had a mental heath social worker... say something about moving out... I don't know where hypothetical money is meant to come from...

 

Is there any evidence that this helps depression? (I mean studies or journal articles) Or a superficial way to pretend that you've grown up and that is actually fixing things...

6 REPLIES 6

Re: Depression and young adults and accomodation

@Abcd  Hi there. The ‘moving out’ you are talking about is tricky. I can only think of one thing that they might suggest that for, and that ‘ could’ be, if your environment is abusive. Just my thoughts there.

 

As for superficial, artificial ways to ‘ fix’ depression, I haven’t come across any in my long and painful journey with it.

 

I don’t know if it’s worth another visit to your GP to sort this out. Or, looking for another GP, if that’s a possibility. Take care.

Re: Depression and young adults and accomodation

No.... but my parents are protective of me... Like when I was at high school I had a medical condition... so I concentrated on my studies... And then just before Year 12 I had a friend die... and I got depressed.. and I won a scholarship re marks... Like you don't think that you're going to get depression again and again initially... and then I lost the scholarship because I got depressed and it affected my concentration so I dropped out of my courses... But when you are too unwell to study you don't really go around looking for jobs... Also you keep getting sick and reducing to 2 or 3 courses or dropping out of a semester...

 

So had a family therapist (mental health social worker) mention somethin about moving out... I don't know where the hypothetical money is meant to come from (My parents are fine paying money about getting me better) I don't see the point of moving out in regards as an argument to fixing my depression... And my parents are like Centrelink doesn't give another money to get accommodation... so they are like - we are meant to line someone pockets for me to live somewhere else...

 

Like uni students normally seem to get part time jobs to support that or people have jobs before moving out... I'm just wondering it's part of a strategy to superficially make someone more "normal" rather than fixing the underlying problem...

Re: Depression and young adults and accomodation

@Abcd  Fixing the problem takes time and....dare I say it ...money, so I think band aid strategy is what can happen.

 

I’m really sorry your friend died. That is a really huge loss, and very difficult to get over.

 

Do you want to move out of home? At the end of the day, this is your life, no one else’s. I know financially that possibility is not viable, but if it was, would that be a choice you would make?

 

Is the financial problem something you can ask the social worker? Like, where is accommodation money going to come from if you leave home?

 

I don’t know if you are studying at the moment, or struggling with depression, or both.

I’m trying to think of other students here on the forums who might be able to help.

 

Just a forum tip. The @ brings a dropdown. You can tag someone into your conversation, otherwise it’s hard to know who you would like to talk to.

 

 

 

Re: Depression and young adults and accomodation

hi @Abcd and welcome

Honestly being a young adult having moving out of home brought up  isnt unusual. i dont think they mean anything by it but just more of a conversation. alot of people who have depression or other mental health conditions live on their own or with housemates from school or similar including young people.

If you and your parents are ok with you living at home then i dont see an issue with it.
i would however suggest applying for centrelink for yourself so that you can have your own independence though, they can also help you get a job once your finished your studies as well.

Re: Depression and young adults and accomodation

@Abcd @outlander @Maggie 

 

Its not unusual if someone wants to find a place of their own even if they aren't working. If you have a Centrelink payment that can pay for your rent. Also there are organisations that have housing where people with lived experience of mental illness live and share a home with each other.

 

As echoed by the others it is about the environment. Also if you don't have a Centrelink payment like DSP consider getting it. There are also organisations out there that have housing programs if you are concerned about the financials.

 

For me even though I had a happy home, I wanted my independence and my family supported that. At the time I didn't have a job and Only had Centrelink to pay my bills which was enough. Living on my own did help my mental health as I was living by my rules and was responsible for myself which meant a lot . It's not about pretending that you have "grown up" it's about what is really going on for you.

 

It's about finding out what is best for you and your situation.

 

Never let your doctor dictate your mental health journey. If you want to study and work it can be done. Doctors are busy and you have to remind them sometimes what it is that you would like to do and have the conversation about how work and study can happen. Whether it's been tied into a disability support services from Centrelink to get some work whilst you study.

 

Mental Health isn't something you can "fix", it's about the recovery journey each day. It's about having more good days than bad days.

Re: Depression and young adults and accomodation

@outlander @Maggie @jem80

 

To be honest... I feel like the fact what's worse with me is I don't have connections with people due to depression and an episode of antidepressant induced hypomania... and memories of stuff... Also my uni degree study has gone all over the place and having missed semesters and reduced course loads it's really hasn't helped my self esteem. And it's a interdisciplinary major so there was only 2 specific compulsory courses... 

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