Friends, Family & Carers Forum

[Masemu]

I have a daughter that was similar. She went in to hospital about 18 months ago. Started on a headspace program but found nothing was working so she stopped. We kept encouraging her to get help but she never wanted to talk about it. I know this may not be best practice but i sent her some emails with all the info on contacts that may be of help along with my medicare card. She is 18. Anyway she started to get help by herself and thankfully that help suggested she needed to go to hospital which she did. She now has a better diagnosis now and is on medication. I hope your son will come to his own realisation that there is help out there and it does work but not always on first attempts. It's hard for us parents though as they refuse our offer of help and guidance. Keep making him aware that you are there.

[AlienBP2]

Jack Russell's a very Energetic; the Parsons Jack Russell has longer legs and was bred for keeping up with horses and going down fox wholes Be Warned they have a " very strong hunting instinct"
They are a big dog in a little dog....
The next dog will be a red retriever perhaps as they love the water....and I swim and kayak ...Wuff wuff Al

[Francis]

Thanks for sharing. It was suggested a while ago to us by his lovely case worker to communicate via texts, letters, emails....whatever works. This is a good idea considering young people communicate this way all the time anyway. So i think its great practice if it works. My son doesnt use technology mych anymore but thanks for reminding me as i will contact a few places and get some brochures to leave for him. Im pleased your daughter has got help. I am reading a book about gut health and its impact on the mind and I share this info in general conversation to my husband whilst my son is lingering about. I noticed he is now making his healthy smoothies again and taking all his nutitionsl supplements to improve his physical health. Well done to us for being creative in our communication and ieven better when it works! Take care and much love to you your family. Xx

[Janna]

Hi,

Not sure if this would be appropriate but if you're considering getting a dog look into minddog.org.au/
"mindDog assists mental health sufferers to procure, train and certify psychiatric service dogs. These dogs assist people with mental health disorders whose ives are often severely compromised by anxiety and
fear. With their mindDog they are able to travel on public transport, access public places and take
part in social activities which have been closed off to them

Janna ❤️

[timeand]

Hi Francis,

just thought I'd drop you a line to cover off the mentor angle in your email. My son is 16 and has had a tough year with anxiety and depression. This is the first time we have faced these challenges and it has been a real eye opener to what a large number of families are going through in our society.

I have no mental health qualifications whatsoever however I have been a CEO of an international company and have led a large number of big projects around the world. In addition, I have started a couple of businesses and have sold one aswell. Throughout my career I have mentored a large number of adults. I have seen a lot of people struggle with balancing their jobs, careers, family, friends and themselves. Indeed, I have struggled myself on occassion and have sought out people I trusted to provide me with some perspective, some insights and some ideas.

Given our journey with our son we are becoming a lot more aware of ways in which my family and I can help our own son but also we are discovering how we may also be able to help other families. With this in mind, I would be happy to meet your son if you thought it would help. I could talk him through my career journey, the challenges, what worked and what didn't work. I can also overlay the challenges that everyone faces nowadays to remain mentally healthy in the work environment. Though I have a degree, I don't have any health education. I would be talking to your son as I have been asked to talk to other people's sons regarding how to move forward in their career. I also introduce a number of my mistakes and the things I learnt. Hopefully some wisdom prevails.

Please don't feel obliged to take me up on my offer. I just thought I'd reach out and offer the hand of support. We all need that now and again.

If you would like to talk to me I'm sure we can tee something up. First step is probably replying to this post.

All the very best.

[Francis]

Thank you kindly for your input and generous offer. Today we actually invited a lovely lady into our home for a family dinner with our son to discuss future options. I met her through my workplace, she currently works with youths in our area and in conversation I discovered that she is keen to do mentoring with young adults in the community as there are many services for youths but not much available for the young to mid 20 year olds. It was a great success with our son being very receptive to her assistance and guidance. I really appreciate your kindness and will certainly keep it in mind. It may be very helpful further down the track as my son would like to set up his own business and im sure you could offer him some valuable information with all your expertise.
I hope your son had a good day today and i hope tomorrow is an even better one for the both of you! Take care 🙂

[timeand]

That's great news. So glad to hear you've moved forward a little. If I can help in the future just let me know.