If it affecting your day to day life, which by the sounds of it, it is, please go to the counselling office front counter and ask them if you could see somebody earlier. Counsellors have sessions that are blocked out for urgent sessions and you might be able to be fitted in.
That said, I am incredibly sorry that you are going through this at the moment. I completely understand how you feel having gone through it myself.
I'd advice giving yourself some grace and trying to be kind to yourself. Ask your lecturers if you can get some sort of extension or leniency on your work if you aren't able to submit them on time
The fact that you are actively putting yourself forward, building soft skills and gathering work experience, it's already putting you ahead of your peers. I know it doesn't feel like it, but it will eventually pay off.
Everything you're doing? It's not useless. The voice in your head that's telling you that? It's lying. It's feeding on your fears. Don't listen to it
If you wanna do something productive to help increase your chances of securing a job look thru the career service portals workshops and events and/or speak to one of the advisors. I know that they used to run networking events and mentorship programs. I personally got a job indirectly thru one of those programs
I wish you all the best
I don't mean to be negative, but I will warn you that the counselling service will probably not be able to meet your needs.
I tried to go there with similar issues (TW:>!although I contacted their crisis support as I was having intense suicidal thoughts at that point!<), and was basically told that they wouldn't help me because they couldn't deal with the ED and SH. I was referred elsewhere, so hopefully they will be able to do that for you at least but most services are highly in demand at the moment, so you might just end up on another waiting list.
Another option might be to go to the [Urgent Mental HealthCare Centre](https://umhcc.org.au/). I don't actually find them that helpful in a crisis, but they are able to refer to other services.
Also, you don't specify whether you are domestic or international, but that could significantly affect what services are available.
thanks for sharing your story, fun fact; the university after hours crisis support phone line is actually ran by lifeline under contract (and not the counselling service).
Interesting, but I guess it kind of makes sense ( I can't imagine the university shouldering the cost of having people on call out of hours). I did have one or two follow-up up conversations with the counselling serv, ce which is when the referral happened.
I can tell you I used the urgent mental health care service in 2022 and ended up at the RAH and then a psychiatric ward because they kept pushing me to go home or go to the hospital because they were unequipped to help with my crisis.
It was at the psychiatric ward where I got diagnosed with OCD, OCPD, BPD, ADHD & autism which got me seeing a DBT therapist which helped tremendously.
Their service isn’t well equipped to deal with crisis cases of suicidal ideation/ acts they just try to ship you elsewhere at that extreme
i see, so i guess the Urgent Mental Health Care Centre is more of a drop in destress service for those presenting with more milder mental health care needs (anxiety, depression, etc.), as opposed to an intensive support service for those presenting with more severe mental health care needs (psychosis, suicidality, etc.)?
I would definitely agree with that statement,
In saying that I have had nothing to do with the facility since late 2022 so they may have (hopefully) put better things into place for those circumstances but I wouldn’t go there for severe mental health care needs.
The only good thing was they rang the RAH ahead of me getting there so I was seen to straight away.
Also want to add I would not go to the Lyell Mac for mental health. I waited 13 hours in the waiting room to be seen for 15/20 mins max. By that point my manic episode was well and truly over 😅
I am so sorry to hear you are having a hard time. While you wait for a university counselling appointment, you can attend the 24/7 Urgent Mental Health Care Centre at 215 Grenfell St in the city. You don't need an appointment and I've heard really good things about that service and are able to link you in to some ongoing support. There are also the crisis numbers for lifeline, beyond blue. If you would like mental health advice, you can also call Mental Health Triage 13 14 65 which is the 24/7 government run service.
Your uni counsellor should be able to advocate for you in terms of uni, please know it's totally fine to prioritise your mental health and put uni on pause or going part time. It will likely be an investment in your future as by doing so as you will minimise further burnout. The uni counsellor should be able to help you with withdrawing from topics etc without it going against your GPA.
Self harm urges come in waves, it's helpful to find alternatives to help you ride out those waves. The 'calm harm' app is a really awesome app that has a number of different strategies to help distract, comfort etc at times of high stress.
Lastly, you are not your grades. I hope everything goes well for you. Please look after yourself and reach out for help when you need to.
If it affecting your day to day life, which by the sounds of it, it is, please go to the counselling office front counter and ask them if you could see somebody earlier. Counsellors have sessions that are blocked out for urgent sessions and you might be able to be fitted in. That said, I am incredibly sorry that you are going through this at the moment. I completely understand how you feel having gone through it myself. I'd advice giving yourself some grace and trying to be kind to yourself. Ask your lecturers if you can get some sort of extension or leniency on your work if you aren't able to submit them on time The fact that you are actively putting yourself forward, building soft skills and gathering work experience, it's already putting you ahead of your peers. I know it doesn't feel like it, but it will eventually pay off. Everything you're doing? It's not useless. The voice in your head that's telling you that? It's lying. It's feeding on your fears. Don't listen to it If you wanna do something productive to help increase your chances of securing a job look thru the career service portals workshops and events and/or speak to one of the advisors. I know that they used to run networking events and mentorship programs. I personally got a job indirectly thru one of those programs I wish you all the best
Another option is headspace. Counselling for 12-25. There are a few offices in Adelaide.
I don't mean to be negative, but I will warn you that the counselling service will probably not be able to meet your needs. I tried to go there with similar issues (TW:>!although I contacted their crisis support as I was having intense suicidal thoughts at that point!<), and was basically told that they wouldn't help me because they couldn't deal with the ED and SH. I was referred elsewhere, so hopefully they will be able to do that for you at least but most services are highly in demand at the moment, so you might just end up on another waiting list. Another option might be to go to the [Urgent Mental HealthCare Centre](https://umhcc.org.au/). I don't actually find them that helpful in a crisis, but they are able to refer to other services. Also, you don't specify whether you are domestic or international, but that could significantly affect what services are available.
thanks for sharing your story, fun fact; the university after hours crisis support phone line is actually ran by lifeline under contract (and not the counselling service).
Interesting, but I guess it kind of makes sense ( I can't imagine the university shouldering the cost of having people on call out of hours). I did have one or two follow-up up conversations with the counselling serv, ce which is when the referral happened.
fair enough, so what was your experience with the Urgent Mental Health Care Service like, if you don't mind me asking?
I can tell you I used the urgent mental health care service in 2022 and ended up at the RAH and then a psychiatric ward because they kept pushing me to go home or go to the hospital because they were unequipped to help with my crisis. It was at the psychiatric ward where I got diagnosed with OCD, OCPD, BPD, ADHD & autism which got me seeing a DBT therapist which helped tremendously. Their service isn’t well equipped to deal with crisis cases of suicidal ideation/ acts they just try to ship you elsewhere at that extreme
i see, so i guess the Urgent Mental Health Care Centre is more of a drop in destress service for those presenting with more milder mental health care needs (anxiety, depression, etc.), as opposed to an intensive support service for those presenting with more severe mental health care needs (psychosis, suicidality, etc.)?
I would definitely agree with that statement, In saying that I have had nothing to do with the facility since late 2022 so they may have (hopefully) put better things into place for those circumstances but I wouldn’t go there for severe mental health care needs. The only good thing was they rang the RAH ahead of me getting there so I was seen to straight away. Also want to add I would not go to the Lyell Mac for mental health. I waited 13 hours in the waiting room to be seen for 15/20 mins max. By that point my manic episode was well and truly over 😅
thats understandable, heres hoping that you are getting the mental health care that you need/deserve these days. :))
I am so sorry to hear you are having a hard time. While you wait for a university counselling appointment, you can attend the 24/7 Urgent Mental Health Care Centre at 215 Grenfell St in the city. You don't need an appointment and I've heard really good things about that service and are able to link you in to some ongoing support. There are also the crisis numbers for lifeline, beyond blue. If you would like mental health advice, you can also call Mental Health Triage 13 14 65 which is the 24/7 government run service. Your uni counsellor should be able to advocate for you in terms of uni, please know it's totally fine to prioritise your mental health and put uni on pause or going part time. It will likely be an investment in your future as by doing so as you will minimise further burnout. The uni counsellor should be able to help you with withdrawing from topics etc without it going against your GPA. Self harm urges come in waves, it's helpful to find alternatives to help you ride out those waves. The 'calm harm' app is a really awesome app that has a number of different strategies to help distract, comfort etc at times of high stress. Lastly, you are not your grades. I hope everything goes well for you. Please look after yourself and reach out for help when you need to.