Introduction

ANZAC Day

Lest we forget

Hi all and welcome @Oaktree. Nice to connect and thank you for your introduction.

I am 45 from QLD.

Served in the Australian Army 1998 however left due to a SA and was later diagnosed with Bipolar Type 1, Psychosis, Generalised Anxiety and CPTSD. With that a plethora of physical ailments I now have to deal with too.

I experience mixed emotions about being a "Veteran", especially on celebratory days like ANZAC Day etc.

After 20 years of severe mental distress I have finally turned my life around and am blessed to be living a life I only ever dreamed. It's been a long hard journey but worth it.

I am under the care of DVA and have been since 2019. My dealings with them are a mixed bag and probably causes me the most anguish currently.

I love to walk every day which really helps me with my mood and managing my coping strategies. I still struggle with relationships and I think my time in the service plays a part in that. The friendships I developed whilst in the service I still have and I think I have tried to seek that style of camaraderie in the civilian world and struggled with.

That's a big introduction but looking forward to sharing more.

Hi @AllAboutMissy

In 1991 when I applied to DVA they rejected it saying that bipolar was hereditary. Has that changed? If so what it might be worth my time reapplying.

Welcome @Oaktree @AllAboutMissy ,

Thank you for sharing. I can certainly hear there are common themes for veterans.

@Oaktree I can't comment on that as each case is individually assessed. It was clear my Bipolar and PTSD was linked to my assault

@AllAboutMissy

Thanks for sharing about yourself. I also had some abuse whilst in the Army. I was only 17 at the time. I wouldn’t be surprised if my bipolar was linked to the stress from that. I have applied for compensation.
I have struggled with friendships in the civilian world. I think people are afraid of my bipolar and don’t know how to handle it. I also tend to submarine when unwell and others just let me do that rather than chasing me. Sometimes I feel that I only have the few friendships I do have because I am doing all the work to keep them going.

I am looking forward to hearing more of your story.

Hi there Veteran members

I'd love to ask a few questions of you all if that's ok?

You may have noticed SANE is thinking a lot about how we design and develop our forums and our service model more broadly, and I am keen to know from your perspectives as Veterans:

What do you think of the current systems/services available for Veterans? Is it easy enough to access support for mental health and suicide prevention? What are the gaps?

What sort of experience of service is important from the perspective of Veterans? How important is it for services to be connected to existing ESOs or conversely to primary care/mainstream health and social support services?

Does stigma and discrimination play a role in preventing Veterans from seeking help?

Is there value in peer support models for mental health and suicide prevention for Vets, delivered by Peers who have served?

Look forward to your thoughts:

@Oaktree @AllAboutMissy @TAB

First thing that jumps to mind is that there is a huge amount of stigma involved for veterans. We were told whilst serving that we had to harden up. There was no room for any kind of weakness. I wonder if the others would agree with me on this? @AllAboutMissy @TAB

@RachSANECEO