- Eating Disorders Victoria Forums
- Login
- Register now
- Lived Experience Forum
- Online Forums
- Eating Disorders Victoria Website
A very symbolic gesture @Faith-and-Hope. I hope you had yourself in mind as the recipient of the care on this side of the tracks, you are so deserving, but not only that, it is time to take care of your needs.
I would love to write more but have just braved Friday public transport to see my doctor and am exhausted, feel like I have run a marathon, but I think I am improving a tiny bit more each day.
A snuggly Otter cuddle for you, I am sure you still feel like you have been hit by a freight train and your head is spinning. It will be one step forward two steps back for a good while, but I am hoping in time, the separate living will improve your sleep and anxiety.
Corny 
Hi @Faith-and-Hope I am much better in the mornings, I have been fading very fast in the afternoon and evenings.
Having been raised by a mother with a disability and therefore having to be engaged with the health and social security systems from day dot, I feel compelled to give you my 2 cents worth when planning the future needs of yourself and the cubs regarding where to live. I know it is incredibly early to be thinking of all of this, and don't mean to pressure, but just thought that it could simmer in the background because it can have lasting effects with the cost of housing and the economy being in the state it is in.
I know that living in major cities like Sydney or Melbourne or large regional cities can drive one absolutely mental with the traffic sometimes, but looking back over my life it was a mistake that my family lived in regional NSW for 35 years and was so isolated and alone.
You can find hamlets in Sydney & Melbourne, Perth I can't speak of because I have never been there, but there are nooks and groves that you can make city living not so bad.
There just aren't the services in regional Australia, of course some people don't have the choice, but I would live on the perimeter of a city and commute in somehow to stay as close to services as I could. My sibs were telling me of peeps we went to high school with that have done sea changes and tree changes recently fed up with Sydney which I can understand, but guess what, they have their health. Only healthy people can do that.
I am getting a case worker, and my sib has a carer support worker who is amazing apparently, I have more choice of doctors because my doc will retire eventually and there are more disability services for myself and members of my family here to help with employment that is sustainable. There's also more creative opportunities. I don't know what we were thinking staying there for so long it is crazy when I compare what my mother had in terms of supports to what she has now. A lot of that has to do with bias, once she was over 65 she came under the umbrella of aged care and not psychiatric care, but if a person has a disability I think they fare much better in a major town or city.
I feel like I have been unwell for 3 years so adjusting to the move has been protracted, but it was worth it, and Sydney feels like home now. In January I would have been here 5 years and it feels like home and the best place for me.
I guess I would want the cubs set up near services because they will be on their own one day and it would be really hard later in life with a disability to adjust to having some independence and having to hook in with services off your own steam. Learnt helplessness is real, and really difficult to cope with as more time passes. A friend of mine, her sib is going to be lost at sea when their parents die and she is really worried about them because they didn't transition him into independent living earlier and its like he is institutionalised with his parents caring for him, when all along he was actually capable of doing most of it himself. I understand that some of that was their guilt, and it would be so hard and heartbreaking to do, but that is what is best for their long term health.
Sorry for the rant @Faith-and-Hope but I was reflecting yesterday on disability supports so I just thought I would share some of my experiences. Everyone's situation is different but for myself and my family, we would never live in regional Australia with all the health needs we have now. It places so much strain on everyone, and it improves our relationships.
A lot of my friends can't stand Sydney and I can understand that, and say, "I could never live in Sydney", but for some people they have no choice. There is no work in regional Australia and you have to know the right person or wait for someone to retire and it is very clicky, they take care of their mates even with regards to jobs.
I hope you are enjoying a coffee or cuppa somewhere and you were able to get some Z's last night,
Corny
Our support services for people with eating disorders and their families are confidential, non-judgemental, flexible and open-ended. To continue to provide these services, we need your financial support.
