Hi everyone I am a mum to two beautiful children. One who has recently been diagnosed with anxiety and depression.

He gets caught up with things he has done or said in the past, has he broken laws, what if this what if that. Things that the average person would laugh off but he is so in his own head I am very quickly losing my little boy.

he Gets angry and lost in his own anger and void- so much so he said he was hearing voices. I read that voices is surprisingly normal with severe anxiety.

He is on SSRIs and seeing a psychologist but I feel we are actually going backwards. We are actually trying to make appt with doc this week though to try different SSRI as he is having increased suicidal thoughts.

He just got a job and wants to work more over school holiday but I am worried that will stop us addressing the issue at hand.

Or would it be good for him

He was bullied at school last year and this coming term we are looking at Distant Education. He has also lost his Gran father about two years ago which has been a lot for him.

i Would love some positive advice or direction moving forward. I am breaking and I know he is to. I feel he is trapped and can’t get out of his own head

Hi Peta81,

Thank you for sharing this here. It sounds like you’re a really supportive parent, and your family has been through a lot. We hope you can find some comfort and understanding on this forum, where other community members can really relate to what you’re going through.

It sounds like you’re doing everything you can to help your son. It’s really hard when treatment and therapy aren’t effective right away, and it can be a really difficult journey. You’ve taken some incredibly important steps and we hope you can see how inspiring that is. It might be worth thinking about safety planning with him, since there's been some suicidal thoughts and voices. Beyond Blue have a safety planning app called Beyond Now, which you could have a look at. We'd recommend doing it together with him, or suggesting he calls Lifeline or Kidshelpline who may be able to help him with it. You could also check in with Parentline, who have a number for each state listed here.

There's a bit more information on that here, in case it's helpful to browse while we wait to hear from the community:

• Kids Helpline - Supporting a child who is thinking of suicide
• Kids Helpline - For teens: I'm thinking about suicide
• Beyond Now - safety planning app

It’s really important that, while caring for your son, you are aware of your own emotional wellbeing. Posting here is a really great step, we do hear from parents of young people facing mental health challenges a bit like this, and we think sharing your story is such a powerful thing to do. If you ever want to talk it through on the phone, you can call the Beyond Blue helpline on 1300 22 4636, or our friends at Carers Australia on 1800 242 636. They offer short-term counselling, emotional and psychological support services for carers and their families. 

Thank you again for sharing here, we hope it helps you to hear from and share with people who can relate to some of what you’re going through. We’re sure others on this thread will appreciate it as much as we do, and will share in kind their advice and understanding.

Kind regards,

Sophie M