r/AussieMentalHealth

Hey readers,

The mental health space feels broken. Between clinical apps and high costs, people dealing with burnout and anxiety are left to figure it out alone.

I’m building Udaarshila a passion project turned community-led space dedicated entirely to mental health and wellness. It’s a completely unpaid, zero-cost safe haven for loud minds to connect and untangle the daily hustle.

The foundation is ready, but I need a Co-Founder to help me take it from 0 to 1.

Who I need:

The Operator/Builder: Someone obsessed with community growth, engagement, or product management.

The Visionary Peer: You are deeply passionate about mental health and want to build something that actually matters.

The Reality: This is an entirely unpaid, impact-first community project. If you want a massive corporate paycheck, this isn't it. If you want to co-create a brand from scratch, build an invaluable portfolio, and change lives, this is your sign.

Let’s connect. Drop a comment or slide into my DMs with your background and why you want to build this. Let’s make it happen.

Hi everyone,

I'm reaching out in hopes of finding a very specific kind of psychologist. I'm looking for someone in Sydney who specializes almost exclusively in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), ideally with a background in research and a deep understanding of complex BPD presentations.

My situation is quite intricate, and I'm finding it challenging to locate a practitioner whose main expertise lies solely in BPD. I'm not looking for a general psychologist who occasionally works with personality disorders, but rather someone whose primary focus, specialty, and perhaps even research is dedicated to BPD. I need someone who can truly delve into the nuances of complex cases.

If anyone has recommendations for psychologists in Sydney who fit this very specific description, I would be incredibly grateful. Please, no general recommendations unless they genuinely meet this highly specialized criteria.

l've been on Vyvance (70mg) for over 3 years, and recently my psych recommended switching to Concerta for better focus and energy.
I'm a bit hesitant-my doctor says Concerta is better for ADHD, but l've been on Vyvance for years and feel it's working well up until now even with regular breaks from it.
But here's the thing: I've been saving my 70mg Vyvance bottles in a drawer. I thought, 'Maybe I'll need more of it later' or 'Maybe I'll get a discount when I switch'.
But now, I'm realizing: I have 4-5 bottles of unused 70mg Vyvance.
I've seen online that Vyvance is being phased out, and Concerta is taking over.
So-what's the best way to recycle the unused bottles? And what’s your experience with switching?

A friend has been suggested by an overseas GP that they may have bipolar disorder. Any recs for psychiatrists/psychologists based in Sydney?

I'm hoping for a little help. Does anyone have advice as to who the key crisis mental health support agencies are in Sydney, and especially if there is anything that's good to know when contacting them?

I'll avoid any identifying information, but the context is this:

I don't live in Sydney. I live interstate. A friend in Sydney is having an extremely difficult time. I'm worried about them, so is their family. Their entire support network is back here in their home state with me. They have nobody to lean on in Sydney.

My friend's mental health seems relatively stable at the moment given the circumstances. They are really struggling though. They have had significant mental health problems in the past and we worry where this might lead.

We are encouraging the person to come back here, close to their support network, even if only temporarily. Some of us are figuring out if we can get over there to them.

In the meantime, I'm worried that if the worst happens, and we think the person might harm themselves, that none of us know who to reach out to. I know who to contact here—triage services, crisis response services, and so on—but have no clue about Sydney.

Hell, I don't even know how to reach 000 interstate. If I dial 000, I assume the call is directed somewhere local to me, not local to them, but I might be wrong.

Anyway, hopefully it doesn't get to that point but I want us to be ready if it does. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

I've been in the mental health system for years, with quite complex diagnoses, narrowly avoiding hospitalisations at many times as I present well, and have always had someone to assist with care when needed. About 2 years ago, my brain truly just snapped, and I am unable to function most days. I tried a period of self employment, gig work stuff, for as long as i could manage that (about 3-4 months each type). My GP supported me to get on DSP. The process since has been unbearable.

I see my psychologist average fortnightly, via my MHCP and an extended MHCP via my PHN. I am in touch my GP fortnightly for the past 9 months, roughly, and see my psychiatrist for annual reviews. All of these people provide their support to me for free due to genuine financial hardship that I thought would ease once I moved to DSP. However, every week it goes backwards.

Dealing with Centrelink is unbearable. There are issues with my payments due to my partners income. Every second operator or so states they can see a coding issue and say it needs to be fixed. Sometimes, it works in my favour, but lately they refuse to try. It causes me to have bipolar meltdowns and i have to end the call, or have it ended on me. My payments get lower, and lower, every fortnight, each month lower than the last despite my partner being on a stable salary.

It's now to the point where my partner is liable for everything but my rent, and even then, some fortnights he has to help out if I have another expense like medication. On a $50K p/a take home, this is not really achievable for him, he has his own expenses and financial debts and liabilities. We have never operated financially as a couple, yet am penalised as such.

Since my breakdown 2 years ago, we are no longer intimate, for many reasons. We don't eat meals together, watch tv together, or even sit in the same room when both home. We don't do shopping together, or go anywhere social together. Most days I am unable to leave the house. I am in bed about 4-5 hours before him, and out 2-3 hours before.

Now we fight a lot, mostly over finances. I go out, try to push myself to do some work and end up having a breakdown due to me having to push myself when i'm not well. So i fall further down the spiral again.

DSP was meant to assist me while i recover, help me while i get better to be able to take a meaningful place in society again. Instead, it is forcing my partner into credit card debt, me into reliance on someone who has no real responsibility to provide for me. If i was on single rate, i would be over $1100 better off each fortnight. Thats $28,600 of my partners wages that they believe I am entitled to - over 50%.

I have reached out to my local MP and Welfare Rights Centre, but I still feel lost and unable to cope in a system that seems designed to make me worse off than ever.

I can't initiate any more support for my mental health than what I have, but frankly, at the moment it is just inadequate. I am a burden to every system the government has apparently and they ensure that I am aware of it, and make everything as difficult as possible. I am trying to initiate some financial aid, but even that is proving difficult beyond food parcels.

How, in poverty, and extreme MH issues, do you manage to keep treading water? I'm exhausted.

Is this accurate and fair to say?

Speaking anecdotally for myself and for others, there appears to be a lack of adult psychiatrists and psychologists available right now in Australia and especially in NSW.

Has this always been an issue or is it worse right now in 2026 for some reason?

Thoughts and suggestions?

I have MDD,PTSD, Anxiety. I am medically discharge from defence 10 years. I just feel done and drained. I dont have suicidal thoughts or plan it. But im done i don't want to wake up. Or i wish someone or something could just do it for me. The depression and thoughts drain me at night and the day is panic attacks and anxiety.

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