Help Andy pay for medical costs

Hey guys, my name's Andy.

I've been living with mental illness since at least 2001. Like a lot of people with these struggles, it's ups and downs (mostly the latter). I could go into a whole thing about my history, but it essentially comes down to living with Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It's a fairly misunderstood disorder, relatively recently defined. It requires pretty consistent talk therapy, but that doesn't come cheaply as a lot of psychologists aren't trained in some of the techniques required - gap fees add up quickly.

My condition makes it really hard to hold down work, lack of work leads to financial difficulty, financial difficulty results in not being able to afford treatment, which in turns doesn't help my mental health. I'm sure you can see the cycle that this traps someone in. The current pandemic has made securing whatever self-employed work I had basically vanish as well.

I'm currently aiming to be assessed by a psychiatrist for another condition in late November, which is going to be a cost that I will struggle to bear, at least while on income support. It's definitely better than having zero health care, but as with therapy gap fees are pretty crippling to someone in my financial situation. Neurofeedback was another therapeutic option that had been suggested to me, but again the cost is a bit prohibitive. On top of this, I require CPAP therapy which is a monthly expense that's getting harder to bear.

My long term goals are to be able to live with secure, consistent work. I'm currently enrolled in a Certificate IV in WHS, hoping to work in that field at least in a part-time capacity, but being able to get through the qualification will certainly be aided by having the proper mental health support behind me.

I appreciate any support you're able to give, thank you for your time.