Mental Health & The NHS

caela_2

jackymax wrote: »

I am/was you!
I read your post and few others but didnt read all, so this might already have been said.

Get your doctor to refer you to the Mental Health Social Services!!!!

They are the central hub of getting you all the different kinds of physical, mental and financial help that you need and are entitled to!!

Yes they are underfunded, but they manage that by delegating to other agencies for specific help in each category.

Downfall: Their underfunding means you may have to chase them up... a lot!!
But you are only chasing up one person! They then will to deal with all the sections of the systems that can help your situation.

I came on here to look for help with a related issue, but saw this and registered especially to post this reply to you!

Mental health disabilities often include the problem of not being able to cope with all the agencies you need to contact... so this is STEP 1.

Thank-you for your advice and to all who have posted above. Also, a big welcome to Moneysavingexpert!

I have changed GPs for the 4th time now... grr and will be asking about the CMHT's as well. I was going to pop into MIND because I know they are excellent (I used to volunteer with them). It's SO frustrating dealing with some GPs, you just feel like you're supposed to crawl off somewhere and die, they genuinely do not care about one single thing I've been in there for. It's like I'm not even worth the treatment and it just reinforces my depression. Ridiculous. I went in today about a pain I've had in my back (near my ribs) and the GP agreed my back alignment was off and blamed bad posture, even though I explained several times I use an ergonomic chair and he should well know the over-curvature of my spine is usually genetic. I made a point several times of saying the pain was in my ribs not my back and he then pointed out I was standing funny and that's a good example of my bad posture. I said it's because my right knee is bad, which it has been for several years and for which I've seen the GP to no avail. Instead of doing the maths and thinking maybe she can't fix her posture until we fix her knee and lower back, he just said 'oh well, see how it goes'. I literally left and registered with another GP straight away. I'm fed up of living in pain and wasting my life because they can't be bothered to do their job. I walked past his lexus in the car park and it just sealed the deal for me, I just thought those money-making scum. Argh! :mad: Still so annoyed, but hopefully these next guys will be better!

I mean, what do people do if their GP simply sits there like a lemon and won't do anything? All my friends say I should refuse to leave and they get annoyed on my behalf, but it's not that simple. An idiot is an idiot whether or not you stay there in front of them. They're not going to change into good doctors before my very eyes. At the end of the day, I think they should refer me for physio, but until I know what's wrong I'm not the doctor, I can't insist on the treatment. Do you just sit there and say please put me on a waiting list and then what? If they don't do it you just leave, breath wasted and more annoyed. I guess I could report them and complain, but I mean the whole surgery is like that and I've been to 3 different surgeries all with the same bad attitude!

I'm going mad thinking I might be the only sane person on earth lol!

speedfreek1000

jackymax wrote: »

Get your doctor to refer you to the Mental Health Social Services!!!!

They are the central hub of getting you all the different kinds of physical, mental and financial help that you need and are entitled to!!

Yes they are underfunded, but they manage that by delegating to other agencies for specific help in each category.

Downfall: Their underfunding means you may have to chase them up... a lot!!
But you are only chasing up one person! They then will to deal with all the sections of the systems that can help your situation.

I came on here to look for help with a related issue, but saw this and registered especially to post this reply to you!

Mental health disabilities often include the problem of not being able to cope with all the agencies you need to contact... so this is STEP 1.

I'm sure I was reading about them on the MIND site yesterday. Something I'm looking into seriously atm as I've hit difficulties in just about everything. Makes a change :rotfl:

My main difficulty is with my GP who is an absolute plum. I've got my 2nd referral now for psychiatric but this is based on 6 weeks counseling and the 6 months with a counselor and the 1st referral seam to have vanished from my significant history summary.

2 referrals to psyc and guess who had to source and fund their own counseling? (Although she will not teach me to do a handstand. I offered her an ice cream if she would too!) Just need to find out if jumping practice will effect that referral. But that's by the by as I'm jumping next week.

As for drugs - not for me please. Tried em got fat suicidal and couldn't cope with life. The lack of GP appreciation that some people really need closely monitored for the effects is also quite scary too from my own personal experience.

geriann

my advise is to ask your gp to refer you to the CMHT...yes i know that's what you're going to do because i read the whole thread!
gp's often givem's 1st because it takes months to see someone from the CMHT.

when i got refered to the CMHT i waited mths to see a psychiatrist...at the time i didn't know he was a psych'...he basically took down notes about my conditions.
mths later the CMHT accepted me...they came to the conclusion they could help me in some way...and i got a care co-ordinator...they're someimes called a social worker but they're special mental health social workers...i can't remember the correct social worker title.
as the car co-ordinator name suggests they can get you whatever help you need...psychiatrist...psychologist...anxiety/self-esteem courses...specialists in particular mental illnesses...you get the idea.
mths later i did get a psychiatrist, but i got to see him mthly, then it went to every 2 mths. i really only got to see him because at the time i wanted to change medication...it's the psychiatrists that do that stuff.
my care co-ordinator told me she'd get me a psychologist [which is abit like getting cuselling] and an eating disorder specialist. she never got me those. seeing her was a waste of time and upset me more than i already was!
after something like mths of getting more and more upset and not getting any decent help i stopped seeing the care co-ordinator and psychiatrist.
i later found out the CMHT were going to discharge me from thier care a couple of mths later anyway! even though i was severely depressed and very suicidal!!
it just goes to show that the mental health proffessionals can be just as useless as your gp.:mad:

caela wrote: »

taking mind-altering medication with serious and potentially life-changing effects is a big risk.
I don't want to be poisoning my body.
It simply does not make sense that they offer this treatment as the go to- it is only validated in terms of the fact it is relatively cheap and easy to administer.

many people take medication and have no bad side effects...or very minor side effects.
i'm not sure what life changing effects you mean?

i don't know the cost of seeing CMHT people, but i know some medications ae expessive, esp' if you take them for many years.

caela wrote: »

I will not ever take medication because I am vehemently against animal testing.
It is often something people become reliant on and cannot get off, with some drugs having extreme withdrawal side-effects worse than heroin.

i didn't know they tested psychiatric medications on animals!
how can they tell if the animal's depression had gone? assuming they knew it was depressed in the first place!

becoming reliant on medication is when you take pills for anxiety or insomnia regularly for mths or longer...it's usually something from the Benzodiazepine group.
of course many people take them and don't become mentally reliant on them.
if you take them regularly over mths or more your body gets used to them and you need to up the dose to get the right effect.
if you're not mentally addicted to it, then you can get of the medication. if it's a drug that has withdrawal effects then you gradually decrease the dose until you finally take nothing.
there are many med's [esp' anti-drepressants] that don't have any withdrawal effects.
judging by what you've said i'm guessing you'd only be put on anti-depressants...so that's not something you'd need to worry about.

caela wrote: »

I would be more inclined to believe in the possible benefits of these pills if I genuinely saw people make improvements on them.
another friend is more depressed over the fact that she was defecating her bed at night as a side-effect of her new meds.

As an informed individual who also studied psychology in depth at University level.

tobacco and alcohol have both undergone extensive testing and are still perfectly legal (as long as they warn you of their potential fatality).

obviously you don't personally know anyone who's been helped by psychiatric med's...but they're out there somewhere.
i've never heard of bowel incontenance as a side-effect. what's she taking? anyone who's having a bad side effect like that should get thier med's changed. that must be terrible to live with.

they'll never make alcohol or smoking illegal because the goverment can tax it. there's too much money involved.

good on your for studying degree psychology!:)
i wish i could do that.
infact i wish i'd thought of that kind of career when i was leaving school.

p999j

I have just skimmed over some of these posts.

What stands out, without any question, is the level of questioning that each individual has put into their own lives. Into the effects that they have had on others. On the effects that other have had on them. And the undeniable levels of intelligence, with varying levels of inward or outward study and how we have each dealt with the questions and answers that have arisen from these internal investigations.

Mental health? mental disabilities? What does that mean to each or any of us? Weight, size, appetite, bodily functions, life span...a million other things that each of us has experienced/shared.

It struck me today that 'Tesco' had become an inherent part of everyones language. Is it co-incidental that 'Touch' and 'Taste' are so similar in illiteration? Insipid, 'business, self interest/politicians...anyone wanting to take out more than they put in.

Somewhere along the lines, doctors have an allocated timespace. They are humans with the same human limitations or variations of you or I.

I once thought someone disliked me because of how they ignored me when I said good morning to them. Then I found out they had just lost someone close. Their reaction was nothing to do with me.

What doctors learn and are taught is that the ownership of decisions must remain with the 'patient'.(ironic- I always get impatient waiting in doctors surgeries) That is, until the 'patient' could harm someone else or themselves.

I just wanted to share that we all have different levels of timing as to when we accept or don't accept the conclusions we come to or are provided to us through either 'educated professionals' (God, I am so patronising for putting that in italics) or others with a personal or financial interest in the decision that we ultimately come to.

It sure isn't coincidental that the chemical medication process is driven by multi-million corporations that invest in the drug, but also in the process whereby the drug becomes a part of acceptable culture. As has been said- like alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine. All highly toxic.

I once bought some toilet cleaner. Had big green plants on the front. had the word 'green' repeated. Just bought it because even though it was a little bit more expensive than the other cleaners, I thought I really shouldn't be contributing to harming the planet any more than I already do with driving, etc.

I got it home. In a moment (usually more male attributed than female!) i sat on the loo and read the wee leaflet that was folded up in tiny writing on the back. It said that the chemicals contained within the cleaner were carcinogenic, toxic to fish and toxic to bees. I had already used some of this stuff and was so annoyed that I had been fooled by this company. I wrote to them. I got a standard email saying that the chemical components were all authorised and the cleaner had to be used at the appropriate concentration levels, etc.

I wrote back to the company, by this time getting pretty annoyed. Funny how when other things in your life seem out of control that your brain then focusses on one topic to try address? I explained I was an 'educated, accredited, qualified professional' who lectured on the subject and required a more detailed response to understand the chemical components and why it was being missold to me, possibly fraudulently.

They then explained that the major component was lemon oil. Really. Any chemical in the wrong concentration, including water, can be toxic. Someone else may have investigated this. I am tired now and going to shut down. But there is a chart that shows you so much of the varying things that live naturally, or concentrated, usually originating from an aboriginal or native culture...well, anything if ingested, inserted, absorbed, inhaled, injected,...has potential to harm.

The value of life is so different from the price.

The choice is our own.

Hugs. xx

Racheldevon

I respect your decision not to medicate, and there are other routes that you might be able to explore.

There's already mention of the nationwide IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) system. There's also several people mentioning referral to the CMHT in your area.

You could also ask you GP (or enquire as to whether there's a GO at your surgery that has a particular interest in Mental Health) to refer you to your clinical psychology service - there's likely to a long wait, but it's worth considering.

I'm not sure where the OP lives, but several areas of the UK now have specialist Mindfulness based centres. For example Bangor, Oxford and Exeter, with the latter being based at the university in partnership with the NHS. Your GP can refer you for an initial assessment, and any agreed treatment will be discussed, including 1:1 therapy, but also group based options such as the MBCT courses if deemed appropriate.

Triggles

When it comes to meds, I think we should agree to disagree and perhaps return to the real question here- what help IS available via the NHS for mental health problems? Seeing as we have already covered medication and that I was already aware of its availability, can we move on?

DH was suffering from depression (still dealing with it, but improved a bit now), and he struggled through with GP putting him on meds, changing meds to something different, putting him on sleeping meds that he had specifically asked not to be put on (and not telling him that's what they were, even telling him to take them before he went to work :eek:), and then finally he was told by another GP that what he needed was CBT, but unfortunately that wasn't offered in the area. The initial GP put him on a list for a "phone therapist" (which the GP said was the only option available for assistance in our area).. he was specifically told NOT to call them, that they would call him as soon as they could set up phone appointments with him, and he was advised it could be a couple months. After a few months, he called and asked about the delay, and they told him basically "don't call us, we'll call you." Then a few months later they sent him a letter saying they'd taken him off the waiting list because he hadn't checked in with them to let them know he was still waiting (after telling him not to call them!).

Thankfully, DS2's paed gave us information on a local charity that organises counselling on a donation basis, so we made arrangements with them and a month later DH finally got counselling... over 18 months from when he first went into the GP asking for help. Horrible that people have to struggle for that long. He only managed to keep his job because his employers were at least reasonably understanding, even though he ended up being signed off work repeatedly when the stress got to be too much.

caela_2

It's been great reading all your responses and comforting to know there are people out there in the same boat as me as it were. We shouldn't have to battle like this to get help, but I'm starting to see (especially recently) there has been a big surge in interest in mental health (I mean, just look at 4OD and their recent programming regarding MH). It's perhaps a case of realising that as forward as we thought we were with accepting and understanding MH problems, that we really haven't come that far. I hope change is about to come! It's certainly nice to see stuff like this on TV (or catchup, which is what I use).

I have changed my GP (I might have mentioned earlier) but haven't been for an appointment yet. It takes me a while before I can organise something like that, which makes it even more frustrating when it's met with such a lack of concern! I am hoping this new GP will be better. We'll wait and see.

I would in the meantime recommend the charity 'MIND' to anyone as they are simply excellent. I'm sorry to hear other people are struggling so hard as well and hopefully we can keep track of things on here. I would also be interested in discussing DLA or similar benefits, as I've previously applied but been turned down. I then got turned down again at the Tribunal stage appeal but don't know where to go with it from here. The judge was outright rude and I believe, discriminatory. She was not a medical professional, but still resolved that since I could set my alarm to get up for my part-time job in the evenings, that I should simply do that to combat my sleep disorder. She also deemed that because I could order a takeaway, that I was capable of preparing my own meals (something I haven't done in a very long time, unless sandwiches and noodles count).

I don't know what to do about it, I was going to start by making an official complaint about her behaviour but I don't think you can challenge a Tribunal decision. It's been a long while now since it happened as well, I was simply too upset by the whole thing to think about it at all. Even now, it would be difficult to start some sort of process to rectify it. The thing is, I was on Working Tax Credits as well, granted to me on the basis that I was in receipt of DLA (which was then declined). So not only did I lose out on any further WTC, they want a refund for what they did pay me. All because of this idiot 'judge' saying I wasn't entitled to DLA when I was. It's stopped me from working now as I can't afford to work PT any more without the WTC and I had to move house twice because we couldn't afford to pay rent and kept getting evicted. Does anyone know if I can do anything at this stage? I believe the only way to challenge a Tribunal decision is if you believe they have misapplied the law and this has a strict deadline to it which has now passed. Really, I want to be seen by another panel as the last one completely disregarded everything I said- the Tribunal judge even talked over my answers not allowing me to speak. :mad:

p999j

Please, please don't revert to insults about an 'idiot' judge or indeed anyone else.

People are a combination of all the decisions they have taken in their life. Of all the boundaries they have set ot have had set for them.

That will be different for everyone. Imagine if daily you were dealing with everything from someone who revised and wanted to milk the system, to genuine disabled people. How different do their outer 'shells' look.

You have to become perceptive. That's not to say you become right. But you have to develop faith in your own judgement for others to have the same faith. The only way boundaries are challenged (compare to the castle defences) is by direct confident strength or by repetition; both qualities difficult for anyone with any 'disabilities' or restricted abilities.

Look inward for your own strength. Not outward for others lack of it.

Sugar_Coated_Owl

I would have thought you would struggle to get DLA if you aren't regularly seeing your GP, don't have a CPN/social worker and/or psychiatrist, are not prepared to take medication and are not having any kind of therapy.

p999j