I’m not sure about my mental health support worker

[TheSnugHare]

I have anxiety and struggle to get out of the house most of the time. I have panic attacks so I prefer not to go out. I have a mental health support worker because of it who is supposed to encourage me to come out of the house. If I can’t we speak at the house instead.
But I also have physical health issues which I made her aware of. They can be debilitating and disabling. If I don’t it will be so much worse for me.I let her know when these times are as it has been fairly consistent for a year. Even during these times my mental health support worker tries to encourage me out of the house. She will ask me on the day if I feel ok enough to do that or if she needs to come to the house so we can speak instead. She has also commented that we haven’t made much progress, and I have to keep telling her that it is because of my health issues and that I have not yet been diagnosed and it will probably take a long time. She is causing me to feel pressured to come out when I’m not fit to do it and I’m always worrying about having to say that I can’t when we both know I can’t anyway.

What do you mean 'not sure'?
You don't want the service just now or that they're bad at their job?

Do you have a garden to sit in? Or mobility aids if you have mobility issues that prevent you from getting out? Is she talking to you about why you don't go out and finding solutions to the problems? What sort of 'going out' is she expecting, as maybe you need to start with smaller goals?

If anyone stays home all the time they become weak and unfit and unable to get out due to mental and physical deterioration, that's a side effect of being a human.

What do you want to do? Only you can decide to make changes if you want your life to look different. Maybe they could get you more support to sort out your physical diagnosis and get you on a path to being able to maintain your health enough to function better. Have you seen physiotherapy or occupational therapy? I would utilize the MH support worker as much as you can, it may be harder to improve without any support or advocacy and typically having someone with you can help with getting out.

What do you mean you’re not sure about them?

I think an unfortunate part of their job is that they need to pressure/push you. They are telling you you’ve not made much progress, that’s just a fact. Your physical issues are not diagnosed so the support worker can’t cite X illness as a mitigating factor in reporting.

She sounds like she is doing her job to me.
You have presented a barrier to going out in the form of undiagnosed physical health issues, are you sure it isn't a symptom of your anxiety and a 'valid reason' you can cling to when you don't want to go out?

I hear you OP. Sadly few mental health professionals are knowledgeable enough in both physical and mental health. It tends to be one or the other. This means that if you have both physical and mental health issues, one will often be overlooked / not fully considered. That said there is often a cross over, in that poor physical health can cause poor mental health and vice versa. Could this support worker help you access support for your physical health conditions eg seeing a GP, attending physio appointment etc? If that sounds too much strip it right back to much smaller goals, standing / sitting by the open front door with them. Good luck.

This.

Presumably your support worker will be instructed to act on your diagnosed health issues. You say your physical health issues are not diagnosed. So the support worker may well see it as you using excuses to not go out. It happens a great deal.

What are your undiagnosed physical heath conditions?