Been referred urgently to psychiatrist, so frightened

[Ohdofo]

Shamelessly posting for traffic and with name change.

Ive struggled most of my life with anxiety and low mood, but the past 4 months have been tortuous. I’ve had physical health complaints which have required me to spend too much time in the house and be wholly reliant on others. This is likely to get much worse.

Ive had intense, crippling anxiety for over 3 weeks now. The type you can’t get any sleep from, can’t eat, can’t do anything but stare ahead, have panic attacks… it’s awful.

i genuinely feel like I’m losing my mind.

GP has asked to see me every few days I guess to see how I’m getting on. Today I just broke down and said really hard stuff. He’s now referred me urgently to psychiatry.

I guess my question is what does it involve? How long does an urgent referral tAke? Im imagining weeks? Thank you for reading all this

It depends how urgent they think you are, they will see you immediately if you are suspected to be a danger to yourself or others. If they don't deem you urgent it will depend on your area and how busy they are. Don't be too frightened they are honestly there to help. You will probably get decent meds as well not just the usual SSRIs from the gp everyone gets.

It depends they have different referral paths, one is within 48 hours, another within 2 weeks and another within a month (at least it was when I was referred).

They will make a first assessment, talk things through with you and help come up with a treatment plan so hopefully things can start to improve for you as they sound ever so tough right now.

What you're going through sounds absolutely awful I hope you get all the help you need and don't have to wait too long x

Can't offer any advice but didn't want to read and run. It must be so scary going through this but hopefully you can try and see that you have taken a step to get help by talking to your GP and having a referral. I hope that it's soon and you don't have to feel like this without some sort of help for much longer.
Do you have anyone that you can talk to in real life? Is that an option? If not then just keep posting on here, plenty of people to virtually hold your hand if it helps.

Can't offer much in regards to when you'll see the psychiatrist, as it will depend on your risk level and the trusts waiting list. However, its great you've reached out and have been referred to the specialists. Think of it this way, if there was a problem with your heart, you'd go to a cardiologist, and with mental health you go to a psychiatrist. The brain is another part of the body after all.

I was referred urgently just prior to Lockdown 1, and was seen within 6 weeks. Still under them now.

My Psych is brilliant. He listened and over a period of months, diagnosed me with CPTSD, of which anxiety/panic is the main feature. I was given Diazepam immediately alongside Quetiapine, Pregabalin was added in later.

Not the nicest of combinations and I’m now on the lowest dose of all of them (after being on the highest doses for around 6 months so I could get level). But 100% life saving.

It’s important to get help and support OP, you are obviously going through so much, bless you. Don’t be afraid, be pleased you are on the road to getting help. I wish you luck!

Nothing to be afraid of and no need to be nervous or anxious. The referral will help and therapy will help.
I was diagnosed with PTSD, a few years ago and got tons of help. I am about sorted now and know the signs of a relapse. I was able to deal with the trauma stuff and work through it. It really was the best investment of time ever.
Psyches are not horrible people, they are nice and don’t bite. I wish you the best of luck and hope that you can embrace the help.

You were brave to say those hard things in a way that they were heard, properly. This help is for you and they will do their best to help you. i have no idea about the timings but remind yourself that taking this step was the right thing to do for you.

The fact that you can identify that you needed help, that you have suffered from anxiety and low mood, that you recognise the real and very present impact of your physical issues that will become more onerous and the actual effect of those issues are all great places to be starting from.

Your thought processes sound entirely logical. Continue to talk to those around you in this way. Take each step as it comes. Get whatever support you can around you. Tell them how you feel.

Don’t be scared of psychs.They’re there to help. I’ve seen loads😁

Never met a horrible one.