To think the whole "reach out" rhetoric around mental health is bs?

[Ialwayswannasometimes]

hearing all this "reach out" and "you're not alone" "it's ok not to be ok" type thing just makes me feel worse because reach out WHERE? For WHAT?

I have mental health difficulties,i thought I'd just about got them to manageable levels after two years of absolute hell but no it's back with full force.
nhs just offers online/phone CBT
have to complete the online/phone CBT before you get access to anything else and I wasn't able to complete it any of the times because I can't complete anything really and I don't find CBT helpful.

I don't know what I'm even supposed to do- I'm not capable of being pushy to my gp or anything
last time this happened I genuinely was close to ending things and I just don't know that I can take another episode like this? What are you actually supposed to do? There just isn't help available. Just a bunch of campaigns telling you to reach out for imaginary support

Unfortunately I also hear you.
I've been waiting since 2018 for emdr. Been told it will be next year (I'm not getting my hopes up as each year they say the same).
Ironically my mh issues were caused by the NHS that now seem to just pass me from one waiting list to another.
My gp refered me to a local counselling charity who said I was too complex, they referred me to community support team who said I was not suitable as I have physical health issues which impact on my ability to help myself. I asked to change my medication, gp said no even though it wasn't working because I have to see the specialist (this was two years ago so I took myself off it and asked to be put on something else they said no wait for the specialist so for two years I've had no meds).
Also had issues with other nhs services passing from one department to another and also long waiting lists it's a never ending cycle.
Take comfort in knowing you are not alone. Have you got an emergency number you can contact? I have this in my phone just incase, I rarely ring because they can't do much but it's good to know that I can speak to someone if I need to.

I self referred to counselling on the nhs, the wait list is massive for over the phone sessions but if you are happy to talk to a trainee counsellor the wait is only a few weeks. They have done their training just need the hours to be fully qualifiers. Might be worth looking at? I just had to have an initial phone call (they called me, super easy) and that in itself was really helpful. Poor woman I cried down the phone for an hour I wasn’t expecting it to be so emotional straight away!

I self referred to counselling on the nhs, the wait list is massive for over the phone sessions but if you are happy to talk to a trainee counsellor the wait is only a few weeks.

I've been on the waiting list for nearly a year and never been offered that option.

Yes it's utterly shit.
You have to be motivated to advocate for yourself at a time when you can barely face getting out of bed.
I managed to get access to a limited amount of psychotherapy via the NHS years ago and just as we were making progress, my time was up, so I've reburied everything that occasionally sends me into crisis state.
If you can afford it, I'd recommend paying for private therapy (it may take a while to work out which one might work for you.)

I wish I could be more positive for you.

I've never been offered it or even heard of it either.

@Redambergreenforgo I'm sorry you've waited so long for help and support. I'm qualified in counselling and just wondered if you'd heard of trauma rescripting? I did it myself whilst I was waiting for EMDR and talking therapy to deal with trauma. Just a thought as I found it immensely helpful 🙂

This, a hundred times this.

I paid for private counselling. Saved up birthday and xmas money for it. Now i dont have that money and theres nothing else to cut back.

My son is killing himself through an eating disorder. I am not being melodramatic, it is simply a fact. He has bulimia nervosa and it is out of control.

He also has a lot of complex mental health issues which mean he has not engaged with anything outside his compulsive routines, for five years. Now, at 21, he wants some help.

We contacted the GP, who spoke to my son (over the phone) and referred him the Early Intervention Team for Psychosis (my son had expressed some disturbing information). The EIT conducted an assessment (over the phone), and e-mailed a report to state he did not meet the criteria for their services, and referred him to the Access and Wellbeing Team. The Access and Wellbeing Team conducted and assessment (over the phone), e-mailed a report which said he did not meet the criteria for their services and referred him to BEAT, the Eating Disorder charity. BEAT called and said he did not meet the criteria for the programme to which he had been referred and put him on the waiting list for another support programme.

Last week, I phoned the Mental Health Crisis team, because my son was crying and saying he wanted to die.

The MH Crisis Team listened sympathetically to me, then said he did not meet the criteria for support/intervention because he was not suicidal and had no plan. They suggested we contact the GP again and ask to be referred to the Community Mental Health Team. He has another telephone appointment with a clinician in a couple of weeks' time.

So, my son and I have been 'reaching out', but it is like falling in a river and reaching out for a lifeline, only to find it constantly slipping away. I know the health service in this country is on its knees, but the mental health service seems to be flat on its face.

Totally agree, my son's gone from being a normal seemingly happy teenager to almost house bound with anxiety this year, unable to go to school any more. I am so shocked at the lack of help. Everywhere we've turned from local GP to CAHMS to local authority to charities have turned us down or referred us to a service that is full or that doesn't work with his age group. Every time I see adverts for mental health charities now I really wonder what they actually do?

I'd like to know what these criteria for actual help actually are as well, and who is actually meeting them?

The sons of @purplepricklypineapple and @MediocreOne don't, which is tragic. Apparently I don't meet the criteria for chronic pain intervention (and I have got a plan for when the time comes.)

I have an acquaintance, an old work colleague from yonks ago, with BPD (diagnosed) who is suicidal yet 'not meeting the criteria' currently for help, and I can no longer support her.

The collapse of all routine and preventative NHS services has been a bloody disaster in this country. The squeeze on acute services has compounded this. What a humanitarian shambles in one of the richest countries on the planet.

@purplepricklypineapple I'm sorry to read about your DS. What an utter shitshow.

My DD has bipolar but doesn't meet the criteria for type 1 or 2, and the NHS doesn't treat the spectrum disorder. So we have paid literally tens of thousands on private psychiatric help. She has also been wanting to die and we have been advised by well-meaning people to contact the crisis team. But the private clinic has advised against it as that'll undo everything. Instead we sit up all night with her and keep watch until her dysphoric mania subsides. I honestly think they'll finish her off in hospital so contacting them would be the last thing we'd do.

I hope your DS finally gets the help he needs.