GP keeps asking me this *TW warning potentially distressing MH related *

[Felicia00]

So I've had a period of high stress and struggling to eat. I went to the gp to increase medication and ive made some lifestyle changes. I had my first major depressive episode when I was 13 I attempted to end my life quite a few times. I've had no episodes of SH since I was 17 very long time ago. It says on my medical records in big letters previous history of overdoses and ligatures. Endogenous depressions. I went to the GP and shared my worries they keep asking me am I thinking of suicide or harming myself. I'm not but they keep ringing me once a week or asking to book appointments, or get in touch with the crisis team if I'm feeling bad.

I'm not going to harm myself and its getting a bit annoying and making me not want to seek help if I did. I proactively got in touch before it reached that stage. I'm very honest with professionals.
I haven't attempted to harm myself in 13 years nor had contact with MH services in that time. AIBU to think this is all a bit much?

I don't really know anything about the issue of suicide/self harm, and I'm not going to pretend I do. However I can understand that being defined by something you did over a decade ago, when you now have working strategies in place and have more self awareness and will ask for help if you need it, is unhelpful. x

I do understand what others are saying about them just being cautious, showing they care etc, but weekly unsolicited phone calls does seem like too much given it's been 13 years. I might understand a phone call every few months to check you are still stable but not weekly. I'm guessing you're on some kind of list at the GP surgery of people needing regular check-ins so maybe if you make an appointment specifically to review the situation you might get somewhere? Maybe you just need to be taken off a list or a flag taken off your records.

This is it. I have worked so hard on my recovery, I know its something I'm going to struggle with my entire life. Its biological factors, family history , as well as when external stressors happen. Still I have developed a formulation and coping strategies. I pay £35 a month for life insurance because I did that 13 years ago and I wasn't even an adult. I get punished for it financially every month. I've seen the severe brain damage it can cause with an unsuccessful attempt being bed bound with tubes. I am not going to do it ,again. I wish it was deleted off my medical records after x amount years. It wasn't a crime what I did yet sometimes I'm made to feel like it was.

GPs can’t win. If we try and help we’re complained about, if we’re not accessible enough we’re complained about.

The poor GP is trying to help you by keeping in touch, monitoring your mood, and he/she has to ask directly if you’re suicidal because otherwise how can they know? If you kill yourself and the GP hadn’t asked if you were suicidal, they can get into a lot of trouble.

Next time the poor exhausted GP calls you, just say you’re feeling much more positive and you’ll get back in touch if anything changes.

The GP hasn’t been calling weekly for 13 years. OP recently went back because she was struggling with her mental health and wasn’t eating, and needed an increase in medication. Naturally the GP is wanting to be sure things are going in the right direction.

It's more important to them to avoid you self-harming than to avoid upsetting you, they're just doing their job - you just have to learn to become emotionless and factual about it in your appointments.

Also I would really recommend trying to get some post trauma therapy relating to your childhood SH. It'll help you to talk about those experiences as just things that are long in the past and not still triggering upset. Honestly it will help if you can do it

They're not the "poor exhausted" GP. They're just the GP. Don't use unnecessary emotive language.

Plenty of people have historic incidents like this and they certainly don't get called every week.