To feel a little let down with nhs ?

[luluxxx]

I’ve had anxiety for years now
At the minute I’m dealing with intrusive thoughts really bad.
I worry about illness /death
I worry about all of the bad things that could happen
To a point I track my partner on the map for accidents when he’s driving
When my elderly dad is heading to town I will check the route for anything he might fall over.
I scan for body symptoms constantly and check for lumps (my mum passed when I was 14 from breast cancer )
Anyway I had my initial call today
He told me I would benefit from CBT
He told me the wait times was 92 weeks
I knew it would be a wait but that is crazy
He said “I think CBT would be helpful for your silly death intrusive thoughts”

So now I feel pathetic
I knew the thoughts were not normal but I don’t think il be able to speak to someone knowing it’s stupid.
I also have a choking fear.

i have bought a book called anxiety panicking about panic and im reading that

Who is ‘he’? There’s a mental health board in MN where you might get better replies.

The NHS isnt what it was. A few years ago I was unbelievably disappointed in the wait lists but I've since seen them deal with multiple complex life and death situations in my family and I will never moan about them again. They have been and continue to be fantastic.

92 weeks! Is that for IAPT or secondary care? It's a long wait for either tbh, but in particular for IAPT, or whatever it's called now - the one you can access directly without having to go through your GP.

Calling your thoughts silly is also pretty unprofessional. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, perhaps he was trying to strip them of their power over you, rather than calling you silly. That said, I think I'd probably have the same reaction as you. It's not exactly understanding!

In my experience though it's rare to be assigned to the person who assesses you though, so hopefully you'll get someone better.

If you haven't already it might be worth having a chat to your GP to see whether there is anything available sooner too.

I’ve been very let down by the NHS mental health teams. After a referral, I opened up about all my childhood traumas and basically told them I was at the end of my tether. The person spoke to said that because I have a supporting husband, they won’t take anything further because I have help.

Cbt is awesome.

it’s defo something I would recommend.

we just don’t have enough people in mental health. Not enough money or drs or staff….

my friend was a psychiatrist 30 years ago and it was bad even then! It’s just worse. But was always super bad.

They have to say this because otherwise your husband might say they are incriminating things which you don't really struggle with and inpinge on your human rights,

What service was this? I don’t believe that this can have been your local NHS Talking Therapies service (which would be the most appropriate for your needs) as wait times are a few months MAXIMUM. Why would they tell you it’s a “92 week wait”? That’s a v strange number as it’s bizarrely specific for such a date so far in the future. Are you certain you didn’t mishear a different number? “A 22 week wait” could sound similar & would be far

Im sorry but I also don’t think the practitioner will have said “your silly death intrusive thoughts”. No practitioner would ever, ever use the phrase “silly” in relation to intrusive thoughts. I’m as certain as I can be (without having been party to the conversation) that he said: “your sudden death intrusive thoughts”. That is ‘a thing’ and a term that is widely used. You have intrusive thoughts around sudden & unexpected death. You have “sudden death intrusive thoughts”. This is what he will have said; and is far more likely than him having referred to “silly death intrusive thoughts”.

I’m both an NHS MH practitioner and a service user of NHS MH services. I know we don’t always get it right, but I think you’ve got a couple of things wrong here, sorry.

It’s the self refer talking therapies
He said it’s a 92 week wait but might be earlier if I can travel or accept a trainee
He said in the mean time he’s going to send me a email to something called silver cloud
Not sure what it is
He mentioned something to work through at home
And he did say silly death intrusive thoughts
It wasnt a figment of my imagination
I was on the call
hence writing this post

I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you mean?

I can sympathise with your wait. I have ptsd caused by the nhs failings and consequently became physically disabled and not able to work. I waited 10 years for emdr, the first thing the psychologist said was it won't work as well as if we'd done it 10 years ago! She was lovely and it did help but not a cure.
When I waited my gp advised social prescribing (is that suitable for you)? The social prescriber actually refered me to 3 counselling services (charity run) unfortunately i was told i was too complex but its worth a try you may find a voluntary service to help you in the meantime.
So in the first instance id go back to the gp and see whats available in the interim (including charities).

Who is ‘he’?

Not disputing that you were on the call, and I didn’t say it was your imagination.
We all frequently mis-hear things, especially on telephone calls and especially when a bit upset, or if the caller has a different accent etc.
Today at work on the phone to a patient I kept mishearing her and had to ask her to clarify a point a couple of times.
I promised you, you’ll have mis-heard. I actually take quite personally the assertion that colleagues of mine who do the job I do with the levels of training and continuous professional development that we do would ever use the word “silly” in relation to a patient’s presenting difficulties. Why would any of us do that? We unfortunately see people with debilitating intrusive thoughts every day and we do the job we do because we know that intrusive thoughts are awful and can respond well to CBT. Writing them off as “silly” and actually saying that to a new patient would be bizarre beyond belief. If you are 100% certain you didn’t mishear the work “sudden” for “silly” on the phone then you should make a complaint. It would ultimately be more beneficial for you and your care than just posting on here and sparking a pile-on about how awful services and NHS staff are.
99.99% of us are working hard to provide really good and timely care to hundreds of thousands of patients a year. That almost never gets threads started about it

The current funding model for the NHS simply doesn't work anymore.

I wish we could have a more European style model. I'd even be happy to pay more taxes for it.

@ParmesanRealignmenti have cbt in the past with a couple of therapists who were lovely
1 lady in particular still sticks with me 15 years later
So I’m not slating then
Very grateful

@Battieswho did the assessment over the phone ,I don’t know if he was a therapist or just someone who completes the initial assessment
He Just told me his name and where he was calling me from

@ParmesanRealignment

Not everyone with the same qualifications behaves the same way. Your struggle to believe this is hard to understand.

If the op says she is sure of what she heard then why can’t you believe her?

Take charge of your life. Find some daily target and achieve it. Even if it's just a walk or going into a shop. Build day by day. Treat it as a personal challenge you can overcome.

Anxiety thrives when you have time on your hands. When you are super busy then you don't have time to be anxious.

This is of course not an answer to all anxiety which is sometimes a genuine health issue but neither is it right to medicalise all anxiety. I can't speak for the OP and she may well not be one of them but too many people use anxiety as a cop out from every day life.

@KateSixermy anxiety doesn’t stop me getting on with my daily life ,I have a job etc and no issues going to supermarket or cinema etc ..I have issues with intrusive thoughts regarding health /bad things happening …

Hi Nigel.

Nigel Farage is right wing isn't he??

I agree, but I think the concept of European healthcare isn't that you pay more taxes? But that everyone has private health insurance, and for those who can't afford this, the state covers their insurance? I personally would nuch prefer this - it gives people more control and ownership over their healthcare, rather than being passive recipients of a 1 size fits all system

You do need CBT. You would also benefit from an SSRI as well which your GP can prescribe.

I’m sorry the wait is so long. The maximum wait is supposed to be 18 weeks. You can put in a complaint about that and the silly comment which is indeed so bad it’s hard to believe.

Book based and computerised CBT are also shown to be effective so it’s definitely possible to make a start yourself whilst waiting.

The NHS is on its knees and I think we need to prioritise our health as much as we prioritise other things in life. If you can afford to go private OP, I would. I work in a pharmacy and most people now are disappointed with the NHS. All I will say is that we bust our butt in our pharmacy to try to help the surgery connected to us, but we get more and more referrals and no more money or staff to do the work. No one wants to do my job for minimum wage because it’s incredibly stressful and not financially worth it at all - I could earn lots more stacking grocery shelves.
I hope you get the help you need OP, it sounds like you are in a dark place. I’ve been there and come out the other side, just keep trying to find your coping mechanisms to stop the intrusive thoughts. For me swimming really helps- take out your physical energy on the pool and your brain will calm down also.

And who pays for “the state” to cover those who aren’t paying? Oh yes, the tax payers who have to pay again for anything they need!
no I wouldn’t be happy to pay extra taxes for this, the SNP would LOVE this…. yet more ways to tax and tax those who work.

I dune think Farage is advocating for a European model

There's nothing Reform-esque about a fully functioning European health service.