Am I just attention seeking?

[KatsMother28]

Hi

Apologies - this will be a long one.

I was diagnosed with PND after the birth of my DD who's now 22 months due to the depression I have struggled with on and off for the last 15 years. At the time I was put on antidepressants and regularly saw a perinatal nurse. After the first year had past they then referred me onto the local mental health team who I have seen a total of four times since.

According to the first of the team workers I need therapy for old issues which are causing my depression, he then passed me onto a colleague who made the referral to psychiatry but they have since come back and said I'm not serious enough of a case to warrant referral (despite self harming & thoughts of suicide). Since this I haven't had any more contact from the mental health team.

I feel as though I'm just attention seeking and that no-one considers me to have a problem. As such I've come off my meds and whilst I've felt fine for the last couple of weeks I'm now feeling wobbly.

Should I just shut up & get on with it (as I feel most people including my brother feel I should do)?

I don't even self harm properly - just scratches & burns with just extinguished matches. How pathetic eh?

I really am an ungrateful bitch when there are others with real problems.

If you're still feeling bad Kat, go back to your GP and ask for a re-referral.
It seems odd, particularly when there's an identified issue, not to work on that!
I don't see how you're being ungrateful.

Hi, sorry you are struggling. Te transfer from Peri natal to adult mental health often is difficult as the resources and funding available to people with a baby is different to adult care. The risk assessment etc and possible concerns for a baby means people get seen more often if accepted under a peri natal team more often than under adult care. In adult care, which is what deals with people once a baby is over 12-18 months ( as diagnosis is no longer pnd if still an issue) then there are different levels of treatment:

• primary care help, through gp and what a gp can refer you through to short term counselling ( so if discharged from the CMHT then worth asking your gp to refer you to the short term counselling the gp can access, but you cannot access this whilst under a CMHT)
• referral and assessment by an adult mental health care team ( sounds like this is what you have had). They have a different level of criteria for accepting people under their care, as small staff and large number of people under their area means only people usually with certain diagnosis under them ( psychosis, schizophrenia, bipolar, severe depression meaning someone unable to work or care for a child sometimes)

So on a positive it means you have made a good recovery. A CMHT does not mean access to counselling or talking therapy, sometimes it does for people under them a while, or in a group therapy situation but not always. Usually means a risk assessment and then either a nurse, social worker or OT assigned to be a care co ordinator. These people are not counsellors, unlike in the peri natal sense where they help with specific issues regarding bonding and depression due to post natal issues/ hormones.

If you think you would like or benefit from counselling your next step is to go to your gp and ask him/her to refer you for short term options through the IAPT scheme. Most will assess you quickly and then put you on a waiting list. But first find out if discharged from CMHT ( adult mental health team) so you can access this.

A health visitor is another person to talk to and she may be able to refer you to other agencies for extra support.

You are not attention seeking, but have been assessed as not needing the services of an adult mental health team by the sounds of it. So you can go through the gp or private if that is an option. Also see what charities are around if you have a specific issue ( eg bereavement) you know you want to address.

Oh, people who self harm mildly and express concerns of suicide do not automatically get referred for counselling, as these are common presentations with people who are struggling. Even those who end up at a and e time and time again wait many months for treatment. That is why they will not assess you as having a need, even though to would sound like you think that should warrant taking you under a CMHT. Also those people who are struggling with those issues generally need a period of stability effort they are allowed treatment ( the aim is to not link support with acts of self harm etc to stop people seeking help by certain behaviours, eg if have a personality disorder often people cannot contact their nurse until 24 hours after an act of self harm and they have to get own help from an a and e unit if needed). This is standard practise in adult mental health care. Thought of explained that it might help you understand why you declaring your struggles did not get you immediate attention and help.

If you feel you are in danger your gp can refer you for assessment by a crisis team that works 24/7 ( not need access through an adult mental health team) and of gp closed go to a walk in centre, minor injuries, a and e or an out of hours gp service and they can assess you and offer suitable services ( crisis team, short term medication, whatever they think is needed to keep you safe at that time).

Hi. Thanks for replying. I'm a bit confused so please bear with me. Is the general consensus to go back to my gp?

When I have been referred for therapy by a gp in the past its taken the form of a set 6 weekly sessions focusing on one particular issue (eg anxiety). From what the first adult mental health worker said to me this therapy will only provide a "patch job" until I can uncover the deeper issues and deal with those.

Wouldn't I therefore just be wasting everyone's time and if this is the case and my only other option is private treatment (which is completely not an option due to financial constraints) is it the case I have to just shut up & put up after all?

It's hard for me to remember, as it was quite some time ago now, but I think it was through my GP that I got access to longer-term therapy, though it involved me being an out-patient of our local MH hospital, and was in conjunction with drug therapy too.

Did you come off the meds yourself or did your GP advise it? I understand that coming off them quickly can make things worse. I dont think your attention seeking btw,sounds like you need some support. I had some CBT for anxiety via my local womens centre, it was free they just ask for a donation if you can manage it.

Hi Almost

I came off them myself as I wasn't seeing anyone and I seemed to feel better on the days I forgot to take them.

That's interesting about the women's centre I might have to investigate if its the case in my area.

Thanks.