7 months & counting waiting for nhs counselling help

[Cagedbird00]

I’m really struggling. I went to the dr in September last year, broke down & confessed how I felt. She sent me away with antidepressants & a self referral number for counselling.

I didn’t take the antidepressants as I have a toddler & after taking them in the past & not liking how they made me feel, I was worried I wouldn’t be able to look after my child properly. I rang the number, had a chat & was told someone would call for an assessment 4 weeks later. Had that assessment, was told I scored highly for depression/generalised anxiety/ptsd & long story short, it’s been 7 months now & all I’ve had was 1 face to face chat with a woman who told me online cbt will help. I had to register online & now am waiting again (was told that takes 2 weeks, it’s been 4)

I’ve emailed them & they just say someone will be in touch.

I feel like I’m going out of my mind. I went to the dr for help & it’s now 7 months later & it all just seems ridiculous to me. I’m at my wits end, I keep trying to fix this all myself but can’t seem to pull myself out of it. I know the nhs are busy but this just isn’t giving me much hope.

Not sure what I’m expecting anyone to say here, just venting I guess. Has anyone had a similar experience?

Seven months is a long time. I was told 6-18 weeks.

My wait for counseling ended up being 16 months. By the time they contacted me to finally book it, I'd gone privately. Is that something you could do?

That is too long to have to wait- especially since you have a toddler!
Have you tried anything that helps?

The Samaritans are there to talk to, have you thought about phoning them?

Mental health services are badly underfunded and a long wait isn't uncommon. I had to wait months, went privately in the end but had to stop when I could no longer afford to pay. Now on NHS waiting list again...
I'd suggest going back to your GP (see a different one if necessary) and ask if they can speed things up (say you're in crisis). Also, do try the meds. There are loads to choose from - they won't all make you feel horrible and they really will take the edge off things.
Good luck.

Yep. I was referred to NHS mental health as an urgent referral due to suicidal thoughts and having admitted to a stock pile of meds that are quite easy to overdose on. I've had 3 assessments, the meds are still on repeat prescription and haven't heard anything in months. It's a year since the referral.

I’ve bought some self help books, watched some cbt videos online, tried to kind of “do it myself” that way. I’ve tried to make changes to my daily routine, to make me feel more positive, downloaded positivity apps to give me a positive note to start my day & ive stopped watching the news!

The depression & anxiety part I can kind of deal with to a degree but the ptsd part, mostly intrusive thoughts of the event (a death) are what’s the most difficult. I’ve rang the counselling services several times & just keep being told there’s a huge waiting list & the last time I emailed the online services & was told it’d be 5-10 more working days until I get “matched with a therapist” so that will take us to Tuesday next week.

Fingers crossed they actually have it sorted by then.

CBT is usually NHS first port of call, and I found CBT hugely inadequate and unhelpful.

Are there any private counselling services in your area that allow you to pay based on your income?

I’m not sure, what do mean allow you to pay based on your income?

I’m a sahm, my partner works but we can’t afford to go private from what I’ve looked into so far unfortunately.

When I had counselling they decided what you should pay based on your income. So when I was on a low salary I only paid £20 an hour. Very cheap for private therapy.

When my salary went up I paid more.

You have made a huge effort to help yourself! Well done!
Hopefully you will get an appointment very soon. Good idea to look into private, sliding scale (based on your income) therapy.
Writing in a journal might be helpful. (If you have a secure place to put it.)