What's counted as a crisis?

[Slowquicksand]

I'm suffering with my mental health. I've had an appointment with my GP which was worse than useless. No help offered so I guess the GP doesn't think I'm too unwell.

I was thinking of trying the NHS 111 mental health option but I've read that that's for people in crisis and I'm not sure if I am. I'm not suicidal. I'm very depressed and suffering with severe anxiety. I have a diagnosed severe mental illness but never any involvement with CMHT other than diagnosis.

What is counted as a crisis? I'm desperate for help but feel completely alone with it. I don't want to phone and be wasting anyone's time though.

You won’t be wasting their time OP. Give them a call and explain what you have said here and see what help they can offer you. It is better to reach out now before you get even worse. Good luck

But do you think it's a crisis? Have you ever phoned them/know what support they can offer?

In mental health services terms? Someone who is at imminent risk of suicide or hurting someone else

Contact them tonight. 111 option 2. You'll go through to a mental health team who will assess you and hopefully get you some help.

You can also phone Rethink. They're a mental health charity who can advise on how to move forward.

Sorry, I don’t know that. I was referred to them against my will and forced to see them or be sectioned.

I thought that might be the case. I'm not suicidal and certainly don't want to hurt others. I suppose 111 isn’t right for me then.

NHS MH services are so crap. Not sure what your options are then if your GP was no help. You should be getting some sort of ongoing support if you have a diagnosed MH issue. Are you on any medication and have you tried any therapy?

I’m afraid my response won’t be as gentle as others but it comes from a place of vast experience with crisis teams in various different capacities. Crisis teams have an extremely high threshold. It is astonishing what they will and will not respond to. Often their lack of response can be very frustrating and even make you feel worse. The GP is the gate keeper for access to services. If you see one useless GP, you must persevere (difficult when feeling unwell) and speak to another. Ask if there is a person within the practice with a specialist interest in mental health. Ask for a referral to talking therapies. Primary care initially. CMHT is secondary care- again, a very high threshold. You may even be able to self refer to your local taking therapies service. Do it. Do not for a second question what any of these professionals are thinking of you, and persevere when they are being useless. Mental health is a mine field, but please persist until you get the appropriate help. Crisis team isn’t the Avenue though.

No on going support. I was diagnosed years ago and my medication has kept me fairly stable since then.
Never had therapy, not sure what it would be for anyway as I don’t have trauma.

Thanks everyone anyway. I'll figure my way through it.

Crisis teams won't touch you with how you've described. What do you want? If it's chat/support - can you phone a charity helpline? If your medication isn't working - did you ask your GP?

If you don’t mind sharing your diagnosis on here, then people might be able to recommend what has helped them with similar MH issues

Bipolar disorder and anxiety. It’s the anxiety I’m most bothered about. I can’t even leave my house to get to medical appointments for health issues due to the anxiety. GP only offered a referral to a service with a waiting list of over a year.

I might contact bipolarUK and ask if they can recommend the direction I should go in.

That’s a good idea. There may be online support groups available if you are not able to attend in person. Best of luck

If you feel this is a mental health crisis, it is. I would say the only criteria is severe distress that has lasted longer than you can tolerate and that you can't do anything to abate using any strategies/treatments you already have in place. In our area you could ring a crisis line or attend A&E. Google your local mental health trust. No one here will be able to tell you what help would be provided as we don't know what you're going through, but don't be alone with it. Wishing you the best OP, it will get better.

NHS Direct isn't a crisis team and I'm unsure why people are saying it is. You'll get through to a mental health professional who will assess you. They may signpost you to local support, redirect you to your GP or refer you to services.

You won't be wasting anyone's time.