mental health care is seriously broken. at least around here

i dont understand what they expect people to do.

ive been treated off and on my entire adult life. i have been diagnosed with several things by several doctors over the years.

things have not been going well lately so i have been trying to get into a head doc.
not having any luck.
went to a gp today and got a referral. i remember the old days when they would send you out with a name and addy of a doc and all you had to do was call to make an appt. not anymore.

i guess im the one that has to do all that. so i spent 2 hours doing it this morning. trying to find a head doc to see me soon.

out of the dozens i called the best case was i could go see a counselor next week to be assessed and then i could see a psych in september.

i dont know what people are supposed to do.

they all said i could go to the ER. thats not good cause i wouldnt actually get help. they could send me off with 5 anxiety pills and tell me to make an appt with a psych. or i tell them how i am feeling and then theyre gonna want me to stay on the ward for a couple days and then send me on my way to try and get an appt.

so basically its a 4 month wait to try and get some help.

broken system we have

a reply to: Mugly

It is worse for my brother who can't work. He has no insurance and no money so can't get the help he needs. He has gone to a free clinic for now,but they can't diagnose the main issues he is having they said. He is just; out.

a reply to: Dimithae

Free clinic(s)where Im at, you'd have to be one of the first 150 callers exactly at 8am Mondays only....to get scheduled the NEXT week on one of only the 2 days they are open. If you aren't one who makes the 150 (they get filled up quick)...then you have to wait for the NEXT Monday and start calling to make the 150 quota for the NEXT week from then.

And if you don't make THAT one...you wait to the NEXT......see the ridiculousness? So many people need help...like now.

a reply to: mysterioustranger

I know people need help,your right.But here you are at the mercy of who ever donates their time to the free clinic.And those donating,don't have the expertise to fully diagnose those coming to see them. What a half baked way to get help.

I agree. They just don't care,and there's no money for it either to help those with low income(and a lot are, because it's hard to work when your mentally ill)

I've had a lot of trouble getting help when I really need it. I've been hallucinating pretty bad,and all the ER does is send you home with ativan. My sister had to drive me two hours to the hospital she works at to get me help. I feel sorry for the mentally ill living in the streets.

Doesn't going to the ER bypass the waiting period to get in to see a Dr?

Your release papers say to have a follow up appointment within so many DAYS and will put a Dr down for you to call.

originally posted by: Iamthatbish
Doesn't going to the ER bypass the waiting period to get in to see a Dr?

Your release papers say to have a follow up appointment within so many DAYS and will put a Dr down for you to call.

Sometimes, but now always. Especially if you have Medicaid or no insurance. Once it took me five ER trips to get any help at all, where they didn't just send me home. As long as your not suicidal or homicidal, they really don't care.

a reply to: kcgads
I hope its not actual lack of caring. I can tell you are frustrated however sometimes a patient not only needs to read the discharge papers, the patient needs to request certain information be included on them.

I have been to the ER for Seritonin Toxicity. This is very rare and not pleasant at all. My experience with this was that the hospital was so concerned with my right to privacy that the discharge papers had to be created by a group.

a reply to: Mugly

My brother is a consultant Psychologist, he maintains that if he could write a cheque and send his patients on holiday, ninety per cent of cases would be cured. As capitalism is steadily collapsing, the reality is, Thatcher and the greed is good policies, have ripped the working mans financial heart out. I can see it as I drive down the streets over the years more and more cars are parked on the roads outside, as more people are living in crowded conditions.

They have wound the clock back, broken the Unions.and then whine because the social cheque is not enough to live on. After they have privatised the prisons and most of the police force and the health system. Railways etc. Then made sure that the education system, just keeps you dreaming with the Degree, which isn't worth a rats ass. Because all the jobs have left, for overseas destinations. You must wake up and demand that you get a fair deal, because if you don't nobody else will. When they finally realise they haven't got the prison spaces to cope it will change. The present state of affairs is causing mental health issues.

a reply to: Iamthatbish

Well, maybe some of them care I suppose. The attitudes might be due to lack of money and lack of time/overwork.

I don't know though, they don't seem to like me when I have to go in for help. I'm learning to just stay home and deal with it when I'm not doing well. I just prefer to go in for help before I get too bad and can't take care of myself/don't know what going on in reality.

originally posted by: Iamthatbish
Doesn't going to the ER bypass the waiting period to get in to see a Dr?

Your release papers say to have a follow up appointment within so many DAYS and will put a Dr down for you to call.

yes you can see a doc that day. yes they can(might not though) send you out with no more than 5 pills. then it is up to you to follow up with a psych. that is where the problems start. then you get into what i dealt with today. i did see a doc today. i also got a referral today. that does me little good though since i cant be seen by a psych till september.

its a crappy system.

a reply to: Mugly

Yes, so we have to try to learn and understand mental illness and help each other, because we can not count on the government or any other government funded agency. Even it they do exist, the wait time and limited time they give to us does not work. What is broken? The government is broken.

I'm glad the people above are on top of their mental health. I'm very sorry that you seem to be experiencimg exactly the opposite of what I do. I see the specialist that diagnosed me in the ER, there are offices attached to the hospital. My appointments keep getting changed with the Dr. due to him being on rounds. I still go to my therapy appointments so I have no med issues. I wonder if your Rxs are controlled substances? That may cause you stress you don't need.

a reply to: Mugly

just start singing this song when you get all funky, bound to start feeling better.


pretty soon you'll be going oo,oooo oo,oo, don't worry, be happy.

Don't they have a local mental health agency where you live that you can contact? They have councelors there and some psychiatrists that could possibly refer you. Here there are mostly therapists and one with a doctors degree I think. It's a government sponsored program.

i guess im the one that has to do all that. so i spent 2 hours doing it this morning. trying to find a head doc to see me soon.

I have done that every day for the last 9 months. I have been turned away from t he E.R. by a triage nurse because I was not suicidal or a danger to myself or others. My other experiences with the E.R. Has been they give me a generic variety anti-anxiety pill and then a 5 or 7 day supply. TBH meds aren't what I need anyways. Then you are screwed. Sure they might give you the name and number of someone but that person probably has a 6 month wait list and doesn't take your insurance.

I have called all the local hotline and agencies. Every one is happy to give you a referral, but when when no one has any openings and if they do, they don't take my insurance and want $100 minimum per visit.

All this just for a little grief counseling. That is all I am asking for.
I have done everything possible to try and talk to someone

a reply to: calstorm

While I fully understand wanting to see a trained psych doc for grief, you might consider seeing if there's a local volunteer that may deal with grief issues. Even a church official, even if you're not into churches, might have some skills for grief counseling.

That's likely the hitch you're experiencing though. High mental health service consumption areas are going to have to dedicate a lot of resources to those immediately in crisis. Many areas have little more they can afford. Unless someone is immediately homicidal, suicidal, or on life sustaining medication for pervasive psychiatric conditions, they're sent in line behind those who are. Six months isn't uncommon even for folks on life sustaining medication to wait for a doctor, even in situations where the medications involved need constant monitoring. It's beyond broken.

a reply to: Mugly

Queensland Australia here I am a schizophrenic have been for 17 years back in 1998 when I first got this condition you could either get a hospital bed or interview with a psychiatrist in short order, now most has been passed off to gp's,gp's now write 80 percent of anti-psychotic medication scrips.Even I a registered mental patient will have a months wait for a shrink.They have run down the system the people are good but unless your just about to be admitted to hospital,just coming out or have serious problems they have no time for you.The last time I had a psychotic episode I showed up at 8 am to admit myself and was not admitted till 6pm after seeing about 6 people,there are no beds.The problem is across the western world there's no money in the mentally ill therefore we get no money.

a reply to: hearows
Let me clarify if I may. I am merely asking for a therapist or a counselor. I have PTSD and grieving the loss of my children, for which I have been offered absolutely zero emotional support. I am jinxed when it comes to finding bereavement groups. I always find them right as they are ending and not having anymore sessions for a while.

I was very suicidal roughly a year ago as the loss was very fresh. I couldn't get any help at all. I hate religion but I have tried going to churches. No one has the time to talk to you. I have gone to the local catholic diocese, pentecostal church ect. most have made me feel worse and overwhelming guilt.
I don't want a doctor, I just want to talk to someone about coping techniques and help trying to figure out what to do with my life, since being a mother was my life.

And one of thee days I will stop spilling my guts here. I tried to avoid that with my first post hence the need for clarification.

a reply to: Mugly

I got a referral from a senior mental health care worker a while back for a type of clubhouse for the local mentally ill. He was actually retired, but came to help from time to time. I had mentioned some issues I had had with medications and psychiatrists and he smacked his head several times - simply because he was so frustrated that the system he had to work for was failing so many people. He confessed that it was a constant problem and that none of the patients ever got better. He also said most of the doctors get bribed to push certain brands of drugs and that he had personally joined a group of mental health care professionals against these perks called 'No Free Lunches'. He said that the funding for one-on-one counseling was pretty much zero, and yet the counseling was the only thing that really made a difference. Instead they largely catered to the usual psychiatrist set-up with a social worker and a few different groups.

Issues with the mental health care system have been making headlines over here for a few years now. The only thing I can recommend to people caught up with mental issues and the system is to research natural alternative medicines and look into private counseling or therapy. Not being able to "sound off" on the really personal things that are bothering you, no matter how taboo or controversial etc, causes many people enormous stress. Talking it out with advice thrown in and a pat on the back makes a huge difference...