Mental Health Help - This could be your helping hand

What follows is something which I stumbled upon over the last week or so and I believe it to be a brilliant, wonderful service offered to us in the UK by what looks to be a charity called The Mix.

Every single one of us has at one time, or will in the future, experience a mental health issue. This can be scary, this can be confusing.

The problem, which most people are fully aware of, is treatment and response. Mental health issues are held at the bottom of the pile when it comes to treatment and response times. That may sound a little off the mark but it’s true. The internet is littered with stories describing how people have spiraled into worse and worse conditions due to terrible response and treatment times.

I have witnessed this myself, if one becomes ill (touch wood it won’t happen to me) on a weekend, then I’m sorry, most doors are closed for the weekend.

I understand this is not the case throughout the country. But in most cases we are at crisis point.

That’s one of the reasons I find this service brilliant.

The service also addresses the fact that for humans, in vulnerable situations, it is very difficult to go and ask someone for help. It’s hard to find the right words, it’s hard to look someone in the eye, it’s just bloody hard to admit that life is falling to pieces and you feel helpless.

So what have I found? The cure to mental illness?
Not quite.

I have found Crisis Messenger. By texting ‘THE MIX’ to 85258 in the UK or, run by a separate organization, for the US text ‘CONNECT’ to 741741.

Doing this puts you in immediate contact with a crisis counselor and could pull someone out of that hole. Or even better, save your life.

A brilliant service worthy of credit, in a world where things like this don’t normally come so easily to us.

We still need a system to establish the differenece between ‘mental health problem’ and someone who’s genuily just tired of life.

I feel everyone should have the right to choose to end it if they so wish.
I’m probably casuing thread drift...

But I would just like to make the point that sometimes, sober and sane individuals want to die.
It’s not a mental health crisis, the human race just sucks. I’m not a suicide risk, I like my life, and believe there’s still plenty of interesting things to come my way.

But when the time comes, I would like to end it on my own terms.
Everyone should have the right to do so.

a reply to: GreenGunther

That's a very interesting point which raises a hell of a lot of ethical implications.

1) Who/how decide whether someone is ill or just fed-up?

2) Being 'fed-up' of life - isn't that a mental illness... depression??

3) When you are old and ready to go - that would be easier to understand, trying to avoid losing one's independence.

Thanks for contributing and getting the cogs turning.

a reply to: and14263

I'm not in the UK so this can't be my helping hand. Not a great title.

originally posted by: and14263
a reply to: GreenGunther

That's a very interesting point which raises a hell of a lot of ethical implications.

1) Who/how decide whether someone is ill or just fed-up?

2) Being 'fed-up' of life - isn't that a mental illness... depression??

3) When you are old and ready to go - that would be easier to understand, trying to avoid losing one's independence.

Thanks for contributing and getting the cogs turning.

Thanks for not dismissing my post as ‘crazy-talk’.

I believe ‘happiness’ can form part of the simple built-in survival mechanisms humans have.
Stick with me on this - if happiness is relative, extraterrestrials could observe humanity and not understand why we’re happy, or at least can be happy/content with the current status of humanity and society.

Their quality of life would be much higher than ours, so they would perhaps NOT understand why we aren’t killing ourselves.

With intelligence comes a greater suicide risk. When one is observant, one sees that humanities greatest enemy is itself.
The human race could’ve been much further along development wise. We could’ve been living in eden if we didn’t fight wars over religion, oil, cultural differences etc.

I’ve never felt like I should be part of the human race, humans are idiotic and we put the greatest idiots in charge (not even referring to Trump as I think he’s doing an okay job). We put people in charge who only have their own well-being in mind.

I can very easily see how the most observant and intelligent humans simply want to die. We failed ourselves a long time ago, and if you’re old enough to vote, you’re old enough to take your own life.


If you look at the bigger picture, it’s really surprising we’re not throwing ourselves off cliffs en-mass.
Just my 0.02 cents.

We need a system that allows the option of suicide without ridicule or intervention - simply assessment. If intervention is justified then it must happen, if not, let them go.

a reply to: and14263

I saw first hand how hard it is to get someone help a few months ago , I have a young friend who totally lost it when they were stopped getting access to their child by a ex partner .

The friend was intent on harming himself in another friends house , he was caught trying to hang himself and had taken a weeks supply of his medication and was totally out of it and in the next 5-6 hours tried to kill himself loads of times , when i phoned the police for help asking for him to be sectioned under the mental health act . 10 cops turned up in about 6 vehicles but would not take us the 5 minute drive to the nut house all they wanted to do was cuff him and nick him but i told them on no terms was this going to happen .

They made him get into a ambulance and go to hospital where he caused chaos for hours maybe 7 hours after things had kicked off did i get him to where he should have been and off my hands this left me weak was putting it mildly as i had 6 heart attacks in the year before this .

Months before this in a B&b some crazy guy who threatened to cut his own throat was sent 4 armed cops with new machine guns and all the gear on to quieten him down the guy would cry if you shouted at him , he is that soft

That's all fine and dandy, however, I've had my mental problems all my life and managed to work around them and adapt. I may not have the greatest life I could at the moment, but considering all I've been through, it's relatively stable and probably as satisfying as most people's lives.

But if I decided to upgrade or rewire or otherwise enhance my psychological nature to a point a test might consider "normal," this life I've built for myself would very likely become unsustainable. So it's not so much a matter of healing myself to improve my life. It's more a matter of weighing the benefits I would get out of the change against the undoubtedly lengthy and difficult destruction and reconstruction of 90 percent of a life that I've worked decades to make semi-functional.

It is our right to have an occasional mental health issue once in a while. Why should the crazies have the exclusive right to being crazy? If I want to be nuts occasionally I can, it doesn't mean I will not get back to normal.....thing is I do not know one normal person, everyone is crazy about something. OCD is my main type of mental illness, I can change what I am OCD at though, that is my right, you do not have to be a woman to be allowed to change your mind.

Those programs this thread is about actually help many people. It is the first step to recovering, knowing you probably do have a problem is half of the cure.

Everyone has had their ups and downs - periods of our life when we're standing tall in the warm sunshine, and periods where we're in a very dark and lonely place, hitting proverbial rock bottom, and there seems to be no way to ever return to happiness and normalcy. I am no exception to this. And I agree that people are mostly too proud, insecure, or afraid to go to someone for help, even (or especially) a close friend or family member. Doing so makes a person feel like they're admitting they have lost control, and consider the possibility that that person in your life may judge you for telling them those things. When problems like this arise, the best option may be going to someone you don't know, and who doesn't know you, but is qualified to listen, give feedback, and offer whatever help is needed.

It's good to know that this service is available to the ones who need it right now. And I find it very encouraging to see this crazy ocean of technology in which we're all treading water being used to help people who are truly in need.

It's good to see the participation in this thread... different points of view and different aspects of this whole thing being brought up and discussed.

Good thread, S&F.

originally posted by: GreenGunther

I feel everyone should have the right to choose to end it if they so wish.
I’m probably casuing thread drift...

But I would just like to make the point that sometimes, sober and sane individuals want to die.
It’s not a mental health crisis, the human race just sucks. I’m not a suicide risk, I like my life, and believe there’s still plenty of interesting things to come my way.

But when the time comes, I would like to end it on my own terms.
Everyone should have the right to do so.

Yeah I agree. I might feel depressed but there is always something in the future to look forward to.
The first Mars landings for example.
If Marijuana helps people relax let them have it rather than keep it illegal (UK), people have had access to alcohol almost since civilization began.

I have spent my whole youth believing that there is something wrong with me but i'm sure It's just some form of ADD and computer addiction. Only reason I would end it is if I'm hazardous to others.

I think mental help services are there to just frighten people into believing they have something wrong and then just collect data on them afterwards. a lot of youth in waiting queues but it's just part of growing up, brain stops developing at 25 i think.

a reply to: stonerwilliam

I've witnessed how difficult it is to get someone institutionalized. I have a relative who is completely unable to care for herself. Her mental issues cause her to ignore actual physical issues. Her family endured her insanity for months, saying that they didn't want to commit her because they didn't want to be "mean." She has 17 different doctors and takes 34 different medications.

It was only when her physical issues put the family at risk that they finally decided that fussing at her wasn't working to cure her mental illness. She had to be admitted to the hospital because her refusal to shower and tend to her physical problems put the entire household at risk. She is indigent and yet social workers are now attempting to find "assisted living" for her instead of an institution where her meds can be monitored. As it is, even when she is hospitalized, she still has her pouch of meds hidden and self-medicates when her orders for meds aren't carried out. She is far beyond living independently and yet social services is resisting the idea of transferring her to the mental hospital build for indigents in our region. They even attempted to bully her 85 year-old father to take her back into his household despite the fact that he is barely able to care for himself.

She currently resides in a "rehabilitation" facility but even there her meds are not monitored so she dips into her pouch any time she pleases and makes life miserable for the staff because they do not follow her commands. She's the one who can be heard throughout the facility crying and screaming when she doesn't get what she desires, whether it be a pill or a bowl of ice cream. It is sad beyond words, especially in view of the fact that 17 different doctors are supposed to be "helping" her.

Thank you for sharing this.
I'm going to share it with some people I know.

Hi diggindirt

My brother is bi-polar and my son has schizophrenia.

With my brother, 20 years ago, getting him into the psych hospital wasn't too hard.

But episodes after that were harder, because he was big and the cops were scared of him.

They eventually learnt that he wouldn't hurt anyone, but being hunted by police and being abused in the psych ward left him with PTSD, which was never recognised.

He used to give the cops a run for their money.

One time, after a long chase, he climbed a huge tree. The cops were spewing. One of them knew him by then. Apparently, he screamed "if you don't get down from that f... ing tree Leon, I'm going to get a f... ing chainsaw and cut it down.

One time they caught him escaping out a bathroom window. Naked, he'd been in the shower. He was hugely humiliated in front of his friends.
They let him get dressed.
Once they got to the front door, he took off, he high jumped three fences (5' plus) then sat down in someones back yard and waited for them. Sat their smiling. When the cops caught up with him, he said "just wanted you to know I could get away".

Cop responds "Leon, if you ever do that again, I'm going to break your f.... ing legs". Probably the same cop as above.

I think he became quite friendly with the cops, but not the psych staff.

They had him in maximum security. He just broke the reinforced glass and ran home. Must have been at least 50km.

With my son, he kept getting into trouble with police, getting charges. No matter what I said, they wouldn't take him to hospital for an assessment, even though it was obvious he was mental, and under duty of care, they are legally obliged to take nutters to hospital.

Eventually he tried to get himself admitted, no one would take him. He was just catching trains, everywere to find a hospital to help him.

He was found on a train, heading up the coast.
Someone must have called the police. He said he was having a full on break down. Apparently, they were very kind and took him to a psych hospital, where he stayed for about 12 months. I went and stayed close by for five months.

It took about three years to get him to hospital and a diagnosis. He was in hell, and he put us through it. Getting punched in the face by a 6'6" psychotic son isn't a lot of fun. And he couldn't understand why I wouldn't let him stay with me.

He and we shouldnt have had to go through this.

And they still don't know what causes schizophrenia and only treat symptoms.

a reply to: and14263 I've had a problem sorta like this. I had a stroke several years ago, and have lost a lot of my independence. I am also a believing Christian. I am ready to go whenever the Lord calls me home. My husband mentioned this to my neurologist who decided that meant I was depressed. So to keep my neurologist happy I now have a Psychiatrist. He does understand me some. I told him that I am weary with life. Weary is not the same as tired. My life is not my own, so I would never do anything harmful enough to end it. Nature and God will determine the time. I don't feel depressed, maybe somewhat hopeless.

a reply to: [post=23963544]and14263[/post

a reply to: and14263

Cool, thank you for sharing. Even if it only helps some, that means the world to them and theirs. IMO there's a big challenge finding the right contact that will not only listen but also respond.

originally posted by: GreenGunther
We still need a system to establish the differenece between ‘mental health problem’ and someone who’s genuily just tired of life.

I feel everyone should have the right to choose to end it if they so wish.
I’m probably casuing thread drift...

But I would just like to make the point that sometimes, sober and sane individuals want to die.
It’s not a mental health crisis, the human race just sucks. I’m not a suicide risk, I like my life, and believe there’s still plenty of interesting things to come my way.

But when the time comes, I would like to end it on my own terms.
Everyone should have the right to do so.

Why take away any freedom from rational people, ergo who is to decide who is rational?

Thread drift is a must for this topic.

originally posted by: InTheLight

originally posted by: GreenGunther
We still need a system to establish the differenece between ‘mental health problem’ and someone who’s genuily just tired of life.

I feel everyone should have the right to choose to end it if they so wish.
I’m probably casuing thread drift...

But I would just like to make the point that sometimes, sober and sane individuals want to die.
It’s not a mental health crisis, the human race just sucks. I’m not a suicide risk, I like my life, and believe there’s still plenty of interesting things to come my way.

But when the time comes, I would like to end it on my own terms.
Everyone should have the right to do so.

Why take away any freedom from rational people, ergo who is to decide who is rational?

Thread drift is a must for this topic.

Well I'm sure there is a current model for establishing a persons level of sanity.
I just want the psychiatric community to be able to admit that suicidal tendencies aren't always an indication of depression or mental problems, sometimes it's a reflection of society.

We don't always know the levels of suffering someone is experiencing, truama can"t always be healed or reversed. People aren't necessarily "crazy", they've just experienced to many negative things in a short space of time.

We do not yet have the correct protocols or tools to deal with this. If someone can genuinely make the conscious decision that they want it to end, they should have the right to do so.

I've always felt there's a lot of arrogance involved when people intervene in suicide attempts.

a reply to: GreenGunther

When you frame it like that then yes existence is painful. We have indeed self conditioned to be happy with our environment and I do agree it’s a survival mechanism.

I still find the idea hard to embrace: that someone would want to end it all for a perfectly rational reason. What if tomorrow that person finds something that takes their focus off the horrors of humanity and allows them ronfind real happiness in something.... there’s always that chance. Be it a lady or a train set.

Very hard not to focus on the turmoil we have created though. Distraction is key I guess. For me at least.