So am I going to end up in hospital for saying this?

[Otherside]

So I don't know where to put this, but if this in the wrong section, can one of the mods move this? Thanks.

So I went for a "what can we do for you" kind of thing at the Psychological services group, in which I'm hoping to get some kind of therapy (CBT, Schema, etc) set up. I've got an assement with them on Friday. I got a handout at the thing today and it's telling me there's a waiting list of 18 weeks. I've already had to wait 8 weeks for the assement, but I've been recieving councilling from another service. I have two more sessions left, and then I'm discharged from that system. My councillor doesn't have a choice in the matter. As much as he'd like to, he can't extend it.

The thing is, I don't know if I can do that 18 weeks without something happen or any sort of support whatsoever. This is gonna sound really dramatic, and whiny, but the fact is, I can't. I already had to deal with nobody doing anything back in autumn last year because the stupid child system decided that I was going through "Normal teenage stuff" and told me to get on with it. Normal teenage stuff landed me in the urgent care system with a doctor deciding whether or not to admit me to hospital or not, and another referral to the adult system with a file stamped "Urgent". That "Urgent" isn't on there anymore, so I'm not gonna get pushed through.

However, I don't feel as I can cope 18 weeks. I'm struggling as it is, I'm not coping. I honestly feel as if the whole system just hasn't listened to me at all, and is telling me that I'm not really "that ill" and that I'm at low risk of harm. I'm not. I've just been hiding that fact. I'm not going into it on this forum, but I'm really gonna have to spell it out to them.

Nothings happened lately, because there has been some sense of control, but it's up and down, that's my problem. I'm struggling to eat when I'm depressed and I'm loosing weight. I'm gonna end up in hospital for thagoes on soon if this on (I don't have an eating disorder, I just don't feel hungry and forget to eat unless my parents remind me). I'm supposedly not having access to my meds, but my brains already worked out several ways around that and I'm scared as heck as to what it's planning...I need someone to do something past because I can't cope with this much longer, and nobodies gonna listen. I suppose I'm gonna have to make them by telling them what's going on and what's gonna happen if no-one does something soon and that I really cannot wait the whole 18 weeks, but I'm just scared I'm gonna end up sectioned and in hospital for saying this.

So I just need a heads up. Am I gonna end up in hospital for saying that???

[Coffee]

From what I know, you won't end up in hospital unless you are in immediate danger of hurting yourself (or others). So if you say you have suicidal thoughts but you don't have a plan and you feel like having some support will help you, I think you'll be ok... if you say you have a plan, then things might be different. But above all, just be honest. Because if you do have a plan, it might be best for you to be under observation for a little bit to keep you safe.

[Antidote]

Unfortunately the way the medical / mental health system is designed, is that you often need to do a lot of self-advocating to get proper attention and care. If you can't self-advocate you need a guardian / friend or carer who can do it for you, and if you don't have that then you are at a disadvantage. It's unethical because often the people who need urgent attention, are exactly the ones unable to make enough ''noise'' so they get ignored. I agree with the above poster though. I think if you don't mention plans they won't hospitalise you.

[takethebiscuit]

Sectioning someone is not easy and it's not something therapists/doctors etc ever want to do. I appreciate your concerns about being open and honest about how you're not coping. 18 weeks is a long time to ask someone in need of help and support to wait. It would be perfectly acceptable and natural for you to voice how you feel. As a UK based therapist, let me assure you that we are doing all we can from within the system to bring down waiting list times and get people the support and care they need as soon as possible. Voice your concerns. I know it's scary to do so. But the important thing here is your safety and well being. The people tasked with helping you and giving you the support your need need to know the full facts of what's going on with you. That does not mean you have to talk about suicide etc if you don't want to or feel you can. Just be as honest as you can about how things are for you. I appreciate the demands on the system these days. But frankly, F the system. You're more important. As another user has suggested, confide in a family member or close friend and get them to advocate for you if you don't feel strong enough to advocate for yourself. Even getting a lawyer to advocate on your behalf might work and would certainly ease some of your concerns about what mental health professionals can and cannot do.

I know it can be scary. I'm not some therapist who reads out of a book. I've been through some mental health issues myself and many of us therapists have. Trusting the system makes you vulnerable and I understand why that's scary. But it's okay. We're here to support and believe in you until you can believe in yourself again.

I cannot interfere in your current situation because of the laws governing my practice as a professional but you are welcome to chat to me in private on this site if you feel it would benefit you to do so.

[Lost Control Again]

18 weeks is a long time to ask someone in need of help and support to wait.

exactly!!

It's strange the way it works here in the UK, waiting lists can be as long as a bit of string!


nah, you won't get sectioned for that! dinnae worry aboot it.

[Lost Control Again]

while you wait, post & visit here. as you can see there's plenty of support for you

[srschirm]

Is there nothing you can do for 18 weeks? I'm not sure how things work over there. I know it may not be much solace, but I'm always willing to lend a listening ear.

[Otherside]

Okay guys, thanks to you all. I had the assement earlier and I've not been hoispitilsed. The man who saw me though waws a bit surprised by what I came out with, he said it was completley different to what was on the referral, he's contacting my pdoc again with all of this and seeing what he has to say about it all.

So I don't know if I'll have to wait 18 weeks still or what, he hasn't mentioned any sort of waiting time or anything, he wants to talk to my pdoc first. He said he'll call my next week with what my pdoc decides.

[WintersTale]

Speaking from experience, they generally don't hospitalize you unless you're suicidal. That is to cover their butts.

It's easy to get admitted to the psych ward if you are suicidal, but hard to get out. And they definitely do follow up.

But if you're just having an eating disorder, that can actually be treated without hospitalization. So you don't really have to worry.

[Misssy]

Long time ago a doctor told me I was going through regular teenager stuff, so Yeah, I experienced that as well when I was in high-school maybe I was 17. Went to my regular general doctor she assumed that I had jus broken up with my boyfriend, even though I told her that was not what was going on. I didn't even have a boyfriend. She wouldn't treat me for depresssion. So I went to another doctor and demanded that they give me prozac, and they did give me pills but I never got any more help from them then that.

[Otherside]

Long time ago a doctor told me I was going through regular teenager stuff, so Yeah, I experienced that as well when I was in high-school maybe I was 17. Went to my regular general doctor she assumed that I had jus broken up with my boyfriend, even though I told her that was not what was going on. I didn't even have a boyfriend. She wouldn't treat me for depresssion. So I went to another doctor and demanded that they give me prozac, and they did give me pills but I never got any more help from them then that.

Yeah, it's amazing how doctors will just take one look at you if you're a teeanger and decide there isn't much up. MY GP-regular doctor-knows I have more than "normal teenage stuff" going on, it was just the child psychiatrists, who refuse to believe that mental illness exists before the age of 18. Child psychiatry here don't really know what to do with people like me. They mostly deal with kids with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, teenagers with eating disorders. Seems they only step in if you do something dramatic like try and kill yourself. Somehow "normal teenage stuff" was my diagnosis after I saw them for an assement, sumarized as "worries about the transition into adulthood" or something. Getting my report from them later, turned out they made up a load of stuff, and completley missed out others. You'd think that "was diagnosed with anxiety 12 and suffered from it for a few years" would have made it into the "past mental health problems" section. Apparently not.