What's a girl to do??!

[aimzicles]

I have found it really difficult to get help on the NHS (sorry to any American readers - complaining about a free health service is odd, I know). I don't earn a lot, and frankly it's my only option - I have barely anything left at the end of the month after rent and food.
I don't get along well with drugs, which they offer me every time regardless of what I am going through. I have suffered with anxiety and depression for over ten years, most of it on my medical record but still getting therapy is like banging my head against a brick wall. At my lowest point a few years back, when I genuinely didn't think I was in my own body any more, I wrote a letter to the doctor explaining my history. Suicide has happened once in my family, and been attempted numerous times by different family members (including my own mother). I explained this, plus various other difficult aspects of my upbringing, and bam, I was called in straight away to be assessed by a psychiatrist. This was after years of going back and forth to the doctors and being palmed off with drugs, or that tick-box depression questionnaire they are all so fond of. Anyway, obviously this was a very turbulent time for me - I was living in East London in a rented room in a shared house of 10 people I hardly knew after a particularly nasty breakup. The place was burgled at some point during this time (I actually saw the burglars!) and so I resolved to move. This was right at the point that I had the consultation, and so I (stupidly) told them my new address. No therapy ever came through for me simply because I had changed address.
I'm having a current spout of anxiety at the moment, getting freaked out at crowded situations and thinking I am going to faint pretty much all day at work. I live in Bristol now, and so, hoping the situation might be different here, back I went to the doctors to outwardly ask for therapy. She didn't even offer CBT, or mention a waiting list - she just printed out a page from the internet and told me to look up the areas in which they conduct group therapy. I wasn't really looking for group therapy - the classes they run are not strictly therapy based and not specific to my needs, but anyway, I left the doctors thinking I'd give it a try. I've just looked up the webpage she mentioned and there are no classes remotely near where I live.
I feel despondent and helpless at the moment, and ready right to recoil into myself. Has anyone else had such an experience? What do I have to do to get help? I feel as if they are waiting for me to want to commit suicide before anything gets done.

[Edie]

I'm really sorry you haven't had a chance to try therapy after being ill for so long.

I think you need to go back to your doctor and explain that the available classes are much too far away for you.

Did you specifically ask for CBT? There can be very long waiting lists, but it will come round sooner if they will put you on the waiting list in the first place!

There are some good books out there to help you try some CBT techniques on yourself. It's nowhere near as good as working with an actual person who can tailor it to your particular problems, but it's better than nothing while you wait for something better. Maybe try some from the library before investing in one to keep, especially if money is tight.

I hope you can get the help you need!

[NoPoet]

There's a reason the NHS is free. It's fine if you need something that is well understood or well supported, and the NHS can be fantastic for those in serious need, but it is overloaded and under-funded, and it is well-known that "health tourism" drains resources that should be provided at a cost to those who are not UK residents. The NHS literally supports anyone who needs it, even if they have never paid national insurance. We should of course help anyone who needs help, you can't refuse to treat a patient without ridiculous delays while you get their insurance details, but people who are not UK citizens should be made to pay somehow. It would definitely cut down the human traffic entering Britain for less-than-legal reasons.

When it comes to anxiety and depression you need to take ownership as the NHS is totally unable to do anything about these. The cure for depression in particular lies in the person getting things moving.

The tick-box for depression is only useful as a rough measure of progress. It is probably obvious in many cases whether a person has mild, moderate or severe depression, this is just beaurocrisy which doctors and therapists hate due to its vagueness and unreliability. On the good side, say your score is 14 out of 21 in your first session, then ten sessions later it's 12/21, then six sessions later it's 10/12, there is clear progression. This is the ONLY useful thing about that bloody crap tick list.

Group therapy is probably the BEST idea of all time. Not only does it get you out of the house, you meet people who understand what you're going through. You swap stories, learn coping strategies and it should hopefully provide you with a boost to your confidence. Definitely attend if you get the chance.

[aimzicles]

Thank you, group therapy does sound the way forward. I will give it a go, who knows.

[flossie]

Have a look at the website of No Panic. For a small annual membership fee they offer help over the phone, one to one or group therapy, based on CBT.
I have done a group course with them and also used their helpline. They may be able to give you support and guidance and are extremely kind as the majority of the volunteers are anxiety sufferers themselves.

[Kobey]

Also Bristol is trying to organise a get together if you feel up to it :)

[DeeEss]

when I first went to my GP he sai to me you need CBT and the quickest way to get it is through the local mental health service provider and not through the nhs. They were a charitable service an I was able to self refer. I waited 2 months to go on the waiting list and then quickly got my first appointment. I had 8 sessions of one to one CBT and was told that if I felt I needed anymore I would have to self refer. They simply do not have the funding. I was also offered group therapy and a drop in womens group. I tried the latter and felt totally out of place. I have had PTSD for over 2 years and I cannot tolerate being around people in a non controlled environment, so it wasnt for me. I then spent over 18 months in limbo until December when I got my meds changed. Now I feel perhaps I could give group therapy a go. Hope you feel able to give it a try and if you dont like it you might find out about other stuff when you go. Good luck!
:)

[Bill]

I would look up the phone no. for the Local Mental Health Team and ring them direct And send a letter to them telling them that you should have had CBT, about your family history, about how the GP wouldn't listen and that you urgently need their help.

You could also contact your local MIND branch for their advice and support, and also possibly write to your MP telling them there is no support in your area.

[rainbowdust33]

I'm currently having CBT through AnxietyUK via skype, its a lot cheaper than going private.

Have a look at their website for more details. :)

[thetube82]

here are the IAPT services down your way, IAPT services offer various talking therapie but mainly CBT, almost all offer self-referral:

http://www.iapt.nhs.uk/services/services/south-west-nhs-iapt-services/

you could also tell your GP about them next time your in the surgery

thetube82

[Roxy79]

Hi, I know how you feel. I went to see my doctor a couple of weeks ago actually asking her to section me! Her reply to me was that I was over-reacting. I have got an appointment with an iapt worker next week, and ive started taking beta-blockers when I get anxious, which help a little. I have very little faith in the nhs and believe that you have to go to extreme measures to be heard and taken seriously.

Liz xx

[Lissa101]

Weird - I also lived in East London and moved to Bristol :)

I thought treatment for these conditions would be better here because its smaller with less pressure on services - WRONG! There is virtually no psychological/therapy type help in Bristol unless you have a serious psychiatric or chronic condition - these are the words of my GP. The only help I've had is medication and suggestions of some charities which I can self refer myself to. My boyfriend who has bipolar has been luckier because he also has an alcohol problem so he gets to see a psychiatrist through his dual-diagnosis team. Perhaps we should hit the bottle? :D x