experience of ptsd help on nhs

[FRANKIEISBACK]

whats it been

I have been told a year wait for cbt

:ohmy:

[annette1]

unfortunately in practice the NHS dont consider mental health issues to be important enough to warrant shorter waiting list for therapy. It is ridiculous, all the time we are waiting our issues become more ingrained & therefore require more therapy to recover from.

Please dont wait quietly Froggie, its time the NHS woke up to our need for treatment.I did & ended up having to pay for private treatment. They wouldnt ask someone with a broken leg to wait a year, why do we have to?

[JoanneRB]

I sent my husband for private treatment because he had already waited 6 monthes before diagnosis and another 6 months on the waiting list. You won't ever get back the time lost waiting for the NHS. It will gone and wasted in bad memories.
I recomend EMDR or Hypnotherapy as a quicker alternative to CBT.

[IDontFeelStrong]

This doesn't sound very encouraging and I have to admit, sadly, what I was expecting. A year to wait is cruel, to my mind.
I am still debating whether or not it is wise to see a psychiatrist - albeit a liason one - they tend to plump for CBT no matter what the issues & I have found mental health professionals very patronising, insensitive and dismissive. Not looking forward to it and my gut tells me it may do more harm than good. I am pretty well educated and find the very linear approaches of NHS `guidelines' seem to tie the hands of professionals with any compassion behind their back, so they can do very little to help that is of any real significance. I have a wonderful GP but because I also have a physical long-term illness it concerns me that they may lump the two together and compromise my future employment in terms of professional status. I am still looking in to the minefield that is employment law (I understand the repercussions can be enormous in terms of how records are maintained etc) and have a mind to postpone the appointment until I am better equipped with the knowledge to keep myself from falling in to any big gaping holes in such a poorly supported area of NHS practise.
I really thought the world had moved on, but it seems unless you or I am a danger to society and/or my/yourself, we are not taken seriously :o(
Would love to hear more positive experiences!..?

[annette1]

I agree with Joanne, EMDR has played a huge role in my recovery. It is available on the NHS in some areas of the country.

[FRANKIEISBACK]

Its awful this waiting around , but I am determined to beat this anxiety

have some diazepam but keeping them in a box , willing myself through it

[texel]

mine is more severe in the approach to winter time.but as you say it can take months to get an appointment.
i was lucky 10 weeks and i was in. just as my condition was at it's worst. PTSD,SAD also

[Big Pete]

Yup 18 months here for CBT. Had EMDR didnt do a lot for me. Supportive family and GP seems all I've got for the near future.

[annette1]

frankie

I wanted to avoid taking meds too, but following my decision to take Citalopram I felt so much more in control & able to manage my symptoms. I know its not idea but please dont make yourself suffer anymore anxiety than you have too. I wish i'd made the decision sooner.

[Hetty]

Hello I am new here, I waited 18 months to be seen for CBT , my therapy lasted 18 months initially, my therapist left, so I then had to wait another year to carry on, and I'm now back in the system with a health coordinator and a psychiatrist- I suffer with complex PTSD- the UK just isn't geared up to deal with amount of mental health patients who need help.

[FRANKIEISBACK]

too right it isnt ....ten miles up the road and i would have all the help i need

[annette1]

So annoying that isnt it Frankie. What the NHS dont seem to realise is that if they gave us therapy earlier we would recover quicker & therefor need less time in the system.

It's only common sense really, isn't it???!