**The Mental Health Thread**

tres said:
Paracetamol, ibuprofen, physiotherapy, CBT.

That's all NICE recommend for chronic back issues, slipped discs (without nerve compression) etc. When it is severe and life changing, it's a referral to the spinal team for consideration of surgery.

The clinical guidelines say to not offer stronger painkillers like opioids . There any no other magic pills to fix this.

Sometimes it's useful to know what to expect that GPs can offer, as having unrealistic expectations can make everything much more difficult.
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Have you tried a chiropractor? I've been using a Chiropractor for a while now and the guy is magic! Make sure you get an MRI beforehand though via your GP. Any Chiropractor that touches you without an MRI analysis doesn't have a ****ing clue about what they're doing.
 
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tres said:
Have you used the mental health crisis team? I'd be interested to know your experience/what you thought of them if you have
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I've been shipped from the A&E to a specialist unit before, there was a lot of waiting around and then discharged because not obviously going to hurt myself or others and no funding to perform actual care.

EDIT: I did get an hour with a shrink, but they reckoned there was no threat so kicked me out back into the street. I was hallucinating at the time. I filled in a bunch of forms but my records never got back to GP so she prescribes some antidepressants and checks on me once a year.

I was having visual hallucinations which are apparently much less bad than auditory ones, seeing patterns in clouds or walls melting seems to be less troublesome than hearing voices
 
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Crisis teams are useless, when I did something very serious they gave me an emergency appointment .... 6 months later. there is no real care about for mental health these days. Eventually I became a mental health specialist but even in the therapist circles I am in the waiting lists are long.
 
koolpc said:
Been on lower dose of Escitalipram (10mg) for a week now. Feel better. Also trying a plant based capsule. See how that goes! Its called:

Ashwagandha Complex​

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I take that as a supplement. I think it’s supposed to help lower cortisol amongst other things. Can’t say I’ve noticed a difference but doesn’t do any harm.
 
bloodraven said:
Crisis teams are useless, when I did something very serious they gave me an emergency appointment .... 6 months later. there is no real care about for mental health these days. Eventually I became a mental health specialist but even in the therapist circles I am in the waiting lists are long.
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So because wherever you live the crisis team was useless and you're saying that all other crisis teams throughout all other trusts are useless too.

Rubbish.

I work for CAMHS and needed crisis input myself from the adult crisis team and was assessed and supported immediately.

Exactly what is a mental health specialist? What is your 'speciality'? If you were a specialist in MH you'd understand the strain on MH service's right now yet here you are dissing your own profession.

Do explain.
 
Every NHS based therapist, psych I know has gone private sector because it is better, better pay and less NHS based rules. Some places may vary but all the ones I have known or been a part of is useless. Yes there is a strain always is on Mh services and because of the daft rules of NHS they reject most patients before they even get anywhere and plot them on a list. Most nhs dont deal personality disorders and try refer them on, the wellbeing services is a laugh at best. I dis it because like anyone worth their salt is private or charity based while professional as a day job.

For instance my business partner was NHS and highly trained but on a small salary, now she is one of the top private therapists with a client list a mile long waiting to see her and makes 5x more money plus.

My specialties (main)
personality disorders
dissociative identity disorder ( and also train therapeutical staff )
Self injury / suicidal
Psychopathy
Psychosis

I work with therapists or teams with select clients of choice. The biggest problem with Nhs based is that the rules are so strict and are not equip to deal in long term therapy with clients that are on the extreme end of the spectrum.
 
bloodraven said:
Every NHS based therapist, psych I know has gone private sector because it is better, better pay and less NHS based rules. Some places may vary but all the ones I have known or been a part of is useless. Yes there is a strain always is on Mh services and because of the daft rules of NHS they reject most patients before they even get anywhere and plot them on a list. Most nhs dont deal personality disorders and try refer them on, the wellbeing services is a laugh at best. I dis it because like anyone worth their salt is private or charity based while professional as a day job.

For instance my business partner was NHS and highly trained but on a small salary, now she is one of the top private therapists with a client list a mile long waiting to see her and makes 5x more money plus.

My specialties (main)
personality disorders
dissociative identity disorder ( and also train therapeutical staff )
Self injury / suicidal
Psychopathy
Psychosis

I work with therapists or teams with select clients of choice. The biggest problem with Nhs based is that the rules are so strict and are not equip to deal in long term therapy with clients that are on the extreme end of the spectrum.
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So the NHS reject those in need because of daft NHS rules this is nonsense.

You are aware of NICE guidelines and THRIVE, right?

Most NHS don't deal with personality disorders and refer them on, what? This is what EIT do (Early Intervention Team) they deal with PD (Personality Disorders), EUPD (Emotionally Unstable PD), Psychosis and BPD (Bipolar Disorder), these are all urgent 72 hours assessments.

All NHS MH services deal with, accept and assess for PD as commissioned by the CCG.

I'm a band 6 MH nurse practitioner and also do bank for CRHT and you're telling me your a private 'specialist' and that myself and the NHS are useless and you dis me and my amazing colleagues because to us it's just a 'day job'.

What are your actual qualifications again?

So your business partner went private for more money, go her, it's a proven fact that private therapists make more diagnosis because they are specifically paid to do so by the person/family demanding one, where as the NHS is free and are not under any financial pressure to make the same/misdiagnosis.

And the wellbeing service is a laugh? They are constrained by the demand on service, I'm personally under them for childhood trauma and DV, yes there is a waiting list but we can only employ enough staff that any given trust is funded by the given/local CCG, without that funding we simply cannot operate.
 
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dont take it personally i have natural distaste of the nhs system from experience, The staff are not useless well lets agree some are but its the system that is useless. My reasons of dislike are my own but would agree they are valid if I were to explain them.


my BP left not for money but better environment, more interesting clients and she loves to help people but as i keep telling her she cant let all her clients take the mick.

listen your experiences as well as many others may vary from my own, my experience and that of people I know is dreadful. You seem like a good person and im sure a great professional, as I said dont take it personally. To me the services are as useless as fairy wings on a cement truck but that is my opinion.
 
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Just some ramblings from yours truly…!

It is confusing to feel like poo when you’re making choices that accord with what you’d like to do within the confines of reality. For myself, I find that I can take actions and follow what I want to do things with my life, yet still feel emotionally underwhelmed - which then becomes confusing and distressing.

I’ve realised that my emotional expectations are probably coloured by my own lifetime-long indulgence towards non-realisable ‘wants’. That is, things that are not in accordance with what you are actually choosing to do with your life (directly by impossibility, or indirectly by it being contrary to your choices).

By way of illustrative examples, I think it is detrimental to perpetually entertain (by thought and for entertainment):
  • the impossible (exciting fantasy worlds);
  • romantic adventures that are outside the scope of your commitments; and
  • the pros of other lifestyle choices that are not compatible with what you are actually doing (such as living in another country).
It might seem harmless to fantasise about such things (on the basis of recognising that such thoughts are playful and aren’t ‘seriously contemplated’) but I do think there can be an emotional harm caused by it. Your emotions can’t make any distinction between real and play - it all just ends up with emotional dissatisfaction of ‘unrealised wants’ when you try to ground yourself to reality.

I’ve therefore been gently ‘manually overriding’ such thought patterns to stay more grounded to now (concentrating more on what I’m doing, avoiding daydreaming). I’ve found this difficult - you have to be very gentle and hands off with steering your thoughts as otherwise you end up thinking about what you’re trying to avoid - but this is best achieved by spending time focusing on activities, indirectly focussing your mind to the now (I.e. keep it busy).

The outcome is… without such ‘mental comforts’ I’ve felt even more underwhelmed! Well, at least at first. As I become more tolerant of reality, achingly slowly, the peaks and troughs seem to become less extreme… and content-ness has crept in, from time to time.

Being tolerant and comfortable with reality… that’s my quest. Good luck to those on their own!
 
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Oh, another musing…

When I’m feeling uncomfortable my mind will often race off to find solutions:

“Why do I feel this way?”
“Could I feel differently if I changed what I’m doing?”
“Ah maybe there is a secret trick to this life that I’m on the cusp of discovering!”

As if, there was a magic key I could turn to make everything seem ‘OK’… I just have to spend my time finding it.

I would like to think that I’m being productive and ‘problem-solving’ with this mindset… but now, I don’t think it is productive at all. In a way, such over-thinking is a desperate attempt to dodge and avoid the feelings of discomfort that I’m trying to ‘solve’ in the first place.

I therefore think ‘racing for solutions’ can be dangerous and can lead to franticly searching out and stress testing every solution there is… which in a sense is just avoiding ‘actually dealing with it’.

What the means for me is… I just have to be gentle, patient and tolerant. The more tolerant I am, the less distressing things may seem… in good time. Trying to throw the emotional hot potato as soon as it lands just makes you phobic of that hot potato (those emotions).

Calm, measured, tolerant… that’s what I’m aiming for.

… I say this after having a tantrum because I forgot to put the bins out this morning :mad::o:p
 
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How’s everyone doing ?

I had a bad night last night which has made my Anxiety pretty horrific today. Felt rough and jittery all day It’s horrid. Have been managing without medication so far but after today I’m regretting stopping them at the moment. I have only been off since July so this could still be the rebound you can get when stopping Escitalopram. But this is by far the hardest hit so far if it is.

Blehhhh hope everyone else is managing better…..
 
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MOOGLEYS said:
How’s everyone doing ?

I had a bad night last night which has made my Anxiety pretty horrific today. Felt rough and jittery all day It’s horrid. Have been managing without medication so far but after today I’m regretting stopping them at the moment. I have only been off since July so this could still be the rebound you can get when stopping Escitalopram. But this is by far the hardest hit so far if it is.

Blehhhh hope everyone else is managing better…..
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To be honest, not great. Things aren't great at home, feels like the beginning of the end in that regard - but just trying to get through day by day. Trying to do a bit more 'self care' so I can at least feel a bit good about myself, but would like to try and get a bit of time away for some space. My therapist isn't against this idea, I wasn't sure if it was me trying to escape and 'run away' to some extent, but she seems to suggest it might be of some use as long as I don't just sit and wallow.
 
Sadly I’ve had a lot going on in the past year due to personal matters. Now I have usually dealt with stress ok but this time it’s actually took its toll on me.

I’ve been diagnosed with Depression/Anxiety. Not something I didn’t expect to hear but I knew it was coming. Dr offered to prescribe me tablets but I’ve decided not to go down that route. I’ve chosen to change my routine and sort the matters which have caused it.

One thing the dr said was “is it really worth your health”.

I hope I get better, as I’ve literally lost motivation to do anything.

Very strange feeling, something I have never experienced before.
 
Fair to middling here. On a slightly higher dosage for ADHD medication and the exhaustion has largely gone (still get the odd bad night but who doesn't?), I can focus/get stuff done assuming I actually put my mind to starting it.

Just gotta deal with all the other things I let slide the last 2 years - namely weight, exercise and some form of employment. Steady progress but for diet it came at the worst time with Christmas on the horizon!
 
Scottland said:
To be honest, not great. Things aren't great at home, feels like the beginning of the end in that regard - but just trying to get through day by day. Trying to do a bit more 'self care' so I can at least feel a bit good about myself, but would like to try and get a bit of time away for some space. My therapist isn't against this idea, I wasn't sure if it was me trying to escape and 'run away' to some extent, but she seems to suggest it might be of some use as long as I don't just sit and wallow.
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Sorry to hear mate I went through a pretty messy separation and divorce 16 years ago it was not a nice time but once I got my head around moving on things improved massively .
 
Vita said:
Sadly I’ve had a lot going on in the past year due to personal matters. Now I have usually dealt with stress ok but this time it’s actually took its toll on me.

I’ve been diagnosed with Depression/Anxiety. Not something I didn’t expect to hear but I knew it was coming. Dr offered to prescribe me tablets but I’ve decided not to go down that route. I’ve chosen to change my routine and sort the matters which have caused it.

One thing the dr said was “is it really worth your health”.

I hope I get better, as I’ve literally lost motivation to do anything.

Very strange feeling, something I have never experienced before.
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Anxiety for me causes all sorts of weird feelings from pain to just feeling generally horrid. Have you tried any talking therapies ? It’s not for everyone but it helped me they say it can be more effective than prescribed meds in some people.
 
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