Help

[Carolinee71]

Where can I go for help during a crisis

I have severe depression along with a yet to be diagnosed joint pain condition

I got some bad news about my health this afternoon that has sent me on a downward spiro

( don't think that's the right word)

I can't stop crying and I can't see a way though how I feel at the moment

I tried my gp only to be told he wasn't there today so I can't even leave a message for him asking to help

So I phone my local mental health team, only to be told its the weekend so no doctors are there but could increase one of my tablets in the morning if I wanted to.

This is not what I need I have phoned people to try and get help but it would seem round here u can't be ill after 4 pm on a Friday as u r then out of luck and no matter how bad u tell them u r feeling and u don't know how to get through the weekend I am told ring back on Monday!

[surf-fan]

Hello Carolinee71 you sound like you're desperate at the moment , i completely empathise with you i have felt exactly like this recently . had you thought about going to A&E or Urgent care centre , also Smaritans are very good if you need to talk things through . i don't know if this is any help or not , but i hope you get the help you need .x

[redroseart]

hello carolinee sorry you are feeling like this but i do think there is a lack of resources for people in a crisis. i can only suggest nhs direct and keep on posting on this website. ask nhs direct if there is a crisis line where you can speak to a psychiatric nurse. i have been in the same position as you recently due to the death of my little dog and my mum and found the system seriously lacking. please keep posting. regards sonia

[Hidden]

Hi

I'm sorry you are feeling so bad, it must have been difficult to hear bad news about your health on top of the other problems. In terms of crisis support immediately I've found the Samaritans the best option. I feel that phoning the GP practice for some immediate help would be likely to create problems because it isn't a service really well set up to cope with a crisis situation although I know they can call on a psychiatrist if necessary. I think going to A & E would also be a negative move because similarly they can only really deal with a psychological crisis by calling on a psychiatrist which results in labelling as a psychiatric patient - if you feel you do need immediate admission to hospital or similar then either the GP or A & E would be the right move but if you are wanting support rather than admission then I wouldn't approach the NHS as an emergency for emotional issues. They can be great for treatments, but emergency treatment within the NHS tends to be admission or nothing except being sent away with a prescription and you can get that anyway in an urgent appointment the same day with your GP. Local mental health teams seem to be set up to deal with chronic patients already within the system or newly referred by psychiatrists rather than members of the public with emotional problems self-referring.

Often I find that the fact of there being no immediate source of support makes my symptoms much worse at times when I feel a need to talk to someone, I think there is a viscious circle whereby need with nowhere to turn to exacerbates things and results in increased need and so on. I find the Samaritans invaluable at that point because no harm results to me, I do not become a serious mental health patient which I am not but at the same time do find someone to talk to who will accept whatever I feel and think. Although talking to someone at the Samaritans doesn't solve anything in terms of long term help it does take the pressure off and usually I find that if I talk freely enough and for long enough then I do feel very much better and can usually wait until a more regular appointment with someone.

I've had depression for a long time and it took a long time for my joint problems to be diagnosed formally but once they were I felt a lot better, ironically it is better I find to know than not to know and also to have a diagnoses gave me reassurance that I wasn't making a fuss about nothing which is how it sometimes felt. I hope your diagnosis goes well and that you can name the problems, are you getting referred to a rheumatologist? I found that an invaluable referral. I think it's important to think beforehand about how your symptoms developed and take some brief notes to the consultation - I took notes about my childhood isolation and abuse (ie stress) a breakdown and trauma, as well as the how long I'd had depression, what it was like and whether anything eased it, and found the rheumatologist immediately recognised the pattern and links to my sleep problems and joint problems which were diagnosed as fibromyalgia which is what I thought. I felt validated by having an expert understand in the way I did and having that experience reduced the stress I was feeling. Do try to be totally honest and don't leave out anything just because you think it is irrelevant, just put it in the list of brief notes and let them decided if you can.

The best place to get support over the weekend I find is either this website or if things are too urgent to wait for responses then the Samaritans.

Hope you begin to feel a bit better soon, Suexx

[Carolinee71]

Thank u so much all of you and your advice is great. I am just trying to get through today and then find help tomorrow

Am spending the day on the settee with my amazing daughter watching old children films. At the moment it is toy story 2 and as my daughter knows how bad I am with both pain and depression she is happy to sit with me ( she is 16)

I am so lucky to have her

Roll on tomorrow

Thanks Caroline xxx