Any advice

[Dempsey1919]

My doctor said I could be waiting 18 months to see a therapist for my ocd,thats ridiculously long and completely unexceptable. Is there any free help,I can't afford to pay for therapy. I live in Britain which has free health care. Any numbers would be appreciated. I'm frightened and exhausted.

[10-12-1953]

Google NOCD online therapy.

[Dempsey1919 in reply to 10-12-1953]

That costs alot of money. I can't afford it

[PipM82]

it might be unacceptable but unfortunately mental health services are really under-funded and many health boards do not have many therapists trained in CBT/ERP. You could talk to Mind the mental health charity about general counselling and anxiety management or OCD Action about groups it runs via Zoom and Skype.

[THL1]

Getting ERP on the NHS is very difficult-often long waits, and also tailored ERP not always offered in every area. My experience is that ERP is not universally known about or practiced in the UK.

18 months is a long time to wait. When you’re struggling with OCD you need help now.

I practiced ERP on my own after reading extensively about it, podcasts etc. But I did pay for private sessions, relatively less expensivepodcasts.apple.com/gb/podca....

But I accept in the current climate especially, it is difficult to find the money. Even a small number of sessions can be helpful

[Dempsey1919]

Thanks all

[Sallyskins]

I'm in England and in recent years have had excellent treatment on the NHS. But it is a problem, having to wait so many months while you're suffering.

But a good start can be made with a self help book or two. I always suggest Overcoming Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and The OCD Workbook, because they have helped me the most. Just make sure that you pick one that uses CBT methods and that has exercises that you can adapt to your own experience of OCD. The ones I've suggested do this.

I've also heard about one called Overcoming Unwanted Intrusive Thoughts by Sally M Winston. It appears to be excellent.

Follow some of the exercises and techniques outlined in these books - it should be possible to make yourself a programme tailored to your own needs. Then make sure you carry out the exercises.

Don't be put off it they are difficult to carry out - recovery from OCD entails a lot of try, try and try again before you succeed! But each attempt helps to unpick the OCD, no matter whether it succeeds or not.

This can make a real difference and get you ready to work with a therapist when the NHS gets round to you. A lot of progress can be made on your own.

The NHS is chronically underfunded and there are many people waiting for treatment in various departments, and this has been made worse by having to divert so many resources into Coronavirus. For my part, I trust the NHS more than I do private medicine because their focus in on your health, not making money out of you, and you can generally trust staff to be properly qualified.

[Dempsey1919 in reply to Sallyskins]

Thank you I have one book the ocd cure on audible, I use ocd as my ocd compulsions make me read over the same lines,sentences and paragraphs in numbers so it takes me ages to read. Ile look for them on audible.

[Sallyskins in reply to Dempsey1919]

Do - they can be really helpful. I have OCD rituals in reading, but I read constantly - perhaps getting over some of your OCD rituals could make reading less of a hassle.

[aparente001 in reply to Dempsey1919]

Using the listening method sounds like a good coping mechanism for you.

[aparente001]

I don't know if this would work in the UK, but when my son had a serious side effect from a medication, and I needed him seen quickly by a specialist who was booking 3+ months out, someone told me about a way to get in faster: I took him to the Emergency Room that the specialist was connected to. Yes, it was a long drive, and yes, we were there for hours waiting our turn, but we took activities and food with us, and started mid-morning, so I was able to get him home in time for dinner and normal bedtime. We got in with the specialist very quickly after that, and it was super helpful.

Regards.

[Sallyskins in reply to aparente001]

It's one method of getting treatment, but be cognizant that Accident and Emergency departments are absolutely overwhelmed with people, at least in England, and can't cope either. If it's a real emergency, fair enough, but putting extra pressure an overstretched service by using it just to jump ahead of the waiting list isn't fair. The case may be different in the States, and I know people there have different problems accessing medical treatment.

[aparente001 in reply to Sallyskins]

Sallyskins, I don't live there, so please take this with a grain of salt. I'm just thinking, weighing the passive approach of accepting an 18-month wait to treat a condition which is causing severe impairment, in an individual who may have limitations that prevent them from engaging in effective self-treatment, vs. being proactive, and visiting the emergency room ONCE, for the professionals there to evaluate and themselves decide how the patient should be triaged, wouldn't the proactive approach win out? If I'm missing some key facts or nuances, I'm all ears. By the way, I saw that this was your first post -- welcome, and I hope you'll continue participating.

[Sallyskins in reply to aparente001]

Thanks - though it's not my first post and I've been contributing for some while!

I take the point, but over here in England the Accident and Emergency departments are clogged up - a mixture of urgent cases along with many others that aren't. There is a problem in having to wait to get an appointment with a GP or family physician, so it's perhaps understandable that some people get fed up and go to A & E.

It's not good to have people waiting in pain or discomfort - physical or mental - but the health service needs more money.

The problem is not just that patients needing very urgent treatment are having to wait in ambulances because there isn't a space for them - the pressure on doctors and nurses in A & E is immense. I don't know how they cope.

Our National Health Service is brilliant in so many ways - it means that health treatment is available to all without having to pay. Before the NHS was established in 1948, many people didn't have access to doctors when they needed it - my own mother nearly died of measles when she was five - no money for a doctor. But it is so underfunded that people often have lengthy waits for treatment - and the A&E department has to cope with the overflow.

[aparente001 in reply to Sallyskins]

Here, also, the entire health care system is in crisis. The seeds of the crisis must have been there before, but COVID was the straw that broke the camel's back. I do appreciate that the establishment of the NHS was a sea change.

I can't predict what I would do if I lived in the UK, but here, if I had to choose between 18 months, vs. waiting 10 hours or more in the emergency room, with a family member suffering from severe OCD, in order to get in quicker with a specialist, I'd choose the ER.

Funny, when I click on your username, it tells me 0 posts. I think the problem must lie with the software. It seems to consider "replies" not to be "posts." I'd call this a bug.

[aparente001 in reply to aparente001]

Ah, I just discovered "replies."

[Sallyskins in reply to aparente001]

Someone in a mental health crisis could fairly be described as an emergency! There is a major problem in that people with mental health problems often have to wait for treatment until they have a crisis. Better treatment earlier on would make a big difference.

I think also, in your son's case, a serious side effect of medication could have been either physically or mentally dangerous to him - and I don't blame you a bit for going to A & E. Three months to wait is far too long.

Here, too Coronavirus seriously tested the resources of our health service. So many other treatments had to wait - and many are still on the waiting list. I have to praise the doctors, nurses and auxiliary staff who worked so hard, and who risked (and in some cases lost) their lives helping others.

The health of the individual affects the health of the whole community, and a healthy community means healthier individuals. That's one of many reasons why I think our NHS is so important. It's remarkably efficient - there is little waste - but many other European countries spend more proportionally on their health services, and waiting for treatment is less of a problem.

I haven't posted as yet on my own account, but I've often replied to others' posts. And I hope that your son is getting the right treatment now.

[aparente001 in reply to Sallyskins]

I used to listen to the BBC 4 news at one, until I couldn't get it as a podcast any more. I still tear up when I think about, I think it was Major Tom, raising $ for the NHS by struggling to do circuits behind his house with his walker, and then that story helping a boy follow suit, and feel more comfortable using his walker at school.

You're right, the side effect was dangerous. Yes, he's doing better, thanks.

I'm glad I learned the difference between posts and replies today.

[Dempsey1919]

The NHS in Britain is great but they still not treating mental health as important as physical health. I rang my local doctors months back,I said can I speak to the Dr a emergency appointment for panic attack and the receptionist told me we don't see mental health as a emergency, she told me I can make you a appointment in three weeks time, I said I'm having a panic attack now not three weeks,how are my supposed to know if I'm going to have panic attack three weeks time.

[aparente001 in reply to Dempsey1919]

What do you think about the idea of going to A&E first thing in the morning on a day you have no commitments, with activities and food, prepared to wait however long it takes to be seen? Would you like to invite someone to go with you, for support?

[Dempsey1919]

Well I don't drive so its difficult but if it gets bad again ile go to a and e.