Crippling mental health

Cashmenson

Because of childhood abuse and some other trauma i have been left with crippling mental health problems. I suffer daily, and its quite literally a fate worse than death.

About ten years ago i began to attend my local community mental health day centre. In the years that followed i was tossed from "doctor" to "doctor" for each appointment. I could never establish a relationship with any of them because they were never around for me to do so. They seemed to be in and out of there like a conveyor belt.
One, diagnosed me with depression and that was that. Most of them were horrible to me. The last one i attended told me to "snap out of it". That was the final straw for me. I felt worse coming out than i did going in each time.

Fast forward to two years ago, and i became so chronic my gp referred me back there. I decided to give it another shot. It had been years and i was much older.
Unfortunately i went back to the same situation.
I would go in, be asked what my mood was like, how was i eating, how was i sleeping. And out again. All under five minutes.
This time i begged them to diagnose me properly. I know in my heart and soul i am suffering alot more than just generic depression. My actions behaviours, thoughts, feelings all tell me so.
But each time i was ignored, and just asked me the same questions.
This time i wrote a letter of complaint because my condition was getting worse. Its on record in my file.
I was told by the next doctor who saw me that i was undiagnosable because i had a "little bit of this and a little bit of that".

In this same so called hospital i often spoke about how suicidal i felt. But again asked the same questions before going on my not so merry way.

I am now just in a place that i feel like i have noone to help me. My gp is lovely and helpful but she cant diagnose me.
As a result i am probablly taking medication that is a waste of time and im not getting the proper treatment that can help me navigate to have some kind of life.

I enquired into attending a private psycatrist but it costs 200e a session. Thats all my income in a week before bills, food etc.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? I just dont know what to do. Life is pretty unbearable.

Iv done pieta house etc. But they dont do much. They
Are unable to diagnose or put me on treatment. So while i may use them as an avenue of support they dont solve my problem.

I just want a proper thorough diagnosis. Its all i want. Nothing else matters to me without it.

Thanks for reading.

whatawaster81

Do you have VHI?
You could get assessed in St. Pats, not sure of the initial cost for a consultation but you can get admitted for a few weeks on Health Insurance while they work out your issues. They have programs you can do and teams to assist. They have a help line as well if you check the website.
I have pretty bad mental health issues and was an inpatient for a while, it's not a magic bullet but the change in my quallity of life since I first got treatment is immense. I honestly shudder when I think how bad things were compared to now. I still see my psychiatrist every 6 months for monitoring.

Cashmenson

I dont have insurance unfortunately. So im f***ed. Im glad you have had some improvement in your life.

whatawaster81 wrote: »

Do you have VHI?
You could get assessed in St. Pats, not sure of the initial cost for a consultation but you can get admitted for a few weeks on Health Insurance while they work out your issues. They have programs you can do and teams to assist. They have a help line as well if you check the website.
I have pretty bad mental health issues and was an inpatient for a while, it's not a magic bullet but the change in my quallity of life since I first got treatment is immense. I honestly shudder when I think how bad things were compared to now. I still see my psychiatrist every 6 months for monitoring.

EagerBeaverton

No guarantee but I would consider requesting to be seen by a psychologist in the community team. Write a letter requesting psychological input from a psychologist on the team. Psychiatrists can be under pressure to see too many people in a day and so can't give the time needed to explore a person's life. Psychologists on the other had tend to set aside much more time to see clients and they focus on developing a formulation rather than a diagnosis of your difficulties. Formulations are more akin to learning about your life history and why it has shaped the person you are today. Diagnoses are more akin to saying you have 'this' whereas formulations are designed to answer the 'why' you have 'this'. Formulations provide a means to identify approaches (forms of therapy) to alleviate the distress of life experiences, such as the traumas you have experienced. I obviously can't guarantee any success taking this route but it is what I would do.

Forgot to also suggest contacting Counselling and Psychotherapy for Adults who experienced childhood abuse or neglect (CaPA) - see here: https://www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/4/mental-health-services/national-counselling-service/childhood-abuse-or-neglect-service-for-adults.html

Cashmenson

EagerBeaverton wrote: »

No guarantee but I would consider requesting to be seen by a psychologist in the community team. Write a letter requesting psychological input from a psychologist on the team. Psychiatrists can be under pressure to see too many people in a day and so can't give the time needed to explore a person's life. Psychologists on the other had tend to set aside much more time to see clients and they focus on developing a formulation rather than a diagnosis of your difficulties. Formulations are more akin to learning about your life history and why it has shaped the person you are today. Diagnoses are more akin to saying you have 'this' whereas formulations are designed to answer the 'why' you have 'this'. Formulations provide a means to identify approaches (forms of therapy) to alleviate the distress of life experiences, such as the traumas you have experienced. I obviously can't guarantee any success taking this route but it is what I would do.

Forgot to also suggest contacting Counselling and Psychotherapy for Adults who experienced childhood abuse or neglect (CaPA) - see here: https://www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/4/mental-health-services/national-counselling-service/childhood-abuse-or-neglect-service-for-adults.html

Cheers for replying.

I should have included that I did say various professionals on the team. 2 clinical nurses, an occupational therapist and about a billion psyciatrists. I was put on a waiting list to see a psycologist but was told it was a 1.5 year waiting list.
They all cling together too. When i wrote a complaint they all protected each other. Their answer was "thats the health system for you we cant do anything about it im afraid".

So i went to a private psycologist who was lovely. He was aware of my financial hardship so worked with me on it. Which was great. And he did help me in alot of ways. But tbh im in some legal trouble atm for the first and last time. And its eating away at me. I need a diagnosis for two reasons. To mount some sort of defence to give myself a good shot and more importantly i need to know and to prove to myself that i am suffering more than they say. The reason im fobbed off is because i am a very repressed person. I deal with it internally for the most part. They dont see me as a priority because im not showing anything. So they just label it depression.
Im not self diagnosing, but i want someone to listen to my story, and to get to know my behaviours and my moods so an accurate diagnosis can be made

I need to be treated for what i have or things will continue to be hell for me.

CinammonGirl

I'm so sorry to hear you are suffering so much.
Would you think of talking to Samaritans? As you probably know they won't advise or diagnose you but it might help even to be able to talk to them while you are waiting to talk to 'professionals'.

On another note, family members have submitted an official complaint to the HSE as their son was not getting adequate help with his mental health (passed around different people, having to tell his story from the beginning each time, got to see a psychologist but cancelled on a number of occasions due to illness/leave so no continuity etc.). They have only just done this so I don't know what the outcome will be but I understand that HSE have to take this seriously when someone submits an official complaint.

Take care

Cashmenson

CinammonGirl wrote: »

I'm so sorry to hear you are suffering so much.
Would you think of talking to Samaritans? As you probably know they won't advise or diagnose you but it might help even to be able to talk to them while you are waiting to talk to 'professionals'.

On another note, family members have submitted an official complaint to the HSE as their son was not getting adequate help with his mental health (passed around different people, having to tell his story from the beginning each time, got to see a psychologist but cancelled on a number of occasions due to illness/leave so no continuity etc.). They have only just done this so I don't know what the outcome will be but I understand that HSE have to take this seriously when someone submits an official complaint.

Take care

Thank you.

Your families complaint is 100% solid. This is what happens. Its pretty shocking the services they provide. Im glad to know its not just in my head.

EagerBeaverton

Cashmenson wrote: »

Cheers for replying.
So i went to a private psycologist who was lovely. He was aware of my financial hardship so worked with me on it. Which was great. And he did help me in alot of ways.

It sounds like a really difficult situation for you. Would there be an option to link back with this psychologist to explore a diagnosis? Psychologists can provide diagnoses in case you've only been told that it's the sole remit of psychiatry.

Wesser

Its maybe EUPD? Can you Google that and see if you identify with it?

Would you consider researching low cost counselling in the community?

punisher5112

Going doctor to doctor is no use at all and you say so yourself.

Councilling has to be one of the best bets and try and find one that will be able to stick with you.

If you need someone to talk to get onto the Samaritans and even doing so may help get you in touch with a professional you badly want.

Absolutely horrible to endure what your going through but you aren't alone if you reach out.

I wish you the best of luck and hope you can get through it.

Graces7

CinammonGirl wrote: »

I'm so sorry to hear you are suffering so much.
Would you think of talking to Samaritans? As you probably know they won't advise or diagnose you but it might help even to be able to talk to them while you are waiting to talk to 'professionals'.

On another note, family members have submitted an official complaint to the HSE as their son was not getting adequate help with his mental health (passed around different people, having to tell his story from the beginning each time, got to see a psychologist but cancelled on a number of occasions due to illness/leave so no continuity etc.). They have only just done this so I don't know what the outcome will be but I understand that HSE have to take this seriously when someone submits an official complaint.

Take care

Be aware that official complaints take time with HSE and you need to know the system well to follow them through. I have just finally succeeded in getting real results... I was being fobbed off so complained about the (useless) Complaints Officer as listed on the HSe web site and insisted on taking it to a higher echelon and was finally referred to what is called Acute Strategy who were the ones who sorted it. With great skill and efficacy.

By all means pm me if you need? I am now totally happy with the outcome but it took time and patience.

apache

Wesser wrote: »

Its maybe EUPD? Can you Google that and see if you identify with it?

Would you consider researching low cost counselling in the community?

This is what I think as well.

From a private perspective it's not great either. Fill out a prescriptiom and back in 3 months. .........rinse and repeat.....

If you could save up for a councelling session once a month it could really help you.

I wish you luck. I know how **** the public system is.

Hobgoblin11

J

Cashmenson wrote: »

Because of childhood abuse and some other trauma i have been left with crippling mental health problems. I suffer daily, and its quite literally a fate worse than death.

About ten years ago i began to attend my local community mental health day centre. In the years that followed i was tossed from "doctor" to "doctor" for each appointment. I could never establish a relationship with any of them because they were never around for me to do so. They seemed to be in and out of there like a conveyor belt.
One, diagnosed me with depression and that was that. Most of them were horrible to me. The last one i attended told me to "snap out of it". That was the final straw for me. I felt worse coming out than i did going in each time.

Fast forward to two years ago, and i became so chronic my gp referred me back there. I decided to give it another shot. It had been years and i was much older.
Unfortunately i went back to the same situation.
I would go in, be asked what my mood was like, how was i eating, how was i sleeping. And out again. All under five minutes.
This time i begged them to diagnose me properly. I know in my heart and soul i am suffering alot more than just generic depression. My actions behaviours, thoughts, feelings all tell me so.
But each time i was ignored, and just asked me the same questions.
This time i wrote a letter of complaint because my condition was getting worse. Its on record in my file.
I was told by the next doctor who saw me that i was undiagnosable because i had a "little bit of this and a little bit of that".

In this same so called hospital i often spoke about how suicidal i felt. But again asked the same questions before going on my not so merry way.

I am now just in a place that i feel like i have noone to help me. My gp is lovely and helpful but she cant diagnose me.
As a result i am probablly taking medication that is a waste of time and im not getting the proper treatment that can help me navigate to have some kind of life.

I enquired into attending a private psycatrist but it costs 200e a session. Thats all my income in a week before bills, food etc.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? I just dont know what to do. Life is pretty unbearable.

Iv done pieta house etc. But they dont do much. They
Are unable to diagnose or put me on treatment. So while i may use them as an avenue of support they dont solve my problem.

I just want a proper thorough diagnosis. Its all i want. Nothing else matters to me without it.

Thanks for reading.

I have similar experiences with the HSE, some are good but mostly they don't really want to know what you think

markmoto

Cashmenson wrote: »

Cheers for replying.

I should have included that I did say various professionals on the team. 2 clinical nurses, an occupational therapist and about a billion psyciatrists. I was put on a waiting list to see a psycologist but was told it was a 1.5 year waiting list.
They all cling together too. When i wrote a complaint they all protected each other. Their answer was "thats the health system for you we cant do anything about it im afraid".

So i went to a private psycologist who was lovely. He was aware of my financial hardship so worked with me on it. Which was great. And he did help me in alot of ways. But tbh im in some legal trouble atm for the first and last time. And its eating away at me. I need a diagnosis for two reasons. To mount some sort of defence to give myself a good shot and more importantly i need to know and to prove to myself that i am suffering more than they say. The reason im fobbed off is because i am a very repressed person. I deal with it internally for the most part. They dont see me as a priority because im not showing anything. So they just label it depression.
Im not self diagnosing, but i want someone to listen to my story, and to get to know my behaviours and my moods so an accurate diagnosis can be made

I need to be treated for what i have or things will continue to be hell for me.

If you have tried variety of options and nothing works.

I would recommend to research into ketogenic diet with prolong fasting which scientifically shown great results for those having neurological issues.