I’m currently really struggling with my mental health, and with recently being discharged from camhs due to my age I have no support. I’m really considering taking myself to a&e before this goes to far but I’m worried they will contact my emergency contact. For context this wouldn’t go down well the person on there will go mental at me as they have before when I’ve been in this situation so I would rather get support with out them knowing does anyone know now that I’m legally an adult would they do this???

RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS NEEDED!

Share your thoughts on mental health treatment & medication!

We’re looking for university students (18+) to take part in a confidential research study on attitudes towards mental health medication and treatment options.  

What’s Involved?

- An online interview– flexible scheduling!  

- Completely anonymous & confidential

- Share your views and contribute to important mental health research  

Your voice matters! Mental health treatments are widely treated with medication, yet opinions on its effectiveness, impact and necessity vary so differently. We are interested in understanding these perspectives from students like you!

Your insights will help shape important discussions on mental health treatment and contribute to psychological research.

Sign up in just 1 minute!

Email: [mkham001@gold.ac.uk](mailto:mkham001@gold.ac.uk)  

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfq5ljFWfEXS0N5cClSiVhh2sZO5PBxQTzyTZjf3fzm-VVSpg/viewform?usp=header

these past three weeks have been the worst weeks of my life. i’ve had really intense suicidal thoughts and almost attempted. i’ve had no motivation to do anything and have cried everyday, prompting me to miss my classes for the last three weeks.

i seriously thought i was going to end it all. i stopped responding to my university advisor concerned about my attendance and my friends. my university reached out a few days ago saying they were going to kick me out if i continued to fail engage with my course. i had a zoom meeting yesterday with two well being officers and one guy said “you need to attend your two classes on friday or else we have no choice.”

this is really bad but i had a group project in one of my classes and haven’t responded to the group chat in three weeks. i believe we had a report due this week, and obviously i didn’t contribute (though i did with a presentation we did earlier this semester). two of my closest friends have texted me and asked where i was. i was too ashamed to respond to them as well. i also need to email my teachers explaining my absence.

i know with my teachers i need to be honest. but with my friends, would it be fair to say i was at the hospital and didn’t have access to my phone? also not sure what to say to the people i had a group project with? i have anxiety and im dreading tomorrow so i have no idea what im going to do. please help!

for context i also have my first psychiatry appointment on tuesday!

I had an initial appt for talking therapies today, it went ok. At the end he said he was going to discuss it with his supervisor and then email me telling me what to do.

Is this normal? Thanks

I've been asking for an appointment for months and feel like I'm falling through the cracks again with my cmht. I was told I'd be made an appointment with my cpn but they instead made a face to face review appointment without explaining what this is (I'm autistic and they said they would make adjustments for me but these have just kind of flopped) so I couldn't make it today. I even rang last week to check this and was reassured a room hadn't been booked so it must have been an error and that they would send a message to the cpn call me back and I haven't heard from them. I only got this text because I was panicking again last night and was worried it would go down as a 2nd missed appointment, despite my efforts to try and find out

For context, I've been moving house (packing away my letter with the appointment date on it, which I forgot to creat a reminder on my phone for) and had surgery and have been so overwhelmed and managed to miss my formulation appointment. I didn't get a text reminder for this or a follow up call to ask if I was running late or anything. I didn't realise it had even been missed, so I text to try to find out when it is as I was under the impression it hadn't yet happened yet.

I really wanted a chance to redo this so have asked for this and not had any callback for this despite asking and ringing for an appointment just generally. Does this mean I'm being discharged can anyone advise me?

*edit: sorry I have to delete this and repost to be able to add the letter as I realised context probably helps most people to give good advice.

I've just rang the cmht and asked for my worker again after I didn't hear back from them and it's been 3 hours and I'm getting more and more worried now that I realise I'm losing my old cpn because I moved just 2 miles away.*

Following my post this morning about a review appointment going wrong and a lot of anxiety around this, I've still had no callback 3 hours later.

But I have just received a letter from the 20th of march where they have said because I've moved I'm no longer in their postcode area? I only moved 2 miles and the post code itself starts the same as my old one (DH) and the same number after those letters.

Could this actually be the case? I'm worried that they are trying to find any way to discharge me at this point, given how even before I had moved my care was getting worse and worse. How do I find out if this is true, who can I ring or where can I check please?

Sorry to the lovely person who commented on my post that I haven't managed to get back to - my head is a mess, I don't know if I'm being transferred to another cmht, I actually really like my current cpn and their relationship with me has been one of the only things keeping me going/giving me any hope.

Will I be transferred to another cmht? Just left if there isn't one? They only state "we are required to transfer care to a local team". And won't call me back so that I can get more information. The whole point in me moving was to be able to stay local/not lose any of my hospital appointments or care. It's only 2 miles from where I last lived

Hi all.

TW: depression, anxiety and thoughts that stem from them.

Last Thursday I was notified by my employer - a broadband, mobile and TV provider - that I’ll be redundant at the end of July after 6 years working there along with 2,000 other employees. The announcement of the redundancies even made the national news.

I’m 34, I’ve worked in Technical Support and customer service for all 13 years of my working life but I just know that I’ll never get another job again, I know that employers won’t even look at my applications.

Is it normal to feel this way? I’ve been made redundant before back in September 2018 and I was back in a job within 6 months so I don’t know why I’m feeling this way. This time it even got so bad that on Sunday morning I was so depressed that I had thoughts of either ending my life or calling the Samaritans. Thank fuck I did the latter, they called an ambulance, the ambulance took me to my local hospital and I saw a member of the crisis team, who did my referral to weekly counselling sessions in my village.

For context, I have an ASD, I’m undergoing diagnosis assessments for ADHD, I’ve been diagnosed with anxiety and depression in the past.

Hobbies/special interests are collecting and restoring very old TV sets to working order and digitising old videotapes to find old adverts, news broadcasts etc. These are quite expensive and are a way for me to manage my anxiety and depression. I’ve made a lot of progress with managing both my anxiety and depression over the years but I’m really frightened both mental health issues will get really bad again if I don’t find something to keep those thoughts at bay.

After going back and forth for about 5 years, I have finally spoken to my GP and have been given a prescription for Sertraline 50mg

I have had low mood/depression since 2020, had counselling (6 times a year, thanks Employee assistance!) and in 2021 I started having panic attacks and have had Talking Therapies, CBT and Intensive CBT through the NHS.

I have the tools to handle panic attacks but it doesn’t stop them starting and the low moods/tears….i finally gave in. I nearly cancelled the appointment so many times

I’m so anxious about starting them, I don’t want to feel dopey/drowsy, like a zombie, I don’t want to gain weight, I don’t want to lose my sex drive - yes I see the irony in being anxious about starting an anxiety/mood med….

Any one got any tips or positives?

Ive mentioned before that it turns out i may not have bpd (eupd) and it was just autism, because TWO professionals told me i didnt have the disorder yet there was no build of rapport or any of the sort. one told me to write examples down next to the symptons and made the conclusions from there, one read through it again, asked me about any changes and just said "its autism! you cant have a personality disorder until youre 25"

2 years later, my mental health became worse and worse to the point i was actively in crisis and now "features of eupd" "typical pattern of eupd/bpd" is on my nhs documents. i did not feel a weight off my shoulders at all when i saw this. because i really got worse when i could have been helped when i first called it for nothing? i dont even have the same hope as i use to so yes it feels like for nothing.

so my question is, why do they deny instead of checking first? do they not want to waste time/money by checking people who probably dont have it? do they think someone with a disorder is not aware? im confused since im not the doctor and i cant wrap my head around the thought process because either way, people can seriously get hurt from this and they will likely have blood on their hands regardless

(also under my home treatment team, a few are still mentioning autism, including a psychiatrist, so i guess its both now. they cant diagnose apparently, they can only support me to the GP to likely be diagnosed in 3 years. lool)

Does anyone feel like their experience with GPs is really depressing?

I had to move gps recently and it just feels like I'm a massive burden at the moment.

I just wanted a discussion about medication. First dr. just looks at me and says "I don't know what you want from me" - well some advice would be nice?

Second dr. just starts listing meds at me. I know they can't be an expert in everything but a bit of explanation would be nice. I feel like I have to become a pharmacologist before I even make an appointment.

I spoke to IAPT and told them CBT has not worked for me...result...they put me on the waiting list for CBT.

I feel guilty taking up time, but I don't know what else I can do at the moment.

Hi everyone,

I was diagnosed with depression when I was a teenager (for context) but due to a really bad depressive episode recently, I was prescribed 50mg of Sertraline at the end of February.

For the first 1 and a half weeks, my symptoms were easing, and I started to feel slightly better in myself. However after the second week of Sertraline, I experienced a very rapid decline in my mental health - such as increased intensity in suicidal thoughts and urges to self-harm - and almost made an attempt to take my life. I had to go to the hospital and was advised to change my meds. I visited my GP, who told me to continue taking the Sertraline.

My GP finally decided to prescribe me 15mg of Mirtazapine (while coming off of Sertraline by taking it every other day), after my counsellor sent a letter to the GP, urging them to review my medicine again.

I have been on Mirtazapine for a week now, and I don’t really know how I’ve been doing. I feel my mood has been changing suddenly at times, and I have experienced extreme highs and lows, and still having urges to self-harm and thoughts to take my life - but to a lesser extent.

I’m not really sure what to do, I have a medicine review at the end of this week, and I will bring up my fluctuating mood. Sorry for the long post - I would really appreciate any advice 😊!

Hello

I have ADHD I also have been recently in January been diagnosed with bipolar & PTSD I am medicated for bipolar but I just started a new job last Friday with a large household name pharmacy. I am struggling with retention of all the information they are giving me I've asked them politely to not overload me as I've just had a breakdown of a relationship with my long term partner plus I struggle to remember things like codes for certain things like doors. I've asked they allow me to write it down which they have allowed but certain systems are painful to learn customers are very supportive of my struggle with the till I've partly mastered that already. But the problem is management seem very unapproachable but is due to leave soon and my colleagues seem to be very clicky no offence to them I don't want to burden them with my bag of problems. But the flip side the pharmacy side of my role I've been told I do extremely well but I sense I'm slipping down the ladder already. As honest mistake yesterday I left earlier than should & i also lost my locker key locking in my expensive headphones & few other bits and pieces

Hi, I’m just looking for some advice/ reassurance. I’m having a really bad time, and ended up going into crisis, now under the Intensive home treatment team and they’ve discussed referring to EIP and contacting my work to discuss support. Does anyone know what I can expect from this service?

I feel really lost with all of this and how quickly I’ve gone from working a full time job to now sitting in bed crying all day. I’m sorry to sound venty

When do you take it ? It says take it at night on the packet I have . Because of this I find myself ravenously hungry and it's very very hard to resist eating. As a consequence I'm now for the first time in my long life, considerably overweight. I've taken it during the daytime and ended up drowsy. I do not work so in practice I could take it any time. Before a daytime meal would obviously be best. But I assume you're instructed to take it at night for good reason.

Hi. Just wondering if anyone in this sub is on Paroxetine?

Ive just been prescribed it today and am swapping straight from duloxetine.

Has anyone find it really helps for severe anxiety and ocd?

Thanks

Does anyone else feel that anti depressants were thrown at them as an easy solution without proper information?

I’ve been taking them for almost a year now, different meds with different doses. I’ve experienced the worst flu like symptoms / panic attacks/ bad mental health when accidentally missing a few days or upping doses or chancing meds. Why are we not told that this is something that happens? it’s so scary. I’m sometimes worried that taking them has made my anxiety worse and maybe an alternative treatment would have been the better choice if i’d understood what i was getting myself into. Don’t get me wrong they definitely help, but there’s so many negatives to them, and to extremes that i did not understand when first being prescribed them.

I know the NHS is so strained right now and it seems impossible to get help atm. And i in no way blame the medical professions! But it’s super scary that I was given something with little to no information and a year later i don’t even know if i’m better or worse off.

I've been having a very hard time mentally. A few bad things happened at work and I've been spiralling since then.

I've been being less sociable with collegues, feeling very overwhelmed with work and less productive, I feel I can barely get anything done apart from the bare minimum. I deal with patients so I have been feeling overwhelmed with difficult cases and rude patients. My anxiety is really high.

I've been off for just under a week, unsure whether I should get a sick note from my GP for stress.

I've been looking for new jobs, even though family don't want me to as they say I have a good career. I just find it stressful and I'm going to have the same problems when I go back to work, I just want to find something I'm more comfortable with so I don't have to be off with stress. Another possibility is doing part time work in my current role.

Does anyone have any advice for me? I'm constantly feeling anxious, I'm thinking about getting medication from the GP at least

Hi, I’m trying to find some kind of therapy to deal with symptoms of, I assume, PTSD - I am not diagnosed but my symptoms are consistent with others with this disorder. I’ve never dealt with mental health problems before and this is all so new & honestly a little scary to me.

To those of you who have been in both nhs therapy & private therapy, was the nhs able to help you? or am I better to just go private and spend the money?

Thank you in advance :)

I have autism and OCD and in January I started sertraline, after a few weeks the change was unbelievable. I was really happy and feeling confident, my OCD had lessened and I was sleeping really well. I’ve been having headaches since last year but they’ve increased in the last few months (before starting sertraline), my doctor prescribed me to take my propranolol every day and take 2 (80mg) on days when my headaches have started. There’s been no change to my headaches and my sleep and mood feel disturbed. I was doing really well and now I’m struggling to sleep again and feeling hopeless and down.

The doctor said the two medications do not interact and wouldn’t affect my progress with the sertraline but I’m wondering if anyone else has experienced similar? Or if it’s possibly a coincidence and I’m just getting used to the sertraline?

I was in camhs around age 13/14. (around 10 years ago) The first two sessions i spent more time outside while he spoke to my mum than actually talking to him. I struggled a lot to open up, i didn’t know how to talk. He would just give me things to fill in and we would literally sit in SILENCE for the whole time with him occasionally asking if i wanted to say anything. My sessions abruptly ended one random day with him telling me that the sessions were a waste of both of our time and trying to help me was like trying to push a boulder up a hill. He also asked me if i think i’m just a sad person because he feels like there’s sad people and happy people, and he himself gets in arguments with his wife because she says he’s a sad person. That stuck with me for a while. looking back as an adult i should have reported him. My mum should have reported him. It put me off getting help for a long time.

did anyone else have experiences like this ?

hi reddit,

i don’t normally post on here but i find myself in a bit of a bind if someone could offer some advice. i’m in a very strange situation that i just can’t seem to climb out of on my own.

over the years, through my whole life i’ve been facing an overwhelming low mood and desire to just not wake up in the morning but i unfortunately lived in a household that supported the idea of ignoring those issues altogether. i pushed through and eventually made it out on my own. which didn’t last long nor very well, i had tried to take my own life when i was 19 and was unsuccessful. i still wish to leave this whole thing behind but i have a lot of obligations and i know people care about me. i have two younger siblings who mean the world to me like they’re my own kids.

(tldr; ive been through a lot, not everything ill just say here but it’s left me pretty immobilised. i can’t hold a job, i can’t get out of bed most days, i fear going outside entirely and my self image has been going to the gutter, i just feel. awful. everyday. i WANT to die. but i can’t, people like me and i can’t hurt them that way. i WANT to get better)

so— i moved back home and ive been seeing my (very small, rural irish town) local day hospital to use their mental health services. over the past year. i’ve been berated for “not trying hard enough to get better”, i’ve been increased on dosages of SSRIs and changed SSRIs three times and when i ask for a full assessment of what might be wrong with me they can’t give me one with no onsite psychotherapist to help me.

i’ve even been told that if i were to GET PREGNANT i may feel better.

all they’ve told me to do is go private but those assessments are thousands of euros alone and i can’t afford that at ALL.

so what i’m asking is, what do i do?? im from and living in ireland, im 25 later this month, im non-binary (AFaB), i just need some advice

please help me!!

Hi guys, I have anxiety, quite severe insomnia, and I’m at a bit of a loss, particularly at the moment… So far I have tried SSRIs, CBT, and counselling, and none of it has helped much, particularly with the insomnia. OTC sleep medications do absolutely nothing as well. I’ve dealt with insomnia my whole life so I’m somewhat used to it, but soon I have some very important exams coming up, and they will be the hardest ones I have ever taken in my life. I know for a fact from previous experience that I will not sleep before these exams, and it will severely affect my performance. What I really really want is a short term prescription of some sort of benzodiazepine so I can just guarantee sleep the night before (literally one for each exam is enough), but when I have gone to my GP in the past about insomnia, they said that the surgery does not prescribe them under any circumstances (and I hadn’t even mentioned medication let alone benzos). What should I do here?

Hello everyone,

I am a student at the University of Nottingham and I am pursuing my Masters in Counselling & Psychotherapy. As a part of the course, I am conducting a research study to understand people’s experiences of body dysmorphia and how it develops, through a person-centred lens. 

Why this study: I am deeply passionate about this research for several reasons and want to highlight lived experiences surrounding body dysmorphia, which is most often missing in BDD research. I am interested in hearing your experiences of having body dysmorphia and exploring how it developed for you. 

I am looking for individuals 

1. Who are 18+ years old and reside in the UK
2. Who have been diagnosed with BDD or self-identify as having BDD or body dysmorphia 

Participation will involve filling a brief screening questionnaire and then an interview if the study’s eligibility criteria are met. The interviews would be conducted online and there is no compulsion to have cameras on, it is completely up to the individual. I want to assure you that findings will be thoroughly anonymised and interview data will be kept confidential. 

I request you to please consider taking part in this study and kindly comment here or DM me if you are interested to participate or if you have any questions. I can send you my participant information sheet once you reach out to me as well. 

My email is [ttxpr35@nottingham.ac.uk](mailto:ttxpr35@nottingham.ac.uk) if you want to reach out to me there

Thanks a lot for your time and consideration :)