There absolutely is, and I'm really angry your doctor would even imply that.
Admittedly, they are the primary options the NHS will offer, but there are other possibilities, both on the NHS and privately, still available to you. Can I ask how old you are? In my town, there is a child&adolescent mental health place, and they have quite a few alternative-style therapists, such as EFT and EMDR. If that kind of thing appeals to you, you could look into it.
Have you tried switching to a different medication, or have you decided you don't want to have to take medication? Because there are many possibilities so if one doesn't work for you, it's still likely that another one might.
From my personal experience, I think psychodynamic therapy is the most effective for me. It's the most 'typical' talking therapy - you ramble away, the therapist listens most of the time, and then responds with what they've made of everything you've said. I find it a great way to work out what's going on in my head, just by saying it and having someone else bounce it back to you with a different angle. Unfortunately, I think it's pretty difficult to get access to on the NHS, but it might be worth asking your doctor about it specifically if that's something you're interested in. It's also really important to remember that, while private therapists may charge high fees, many are extremely open to offering appropriate reductions to people who need it. My therapist is about £40 a session I think, but my parents were really hard for cash a few months ago due to an unfortunate combination of things, and they just contacted her and she was happy to reduce the price by half - just from one email. And I wouldn't be surprised if she would have considered reducing it even more if we'd been really desperate. So don't be afraid to ask, because it's really likely that they will be happy to charge you less if you need.
Can I just say, I can relate to what you're saying about being stuck at work for a set number of hours, so much so I could be reading something *I've* written.
Can I ask what your job is? Sorry if you've mentioned it before
You don't have a job. You want to
get a job. Pay attention, Amy.
Sorry
OK, well, jobs. I started a job at McDonald's in December. I'd been applying all summer, despite convincing myself that I would never be able to have job, for the exact reasons you described - I can't cope with being 'stuck' places. It's the same reason I'd freak out about school. But I got a job, and I started and I did actually manage it. After a few weeks, it was getting on top of me, I had to call in sick a couple of days because I couldn't deal with it. I asked them to reduce my shifts to four hours maximum, which was a big help for a while. In the end, I did decide to leave, at the end of January, but overall it actually feels like a positive experience. I started a job - actually started, went to an interview, got chosen, walked in and did something independently, for money. It turned out not to be the job for me, but who cares! Lots of people start jobs that end up not right for them.
I think the point I'm trying to make is that, there WILL be a job that you can do. It might not be your standard shop assistant job, at least not at the moment, because let's be honest, it's one of the most intense jobs out there - and they expect 16 year olds to just cope! But you can't write yourself off before you've even given it a try. There will be something for you. You just need to have faith that when you find something you love, and you move into an adult environment, where you are trusted to be able to leave a room when
you want to (because many shop jobs and 16-year-old jobs are disappointingly like school in that respect), then you will be able to do it. And until then, you might not be able to manage a job that someone you know might cope perfectly well with. But when you're grown up and working an independent, self-driven job, they'll be stuck somewhere, needing someone to hold their hand and tell them what to do every step of the way, and in the grand scheme of things, that's not a good position to be in.
Without wanting to keep relating things to myself
, I have recently become a Betterware distributor. And it's pretty much the perfect job for me. Granted, the money isn't that great, but the point is, I'm doing something,
by myself, and with my
own reasons and motivation, earning money
for myself. I choose when I work and how much and how long for, and if I can't be bothered to work on that day, I don't have to. No biggie. No one calling me up to ask where I am, because the work is paid by commission. If I don't get orders, then I don't get paid. If I want money, I go get orders, if I can't be bothered to work, I don't get money. It's as simple as that, and I love it. In fact I highly recommend it. Like I said, it's not enough to pay your way through university or anything like that, but to me it feels like an important step on the way to independence and being able to do things for myself and by myself.
I really didn't mean for that to become so rambly!