[Anonymous]

I've recently contacted Samaritans because in the past few months I have begun to question myself: i.e. The way I act; my behaviour, thoughts, feelings and emotions. It has become increasingly evident that something is wrong.

When I've been contacting Samaritans it has been beneficial in the sense that they've asked me questions to explore my feelings and attitudes to life, but have told me that they cannot give advice.

Sure, it has been helpful to explore my whole emotions and find out what sort of person I am, but I don't know where to go next. I'm not sure who to speak to next in regards to the issues I'm facing.

I don't know whether to contact my GP because I don't like being asked questions right on the spot about my emotions, because I have to come up with an answer as quick as possible.

Because of the fact Samaritans cannot offer advice to overcome the issues that I am faced with, I don't know what to do next; it would be nice if some people on here could give some good advice of what I can do next.

[Sabertooth]

Are you at university or school? If the former, most UK universities have counseling services so you could try contacting them. Although they will probably ask you about your feelings but, at least I always felt, there was less pressure in that situation than from a GP.

I would say however that if you're very worried about yourself then perhaps a visit to a GP might be a good idea so you can get a handle on things before they deteriorate. A GP screening for depression wouldn't just ask you about your emotions but about things like sleeping, eating, motivation, concentration, in addition to your emotions.

[xoxlovelifexox]

i agree entirely with the post above me, i feel if you're this concerned you should seek professional help.
i am willing to talk to you about your feelings in more depth and give advice if i can over mail? because obviously there's so much you could have said on this. if you feel you want someone new to listen and get a fresh perspective over what's happening, message me any time!

[LemonLizards]

samaritans in my experience are rubbish. They just rephrase what you said and put it back to you. Maybe others find it useful, but I didn't.

Are you at uni? Going to the uni counsellor would be better. In your school you might have something similar.

There is stuff like CBT I guess and groups with similar problems, but I think a counsellor is your best bet.

[Anonymous]

(Original post by Sabertooth)
Are you at university or school? If the former, most UK universities have counseling services so you could try contacting them. Although they will probably ask you about your feelings but, at least I always felt, there was less pressure in that situation than from a GP.

I would say however that if you're very worried about yourself then perhaps a visit to a GP might be a good idea so you can get a handle on things before they deteriorate. A GP screening for depression wouldn't just ask you about your emotions but about things like sleeping, eating, motivation, concentration, in addition to your emotions.

I don't attend a university, I would have said a whole lot more about everything but I don't think people would have wanted to read through lots of text; I did this before as a matter of fact and I got no reply. Thanks for the advice, I've actually considered a counsellor and I've been trying to establish theories as to what has contributed to this moment in time. Thanks for your reply, it's appreciated.

[Airfairy]

(Original post by LemonLizards)
samaritans in my experience are rubbish. They just rephrase what you said and put it back to you. Maybe others find it useful, but I didn't.

I found this exact thing. I would type a whole essay out (I did it via e-mail), and then they would just reply saying something like 'sounds like you...(repeat what I said)', so I found it a bit odd.

Does anyone know if you use their e-mail service, are you speaking to the same person all the time? Or is it a different person each time?

[Indian_Prince]

(Original post by Anonymous)
I don't attend a university, I would have said a whole lot more about everything but I don't think people would have wanted to read through lots of text; I did this before as a matter of fact and I got no reply. Thanks for the advice, I've actually considered a counsellor and I've been trying to establish theories as to what has contributed to this moment in time. Thanks for your reply, it's appreciated.

Whats up? let it out here we may be able to help, just a summary rather than a fully detailed piece of text.

[Anonymous]

(Original post by Airfairy)
I found this exact thing. I would type a whole essay out (I did it via e-mail), and then they would just reply saying something like 'sounds like you...(repeat what I said)', so I found it a bit odd.

Does anyone know if you use their e-mail service, are you speaking to the same person all the time? Or is it a different person each time?

I've done that myself, I've made lots of notes about it; I've told someone I used their email service, they asked me a question as to why I approached Samaritans. It's the same person who responds to my messages.

[Bryoni]

Samaritans are rubbish, they are more a listening service than advice service.

You could see your doctor and just say you don't know where to go and would they refer you somewhere? If your doctor tries to refer you to the "Crisis Team" say no as they are no good either. But counselling may be your best bet.

[Anonymous]

(Original post by Indian_Prince)
Whats up? let it out here we may be able to help, just a summary rather than a fully detailed piece of text.

I did that in the past before, I can't remember where that thread is now but I'm pretty sure I got no reply; I do remember there was a lot of text about my situation. I'll send you a message through the inbox.

[Indian_Prince]

(Original post by Anonymous)
I did that in the past before, I can't remember where that thread is now but I'm pretty sure I got no reply; I do remember there was a lot of text about my situation. I'll send you a message through the inbox.

yeh, go for it

[LemonLizards]

(Original post by Airfairy)
I found this exact thing. I would type a whole essay out (I did it via e-mail), and then they would just reply saying something like 'sounds like you...(repeat what I said)', so I found it a bit odd.

Does anyone know if you use their e-mail service, are you speaking to the same person all the time? Or is it a different person each time?

different person but they all reply with the same name.

[Airfairy]

Feel free to message me OP, I've been known to be the go to person for advice with my friends

[Natasha A*]

Aww no, don't worry everyhting will be alright. I know how you feel as I've been under similar pressure/stress. If you need to talk feel free to inbox me, you are dealing with a lot right now and I think it's best if you speak to someone you don't know who's supportive can can give you an outsiders perspective on the situation. Hope everything get's better x

[Natasha A*]

Just remembered try childline, it may sound really stupid but they are so nice and I did some voluntary work with a similar team. I think there no. is 0800 1111 just double check though x

[Anonymous]

To everyone saying Samaritans are rubbish, I would just like to say that they are perhaps there for a different reason to what you need.

They are there to be a listening service, and they are very good at what they do. If you go to them for advice then yes, they would be quite rubbish because that is not their job or their place. They are not qualified or trained to do so, you have to seek that kind of help from professionals in that field.

I just don't want people to be discouraged from using the service if what they do in fact need is just someone impartial to talk to and get things off their chest, or to help them think more clearly. If you need advice then Samaritans is not the place to get it, but they can help you decide for yourself if you do in fact want to seek professional help and where best to obtain it.

I'm glad the OP has found the Samaritans service somewhat useful, and has now decided upon himself to seek help.