mental health sucks (tw)
i’m depressed and have been for a while.
i’m 15 (currently in Year 10) and have been struggling with my mental health since i was 11-ish, maybe earlier.
when i was Year 8, i decided to go to the doctors about my mental health, cos i was sick of dealing with it on my own. he... did not take me seriously. i couldn’t really talk to him, because it’s bloody scary talking to someone about stuff, so my mum did most of the talking. he didn’t help at all, he just suggested counselling. so we tried counselling, but it doesn’t work with me at all, because i struggle with talking about my problems, out loud, to a real-life person.
needless to say, i got worse. about a year later (by which time i was having regular suicidal thoughts), i went to my local a&e because... well... a 13-year-old shouldn’t be having those thoughts, should they?
they took me seriously this time and kept me in overnight so i could talk to someone from camhs in the morning. and then... nothing.
again, i got worse and worse, but maintained a positive appearance, which lead to my mum thinking i was getting better. so when the camhs people finally contacted her, 13 months later, she said that i didnt need the help anymore and didnt even talk to me about it.
this january, i went back to the doctors, but, like last time, she didnt take me seriously (new doctor, we moved). she suggested counselling again.
so i’m 15 and i’ve got absolutely 0 effective help for this.
help??
i’m 15 (currently in Year 10) and have been struggling with my mental health since i was 11-ish, maybe earlier.
when i was Year 8, i decided to go to the doctors about my mental health, cos i was sick of dealing with it on my own. he... did not take me seriously. i couldn’t really talk to him, because it’s bloody scary talking to someone about stuff, so my mum did most of the talking. he didn’t help at all, he just suggested counselling. so we tried counselling, but it doesn’t work with me at all, because i struggle with talking about my problems, out loud, to a real-life person.
needless to say, i got worse. about a year later (by which time i was having regular suicidal thoughts), i went to my local a&e because... well... a 13-year-old shouldn’t be having those thoughts, should they?
they took me seriously this time and kept me in overnight so i could talk to someone from camhs in the morning. and then... nothing.
again, i got worse and worse, but maintained a positive appearance, which lead to my mum thinking i was getting better. so when the camhs people finally contacted her, 13 months later, she said that i didnt need the help anymore and didnt even talk to me about it.
this january, i went back to the doctors, but, like last time, she didnt take me seriously (new doctor, we moved). she suggested counselling again.
so i’m 15 and i’ve got absolutely 0 effective help for this.
help??
(edited 6 years ago)
Hi,
I can relate so much to your situation. Don't worry you're not alone. It sounds like you've had a rubbish experience with the GP and CAMHS. When I was struggling in school, people would just say "oh it's probably your hormones" and unfortunately at the moment, something terrible has to happen for people to actually listen and take you seriously. It's crap. It's very difficult going through something and not being able to talk about it and not being listened to. What I've found in experience is you have to be very persistent to your doctors. I know, it's really hard. It takes a lot of courage and energy to go to your doctors in the first place, and having to be persistent to get the care you need is even more effort. My best advice is to just list your symptoms to your doctor, you could write them down if it's easier and show it them or just tell them. My tip is to make sure they know it's affecting your everyday life. Express how it effects your education, work, home life, relationships/friendships with people because when they know it's having an impact on your everyday life, they have a duty of care to act on it. They're probably offering counselling because medication for example is usually not prescribed to those under 18/17 but it's not unheard of. If you've mentioned that you find it difficult to talk about how you feel out loud, your GP should really give you other options. If they're being annoying and don't do this, this is where you need to be persistent. This usually requires a bit of research you can do yourself (which I did loads of just trying to figure out what was going on with me), you can do online counselling so it's not face to face or CBT which can be face to face or online. My best advice is to keep going. I know it's hard at times, but you really just have to keep at it. It's frustrating that you're not being taken seriously and it's really common at this age which it shouldn't be. It's like adults think we just don't know ourselves yet and it's 'normal'. It's normal to feel down from time to time of course, but feeling suicidal, feeling down the majority of the time is something that needs treatment.
You can also try talking to childline, they have an online 1 to 1 chat which I've used for years, it's really helpful, it's just someone listening and understanding you. They also have message boards where you can talk to other people and it just helps to not feel alone. You could also ring them but personally I'm always too afraid to do that. Samaritans is another good place, they don't have an online service, it's over the phone but they will listen. Both of these will also direct you to places you can find help and give advice on what to tell your doctor etc.
Do any of your friends or family know how you're feeling? You don't have to tell everyone, but even just having 1 person who knows what's going on is a huge relief on days you're feeling really rubbish. Just having someone who understands or someone who will listen to you or help put your mind off things will be really helpful. Do any of your teachers know? Telling a teacher you trust I found is quite helpful, if you haven't done work or need an extension they can let your other teachers know and it puts a lot of pressure off you when days are bad.
I hope you get the support you need, if you ever need to chat or have any questions I'll be happy to talk
I hope I helped a little
I can relate so much to your situation. Don't worry you're not alone. It sounds like you've had a rubbish experience with the GP and CAMHS. When I was struggling in school, people would just say "oh it's probably your hormones" and unfortunately at the moment, something terrible has to happen for people to actually listen and take you seriously. It's crap. It's very difficult going through something and not being able to talk about it and not being listened to. What I've found in experience is you have to be very persistent to your doctors. I know, it's really hard. It takes a lot of courage and energy to go to your doctors in the first place, and having to be persistent to get the care you need is even more effort. My best advice is to just list your symptoms to your doctor, you could write them down if it's easier and show it them or just tell them. My tip is to make sure they know it's affecting your everyday life. Express how it effects your education, work, home life, relationships/friendships with people because when they know it's having an impact on your everyday life, they have a duty of care to act on it. They're probably offering counselling because medication for example is usually not prescribed to those under 18/17 but it's not unheard of. If you've mentioned that you find it difficult to talk about how you feel out loud, your GP should really give you other options. If they're being annoying and don't do this, this is where you need to be persistent. This usually requires a bit of research you can do yourself (which I did loads of just trying to figure out what was going on with me), you can do online counselling so it's not face to face or CBT which can be face to face or online. My best advice is to keep going. I know it's hard at times, but you really just have to keep at it. It's frustrating that you're not being taken seriously and it's really common at this age which it shouldn't be. It's like adults think we just don't know ourselves yet and it's 'normal'. It's normal to feel down from time to time of course, but feeling suicidal, feeling down the majority of the time is something that needs treatment.
You can also try talking to childline, they have an online 1 to 1 chat which I've used for years, it's really helpful, it's just someone listening and understanding you. They also have message boards where you can talk to other people and it just helps to not feel alone. You could also ring them but personally I'm always too afraid to do that. Samaritans is another good place, they don't have an online service, it's over the phone but they will listen. Both of these will also direct you to places you can find help and give advice on what to tell your doctor etc.
Do any of your friends or family know how you're feeling? You don't have to tell everyone, but even just having 1 person who knows what's going on is a huge relief on days you're feeling really rubbish. Just having someone who understands or someone who will listen to you or help put your mind off things will be really helpful. Do any of your teachers know? Telling a teacher you trust I found is quite helpful, if you haven't done work or need an extension they can let your other teachers know and it puts a lot of pressure off you when days are bad.
I hope you get the support you need, if you ever need to chat or have any questions I'll be happy to talk
I hope I helped a little 
