Mental health services who think overdosing is an attention seeking thing

[BM2A]

Ive been having a really difficult time on and off lately with flashbacks and losing control. Ive overdosed on my meds and had to go to hospital for checking out.

Im under a mental health team. When I rang them and explained how I was feeling they just said well why are you calling me?
Why did you text to say you had overdosed?

I had started to pass out by this point, i couldnt walk, i was on the pavement outside a train station. In the end it was the police who helped me and took me to A and E.

Later at home i had an answerphone message a long one. It was accidental, my nurses phone had rang me loose in her bag and i overheard her conversation with her colleagues. It soon became very clear that they felt this was just an attention seeking exercise.

Im so angry that she thinks i would take my own life for some attention from her. I think her ego needs addressing. As it I would.go through the hell of overdosing and risk my life everything ive worked for, just for a phone call from her. What kind of twisted CPN logic is this?

I then had a therapy session. The psychologist is in the same team. She also questioned why did i ring them? Im so confused. I thought someone having a mental health crisis would be ok to ring the team they are under.
I wanted to talk about a new flashback i had been having, which was i felt over powering me. I wanted to talk about it, some how process it. But she kept shutting me down. We could only talk about other stuff. We are the end stage of therapy she said and we need to concentrate on that. It seemed a totally pointless session to me.

Im really frustrated and angry at them all. If i become like that again i will not be contacting anyone. Which is scary to me but they obviously dont want to know. They wont accept that the intensity of flashbacks and how i feel afterwards is the main factor in this for me. Instead the psychologist says well you werent actually in the middle of a flashback when you overdosed. So it cant be that??!! Its to with your thinking and getting stuck. I just need someone to listen. Is it that much to ask to have an opportunity in therapy or with a nurse to listen to me about a flashback? so i cant speak about it outloud?

 

[Deleted member 29920]

I'm sorry they completely invalidated you and think that you're attention seeking and treated you so badly. Is this the NHS you're dealing with? Do you still have the answerphone message? I'd be thinking about making a complaint about them as that is totally out of order.

 

[BM2A]

Thanks C j. It is the nhs. An early intervention team. I do still have the message on my phone i saved it. But i dont feel like i can make a complaint. I dont want to fight them

 

[Deleted member 29920]

That's totally understandable you don't want to fight them, I have lost count of the amount of times the NHS have let me down over the past 8 years so you are not alone, they couldn't help me with several issues including eating problems and sexual abuse and I often wonder why they even exist as they are so hopeless and I have given up asking them for help and turned to charities instead now. Those places have been incredibly helpful and I don't know what I would have done without them. You said you're at the 'end stage' of therapy but clearly you still need assistance with flashbacks etc, is there anywhere else near that you could go for help instead? Unfortunately with the NHS you do have to push them for more help, although I done that and still wasn't satisfied with what they had to offer. Are you able to go private?

 

[The Albatross]

Perhaps it would be a cue to address the substance/medication issue. If it's overdosing, then you may have developed a co- behavior. So had you overdosed or not? Do you misuse medication or have a substance abuse issue?

 

[BM2A]

Thanks @C j. It is sad to know others end up going through this with them. I actually work for a voluntary agency, not who deal with this, but I think maybe the voluntary sector could maybe help. Theres no way I could afford help privately. The mental health part of the nhs is pretty bad. I already know this through my work, i suppose i didnt think this would happen to me because im compliant, i engage well etc and naively i trusted them. I also thought they were a good team

@The Albatross. Thankyou and i didnt really think it was substance misuse issue. I have over dosed a number of times this year on my meds, quetiapine. Not little overdose but like the whole lot overdose. Other than those occasions, ive never misused any substances before. Usually I take as it as im told to as prescribed. And i have done for years. Its all been the last six months ive become eratic at times. For me it relates to new flashbacks and losing control. I m not in my right mind at times. I put on a brave face for family and work despite some extremely bad mental health. And i can get to the point where i feel it all has to stop and im way passed coping.

Im so glad I can at least get things off my chest here. It s the loss of trust in a service i had thought was helping me that has impacted on me now. Trust is difficult in the first place. I may seek some help in the voluntary sector

 

[The Albatross]

I definitely think that due to the increased difficulty I'd press to get support for the newer issue but also recognize and seek assistance for the significant change you've had with medication use. Overdose by a whole lot, a number of times is a significant change... and they may not have handled it the best way by a long shot, but they were right to bring the issue into your awareness.

 

[recoveringfromptsd]

@BM2A It sounds to me they are not equipped to deal with trauma and have no understanding of it. You probably should go elsewhere where you can get good help because it seems they are just making things worse.

My therapist who is very good is open about not being trauma qualified and won't even go into trauma, but she connected me to those who were trauma qualified. That's the right way to do things.

It seems your team are winging it and jumping to conclusions. I have to wonder what they will do the one time you don't call them. I suspect they will get on you about not calling. So twisted.

In the meantime you might want to send a subtle message, don't deal with them for a while, let them worry about not contacting them and not involving them. Two things can happen, they can respond out of caution, and you can confront them as to why you did not involve them, or they don't do anything upon which it becomes clear they don't really care and are harmful to you, upon which you need to find care that actually meets your needs.

 

[bento]

That is insanely messed up BM2A, sounds like people who shouldn't be working in the
mental health field. I've had therapist/doctors treat me in this dismissive type manner
when they were out of solutions. In fact it seems like many want things to be easy,
with a steady progression of "wins", which recovery from PTSD does not follow.

I'm guessing that many therapist and doctors have not experienced severe trauma firsthand
or known someone they love and respect to have suffered from it. They just cannot
imagine how severe some traumas can be. And since they are in a position of power,
(and what is more powerful than to give someone a mental health diagnosis??, I mean
really it's like playing God), they can easily dismiss you if you make things hard on them,
like say having them stretch and come up with new or different solutions to help.

That kind of treatment is really inexcusable, but I get why you'd be reluctant to report it.
Especially when there's a group of people involved with your "treatment". No one in
crisis should ever be treated like that, you were doing the exact right thing to reach out.
Makes me wonder that if you hadn't reached out if you'd be getting hassled for isolating
and not communicating. Jeez it seems like half the mental health people out there are
worse than useless.

Hang in there, do not take their incompetence and lack of empathy and common sense
to heart. Their reaction is an indictment of their lack of professionalism and humanity.
Nothing on you. Don't give up. See if there is another option for counseling that works
with your budget. Best of luck!!

 

[Deleted member 29920]

@BM2A I really hope that you can get some help from the voluntary sector, it's worth a try, Rape Crisis were/are the most helpful for me.

 

[Friday]

Sounds like you needed to be dialing 999, not your mental health team.

Carts and horses, right? If you're having a medical emergency, that's the time to deal with the medical emergency. After that's dealt with would be the time to talk about flashbacks and triggers, and why you overdosed, yeah?

 

[BM2A]

Hi @Friday. I had tried as I said to address it. They said it was the last two sessions, they didnt want me bringing up anythng new, new flashbacks. But it was over powering for me and it upset me she wouldnt listen, knowing that I had struggled so much the day before when i overdosed.
I wouldnt usually contact a therapist if ibwas that unwell. But im under a CPN and im suppose to inform them. She had the therapists phone because hers was broke they were sharing a phone. Sorry its complicated. It was a very bad day