Depression - What help is available?

[TJC1]

How does someone that cannot get out of bed get help, do the doctors come to their home?

 

---------- Post added 27-07-2015 at 20:01 ----------

 

 

All of which involve the person making the correct choices, exercise would benefit me, motivated myself to do 25 minutes on my exercise bike.

 

Why should doctors come to your home? Who pays for this special treatment?

People are so reliant on the state and take no responsibility for own health first.

 

---------- Post added 27-07-2015 at 21:08 ----------

 

As someone who had to fork out hundreds in private therapy, I can assure you all that the waiting list for a counsellor and a course of therapist-led CBT is ridiculous in Sheffield - and probably everywhere. This is absolutely not acceptable. Had I not had the money to do something about it, I would still be stuck on various medications (including diazepam) and feeling no better off for them. The massive issue, in my experience, is that when you eventually get an appointment with the GP, and bravely try and discuss it (it’s VERY difficult to tell someone how you feel when you’re depressed) they immediately hand you either Seroxat or Prozac, stick your name on a waiting list, and wave you off. When you go back and tell them after 6 months that you now feel suicidal, and the symptoms are worse, they exchange the first nasty drug with a nastier one, such as amitriptyline. All the while, you still don’t have an appointment to see a therapist, and so the GP generously hands you a web address so you can do your CBT yourself instead of waiting. Another 6 months goes by, and finally the GP decides it isn’t depression, it’s anxiety, and hands over some diazepam, and a different referral on a different waiting list. At this point, I was fed up, didn’t enjoy feeling even more like a cabbage on diazepam than when I was depressed, and sought help on my own.

 

Luckily, I had the support of my amazing husband, who has put up with a lot of crap over the last 2 years because of my mental health. Some people don’t have that support, and don’t have the money nor the motivation to do something on their own. This really should be a priority within the NHS/healthcare at the moment - it is appalling how badly patients with mental health problems are treated (read: ignored), yet mental health is just as important, if not MORE important, than physical health.

 

Sorry for the rant… It just makes me rather angry.

 

Anna B - I hope your friends daughter is OK. If she is refusing to take pills, I wouldn’t necessarily think that a bad thing (from own experience only - they probably work on many other people) as therapy is much more effective than medication. Has she been offered CBT, or any other form of self help stuff? Mindfulness (NOT meditation!) will help her a lot if she can be shown how, and she is interested in getting better. Has she had any counselling at all do you know?

 

The waiting list for cbt is crazy. I waited 12 mths. There are things you can do yourself, doctors and quacks not always the answer

[sh3rb3t]

The waiting list for cbt is crazy. I waited 12 mths. There are things you can do yourself, doctors and quacks not always the answer

 

Yes - exercise, that people have already suggested, is a good idea. Cutting down alcohol is also recommended, as my self-help methods became much more effective when I wasn’t drinking so much. Strangely, keeping a journal for a couple of weeks helps identify triggers, which then means you can begin to pin point what goes awry in your head.

[SnailyBoy]

You cant take a walk in nature?.

 

Symptoms of depression include

 

"Loss of interest in daily activities. No interest in former hobbies, pastimes, social activities, or sex. You’ve lost your ability to feel joy and pleasure."

 

What motivation is there for a 'walk in nature'?

[biotechpete]

My GP offered me talking therapy last year and said the waiting list would be about 8-12 weeks. I guess they must prioritise to some extent. It's true that mental health services have not been given the attention they ought to have been (Nick Clegg's efforts apart), but I don't think that things have got significantly worse. Waiting lists were 12 months or more, even for under 18 services, for the whole period of Labour government. Despite Anna B's thinly veiled politicking this issue is something that we as a nation have been failing at for decades.

[Waldo]

Symptoms of depression include

 

"Loss of interest in daily activities. No interest in former hobbies, pastimes, social activities, or sex. You’ve lost your ability to feel joy and pleasure."

 

Problem is, when you start beliving that kind of narrative, you actually make it a reality for yourself, and things worse...

 

This is I think another key to beating depression, don't listen to nay-sayers, people who tell you there is no hope, or you can't do this, can't do that. You need to believe that things can and will change for the better.

 

EDIT: Then you need to take practical steps to affect that change.

Edited July 27, 2015 by Waldo

[SnailyBoy]

Problem is, when you start beliving that kind of narrative, you actually make it a reality for yourself, and things worse...

 

This is I think another key to beating depression, don't listen to nay-sayers, people who tell you there is no hope, or you can't do this, can't do that. You need to believe that things can and will change for the better.

 

It's a symptom, not a narrative.

[Waldo]

It's a symptom, not a narrative.

 

It's actually both. Cyclical in nature.

[SnailyBoy]

Problem is, when you start beliving that kind of narrative, you actually make it a reality for yourself, and things worse...

 

This is I think another key to beating depression, don't listen to nay-sayers, people who tell you there is no hope, or you can't do this, can't do that. You need to believe that things can and will change for the better.

 

EDIT: Then you need to take practical steps to affect that change.

 

Actually, do you have any qualifications in the mental health area?

[Waldo]

Actually, do you have any qualifications in the mental health area?

 

Actually, do you have anyhing positive to contribute to this thread? Or you the kind of nay-sayer people should ignore?

[SnailyBoy]

Actually, do you have anyhing positive to contribute to this thread? Or you the kind of nay-sayer people should ignore?

 

That's a no then.

 

Maybe you should encourage people to seek the appropriate medical help rather than the pseudo therapy.