On a related note, who the fuck do I have to punch to get a psychiatrists appointment in this town?
I've given up on the low cost options. I have insurance, but anxiety and depression is a pre-existing condition, so insurance won't cover it until October. I have a full time job, but the pay is shit so I still qualify for most sliding scale programs. But most sliding scale mental health programs are really geared towards substance abuse or the homeless, and the one program that did seem like it was the sort of low cost mental health program, well.
First I tried calling the number on the website. It's the wrong number, no answering machine. Then I tried showing up in person. They told me I couldn't schedule appointments that late, and gave me a number. I called that one, they told me that they only take so many appointments a week, starting on Monday. They're usually out of appointments by noon on Monday, and the appointments would probably be a month or two out. Or I could try doing the walk in , in the middle of the day (taking unpaid time off work, which I can't really afford), but that usually filled up quickly too.
Mind you, calling means that I have to call right after getting out of work, trying to find a private place around my office where nobody can hear me.
So, gave up on the cheap options. I have no idea how I'm going to pay for any of this until October, but I need help. Tried the expensive options. Called the huge health care system near my work. Nobody's taking new patients. Called the university health care system. They aren't taking patients until July.
I've got this down as a pre-existing condition, but it's because I tried a therapist before who ended up being really bad fit, and has kept me from trying to get help for nearly two years. Yes, it really did go that badly. The psychiatrists she kept on recommending for me either weren't taking new patients or didn't accept my insurance, so I tossed out their names years ago.
I'm having trouble remembering to eat on a daily basis. How the fuck is this supposed to work?
Uh, this shouldn't discourage you from attempting to find help, anon I replied to. Sorry. I got another voice mail telling me that they weren't accepting new patients today, and just got home to start another weekend of research.
Therapy does work for people! Therapy might even work for me, I'm just a little bit wary after the last try and would like to be kind of more even before risking it. Check to see what sort of walk in hours clinics around you have, and call up. If you need help, well, I've gotten really good at looking up places. Are you in the US?
Also, I'm trying exercise and lowering my sugar intake, when I have the spoons to actually get shit done. Considering St. John's Wort, or at least just buying some goddamn weed from my downstairs neighbor if I feel an anxiety attack coming on. Considering the number of times they've probably heard me loudly sobbing, they might give it to me for free. The last one might not be recommended, but hey.
*hugs* I feel you nonnie, boy do I do. I've been going to a regular doctor who gave me various anti-depressants which didn't help at all. I am so fucking depressed and I just can't tell my parents, and my friends don't seem to care. Or maybe I just have some kind of superiority complex, god knows it's possible. But my reaction to a friend telling me that she was depressed was basically, "You can ALWAYS call me, and I'll try to be there for you as best as I can." When I told my friends, ironically the aforementioned friend stopped talking to me completely, and the others just were like, "Aha, okay." I don't want to burden them so I keep quiet, but I honestly have no idea how to continue living.
So, the obvious thin to do is to go to a psychiatrist, right? WRONG. Holy crap, I've been waiting half a fucking year for an appointment. Or rather for my doctor to decide to give me one, and when she did decide, it was still two months later. Two months in which I was so close to killing myself, I've probably ruined my liver with all those paracetamol overdoses. In those months I took my anti-depressants, I developed bulimia and basically covered my arms in scars. Gee, I wonder if that all could have been avoided by getting an appointment with a psychiatrist in time! Perhaps not, but maybe I'd be on my way out of it. But at the point I'm at now, I don't even believe that I can get better and I'm not even sure if I want to. All I want is for everybody to leave me the hell alone.
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Re: Advice?
(Anonymous) 2012-04-13 09:35 pm (UTC)(link)I've given up on the low cost options. I have insurance, but anxiety and depression is a pre-existing condition, so insurance won't cover it until October. I have a full time job, but the pay is shit so I still qualify for most sliding scale programs. But most sliding scale mental health programs are really geared towards substance abuse or the homeless, and the one program that did seem like it was the sort of low cost mental health program, well.
First I tried calling the number on the website. It's the wrong number, no answering machine. Then I tried showing up in person. They told me I couldn't schedule appointments that late, and gave me a number. I called that one, they told me that they only take so many appointments a week, starting on Monday. They're usually out of appointments by noon on Monday, and the appointments would probably be a month or two out. Or I could try doing the walk in , in the middle of the day (taking unpaid time off work, which I can't really afford), but that usually filled up quickly too.
Mind you, calling means that I have to call right after getting out of work, trying to find a private place around my office where nobody can hear me.
So, gave up on the cheap options. I have no idea how I'm going to pay for any of this until October, but I need help. Tried the expensive options. Called the huge health care system near my work. Nobody's taking new patients. Called the university health care system. They aren't taking patients until July.
I've got this down as a pre-existing condition, but it's because I tried a therapist before who ended up being really bad fit, and has kept me from trying to get help for nearly two years. Yes, it really did go that badly. The psychiatrists she kept on recommending for me either weren't taking new patients or didn't accept my insurance, so I tossed out their names years ago.
I'm having trouble remembering to eat on a daily basis. How the fuck is this supposed to work?
Re: Advice?
(Anonymous) 2012-04-13 09:57 pm (UTC)(link)Uh, this shouldn't discourage you from attempting to find help, anon I replied to. Sorry. I got another voice mail telling me that they weren't accepting new patients today, and just got home to start another weekend of research.
Therapy does work for people! Therapy might even work for me, I'm just a little bit wary after the last try and would like to be kind of more even before risking it. Check to see what sort of walk in hours clinics around you have, and call up. If you need help, well, I've gotten really good at looking up places. Are you in the US?
Also, I'm trying exercise and lowering my sugar intake, when I have the spoons to actually get shit done. Considering St. John's Wort, or at least just buying some goddamn weed from my downstairs neighbor if I feel an anxiety attack coming on. Considering the number of times they've probably heard me loudly sobbing, they might give it to me for free. The last one might not be recommended, but hey.
Re: Advice?
(Anonymous) 2012-04-14 05:19 am (UTC)(link)thanks anon! I'm not in the US so it's all very different. I'm sorry it is so difficult for you though :(
Re: Advice?
(Anonymous) 2012-04-16 12:28 am (UTC)(link)So, the obvious thin to do is to go to a psychiatrist, right? WRONG. Holy crap, I've been waiting half a fucking year for an appointment. Or rather for my doctor to decide to give me one, and when she did decide, it was still two months later. Two months in which I was so close to killing myself, I've probably ruined my liver with all those paracetamol overdoses. In those months I took my anti-depressants, I developed bulimia and basically covered my arms in scars. Gee, I wonder if that all could have been avoided by getting an appointment with a psychiatrist in time! Perhaps not, but maybe I'd be on my way out of it. But at the point I'm at now, I don't even believe that I can get better and I'm not even sure if I want to. All I want is for everybody to leave me the hell alone.
Re: Advice?
(Anonymous) 2012-04-22 03:45 pm (UTC)(link)