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Advice for a friend (mental health)
janer1967
Community champion Posts: 7,390 Disability Gamechanger
My friends 17 year old son is suffering from issues like OVD depression and anxiety
He had surgery this year for a twisted tube to his testicle and due to this and covid he is convinced he is going to die and is obsessed with thinking he has serious health problems . He doesn't have any health problems. He also has really bad facial acne and as a result wont go out
He is on anti depressants and gas had 6 sessions of counselling which have been helpful
However like everyone his counselling has now stopped and they say he is cured and they cant di anything about his thoughts he is dying . He isnt cured and is just getting worse
My question is where could he go next for support does anyone know where he can get help
It really annoys me with all the time we see about mens mental health and speaking out but yet in reality there is no support out there
He had surgery this year for a twisted tube to his testicle and due to this and covid he is convinced he is going to die and is obsessed with thinking he has serious health problems . He doesn't have any health problems. He also has really bad facial acne and as a result wont go out
He is on anti depressants and gas had 6 sessions of counselling which have been helpful
However like everyone his counselling has now stopped and they say he is cured and they cant di anything about his thoughts he is dying . He isnt cured and is just getting worse
My question is where could he go next for support does anyone know where he can get help
It really annoys me with all the time we see about mens mental health and speaking out but yet in reality there is no support out there
Replies
As someone who has used mental health services for nearly 2 decades I will say: don’t expect too much of the services (I.e. quality or quantity of support) and don’t expect it quickly. The mental health services is one giant waiting game and then when the waiting game is over it’s a guessing game as the treatment is often not right for the patient.
People who are used to physical health services expect mental health to be the same, i.e. simple, one treatment that works for everyone, go in, see the doc, come out fixed, but with mental health everyone is different and there are dozens of treatments out there and the patient needs to find the right one for them
- go to GP and get them to refer to an appropriate service like community mental health who will then refer to someone more specialised. Expect a long wait, though
- if it’s really bad, like crisis, go to A and E
I hope this helps a little and sorry if it’s not helpful
if he contacts his local mind they offer counselling .
i find that having really bad ptsd , ocd and anxiety the only reason why I got help was because it got so bad I developed pychosis and had I got the help before I wouldn’t of got so I’ll so I can understand your friends frustration, hope this advice helps . But me going to hospital was the start of me getting help I was referred to home based treatment team /crisis team and they Helped me for a few months before referring me to a community team .
Thanks for the advice will pass it on
Will see if there are any local charities they could approach
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news
He has been through young minds and they gave him the 6 sessions then said that's all they can do
Will suggest some of others you gave
There seems to be a gap, ether counselling or being sectioned but little between those two. There also seems to be, unsurprisingly, a lot of health anxiety about at the moment.
As others have mentioned, you really only have the option of the standard 6 sessions of CBT which are meant to give you the 'skills' to continue your own CBT after that. Or the option of the crisis team when you reach crisis point. There's nothing in between.
OCD-UK are currently running Zoom sessions if your friends son would find those useful. He doesn't have to switch the camera on if he'd be self conscious about the acne on there. They're doing 2 standard sessions a week and one 'specific' session. I think it's meant to be 18+ but I'm sure a 17 y/o could get away with it. There are also forums and Facebook groups though I don't personally find them helpful...it's just lots of other desperate people never getting the help they need and often posting things that can trigger other people.
One good point is that he is able to take medication (I'm not, due to fears that it will make me more ill). Has he been taking the SSRIs for long? They take a few weeks to start working. If it's been longer than that, maybe ask the GP for a different one or a higher dose?