Well I think it’s safe to say that I’m not really off to a very good start with this blogging business! But then to be fair, the last couple of days I have been quite poorly, to the point where no studying has been done, no housework has been done… to be perfectly honest, virtually nothing has been done! Oops!!

Since my last post however, I have managed to have a very successful meeting with a member of the dreaded crisis team. Yes, and just when I thought it was impossible to have one of those. I will say that I am still being very cautious over any dealings with them, but this guy was new. When we spoke over the phone, we did seem to get off on the wrong foot, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt anyway, and met with him.

At first, he asked me about what I thought that the crisis team could do to improve their service to myself and other people using it. My very first thought, was off the many times I have called them up in a state of crisis, wishing to do harm to myself, and all they’ve done is moan at me about how busy they are. I made a very strong point about that. I’m not a trained professional, but I know that if someone phones you for help, and all you can do is go on and on about how busy you are, instead of actually listening to the person, they are going to be put off by it. They will be reluctant to call in the future, because they will think that they’re a burden. They will think that they are being a nuisance. It is the crisis team’s job to help people in those situations. Not to make them feel guilty for calling for help. That to me would increase the risk of harm to the caller. Telling someone who feels suicidal that you’re too busy to talk to them can have disastrous consequences.

I also made a point of saying to him that the way that crisis team members speak to people is also very important. When you feel low, it is very easy to feel like a person is being patronising, that I do know from personal experience, but because there are so many different levels to various different moods, you do sometimes realise that actually, some of them are being patronising and are talking down to the person. It is bad practice for any medical professional to do that, never mind one who is dealing with someone’s fragile mental health.

Now, still being poorly, I can’t quite remember what else I said to help them try and improve the way they deal with people, not that I hold a lot of hope that things will change in that department, but in relation to my own personal treatment, this guy then went on to listen to my story of how I feel I have been misdiagnosed, and it looked to me as though he really understood where I was coming from, and much to my surprise, he is going to try and arrange for me to see the new consultant psychiatrist with the hope that we can try and get this diagnosis mix up sorted out. Brilliant news for me if he really is as good as this guy said he was.

For now though, I have to wait for an appointment, which may take a while, so in the meantime, I need to try and keep my head above water, and concentrate on feeling better, so for now at least, I’m signing off. Bye for now.

H x