Diagnosed with Bipolar for almost 10yrs. Initially it was BP II with psychotic features. IT outpatient during diagnosis and then EIP for 18 months. I was 24.

I was 27 when it all changed. Full manic episode changed dx to BP I. But a full psychotic break. 18 months. 4 admissions. Psychotic disorder dx.

I’ve never been the same since. I hate it. I can’t remember like I used to. - there’s gaps a lot of the time. I don’t feel joy/ happiness like I used to - a lot of things are transient/ in the ‘now’ and I can get confused more often. I forget a lot of things. I’m not as coordinated/ competent as I was before. I’m not as quick for sure. Funny and kind, I work but it’s part time now which me so sad some days.

I’m educated, have a degree and lots of extra qualifications. Worked since 16 as well. Even if I was odd, I was full of colour and capable. Full of life etc. If I could explain it, I’d say it ‘dims’ you.

It does change you. I don’t think I’ll ever get my mind back like it was and I miss it. I wish I was colourful again, as in like I used to be. Bright and warm but a bit wobbly/ unpredictable. Now there’s legal protections and limitations. I miss who I used to be. I hope I can find her again

I am typing this in a rush so it may not be too neat.

I have autism and a part of my stimming is chewing on metal. I know its not healthy but I'm already in therapy and need to deal with the immediate situation.

I was chewing on a pair of scissors with the blades open while I watched YouTube. The awkward angle allowed the scissors to slip out of my mouth and left a large gash near my eye.

Scared of infection I went to the ER. My injury got flagged as possible self-harm even though I told the truth and I was sat down with mental health professionals.

I thought I was being helpful by being truthful about having suicidal ideation - But now they're implying that they think my metal chewing story is a lie and I'm trying to hide self-harm. They pointed out my fingernails were raw from skin-picking.

I have an OCD fear about going to crazy and that triggered me to have a panic attack when I started spiralling on if I could get sectioned.

Now I am placed in a side room to calm down. However I've still made myself look even worse; as I've chewed my nails until they've bled and crushed the plastic cup given to me. There is a member of staff standing by the door seeing all of this.

What do I do? Do I just finish the mental health assessment or do I have the option to say I'm leaving the ER? Am I overreacting and not at risk of sectioning?

hey, will try to keep this one short. just need some advice as someone that struggles with SAD

for context:
- been on countless SSRIs and tried SNRIs over the last 10 years and never found one that settled with me or didn’t give me insane side effects (only one i’ve discussed that could possibly be suitable for me is almost impossible to get in the UK, bupropion)
- diagnosed w PTSD, OCD and anxiety disorder, SAD during late autumn- early spring
- seeing a therapist for high intensity CBT
- generally super happy!! i love my job and my life atm, i get out and about, i have lots of hobbies etc so worried i’m going to lose this again this winter

Does anyone have any tips for what I can do to try and get ahead of the lows this year? I really don’t want to feel as bad as i did last time and it’s honestly quite scary how quick it’s approaching now aha..

are there any particular meds anyone would recommend for SAD (if i do decide to try that again)?

thank you :’)

Follow up: https://www.reddit.com/r/MentalHealthUK/comments/1xfuidb/er_mistaken_stimming_injury_for_selfharm_and_i/

I've been stuck in the ER for hours. I tried to do what everyone suggested and see the assessment to the end.

After I calmed down from my first panic attack, I tried to prove that the face wound wasn't self-harm but a stimming accident. They found a report of me going to the hospital as a child after I swallowed a metal zip. I told them about a time I chewed on a broken wine glass as a teenager too. So they believe me now when I said my gash is from unusual stimming but it didn't relieve their concerns.

At that point, I rang my therapist. I don't really have anyone else who could act as an advocate. When I handed access to my phone, my therapist snitched about the single incident in my life when my suicidal ideation became active. That was years ago, and I didn't want it shared.

I had a panic attack again. The assessors noted other symptoms like me grabbing at my hair and clothes when I have a meltdown. I'm so pissed at myself that I can't go more than an hour without crying. It doesn't help my case in the slightest.

After that, I've stuck waiting on a bench until it was literally getting dark outside. At last, the assessors have got back to me.

They are saying that I don't meet the typical standards for sectioning. However, they are worried that my unique case of pica and depression could mean that I could "subconsciously endanger" myself. Whatever that means.

They've "strongly encouraged" me to voluntarily admit myself for a few days. Otherwise, I'll have daily check-ins with a crisis team if I go home.

I've asked to have more time to think this over, and this is where I currently am, writing this post. I don't really have any family, and I feel alienated from my therapist. So I know it's not recommended, but I only have Reddit to turn to. Should I go in voluntarily or go home?

im currently doing talking therapies, and i had self help sessions with them before this. it is helping i think but its just when i feel really bad, i feel like i just cant function. i can remember all the coping skills in the world but im crying my eyes out when brushing my teeth. im trying to remember to eat healthy, take walks etc and i do that (sometimes) but also it really just doesn’t take away from the fact that i feel like im useless i have no future etc. sometimes i just cant get out of bed but i feel guiltier for this as i know its not making me feel any better. im missing one of my lectures right now because i couldn't calm myself down and stop crying in time for it starting lol. would antidepressants help me? i just feel like id be lazy for taking them instead of putting in the work to get better and i feel guilty considering im already receiving help for low mood 🫠 i really just need to jot down my thoughts im sorry this is such a mess lol

I don't feel like enough people speak about this but spoken communication being almost always the only available method of mental health/welfare support is inaccessible to the people who need it most.

I cannot count the number of times I had a mental breakdown, looked at the welfare resources poster we have in my dorm, and then cried even harder because ALL of them are phone numbers. Not a single one that you can text. And it makes me feel so stupid and like I am not built for the world (I am autistic so I already do generally feel that).

And then even Samaritans for example closed their email based line. Like genuinely is help only available for those who are able to verbally speak even during their worst moments? And the fact that I see almost no one speak about this makes me think the problem is me and I am the incapable one :(

For context, I'm 20F and have depression. My local practice was actually very helpful for getting me medicated and counselled for depression, which I was surprised by because I tried to get help when I was a teenager and they refused to do anything since I was 'too young'. However, I've periodically gone through psychotic episodes in the past (which I thought was a product of having untreated depression for so long) and believe I'm currently at the start of another once again. This is the first I've had in a year, since I started taking citalopram.

Does anyone here have advice / experience in getting help from the NHS for more severe MH issues like this? I'm not sure what's wrong with me, but when I'm in an episode I have a lot of delusions, go into an almost catatonic state, and at my worst hear and see things. I'm a student so I can't really afford to go private right now, but I don't want to go to my local practice to be brushed off or told they can't help me. The doctors at my practice aren't very experienced in mental health - one of the 'specialists' they have didn't even know what dissociation was. I know about the 'right to choose' scheme for things like autism and ADHD - can I go down this route for something related to psychosis? Any advice would be very much appreciated.

23F. 99% sure I am misdiagnosed. Have tried 7/8 medications, two private counselling, DBT, now unmedicated and in psychotherapy at a national service. It's fine but I still lose control of my mind sometimes. I keep getting offered antidepressants but they're really not what I need. Mental health team refuse to take me on after my last one discharged me, citing an EUPD diagnosis I got at 19 that's haunted me since.

I have been a missing person multiple times and sectioned by police, and in A&E. I don't feel comfortable sharing the extent of my dark thoughts with a GP as they'll just recommend A&E again who always send me away, and I'm struggling to share any mental health info at all without it undermining physical healthcare that I need.

Is there anything I'm missing? I'm at a loss. How do you express that you need help in the way they want to hear?

Im based on south west UK, looking for non hospital options since I cannot take psychiatric medication. These did me a lot more damage than good. I was hospitalized around 2 months ago and was a total failure as I had a lot of physical issues thst were ignored and got given dangerous medication for my condition which is largely autoimmune. The NHs refused to acknowledge my physical symptoms and tried to push medication on me, resulting in a much worse condition now. I need help and don’t know where to go to get help. Im back at at parents house which is adding to things and I’m basically disabled unable to look after myself. I need help, like a care home where your looked after without having to take medication.

I had an “initial appointment“ in the north east NHS ADHD services (tyne and Wear county) and I think it went crap like she barely asked any actual adhd symptom questions (despite there having been some on the developmental questionnaire that was relevant) and I talked more about gender and I should not have been allowed to. apparently there’s another appointment but I’m just so confused. also I don’t procrastinate social activities or even tv (not always) like work

i am aware there is a questionnaire before hand I just want to know what the full assessment actually looks like, and how I’m supposed to trust any conclusions made in the span of an hour

i also still don’t think alternate causes were throughly examined including plain old laziness or lifestyle, does anyone know how this process normally works?

I feel so hopeless right now.

So I try to harm myself tonight, my wife calls ambulance. I’ve switched to an alter by this point and I’m in hysterical tears, I’ve just called 111 just to be told that they can’t do anything except contact the CMHT I’m under (who are currently refusing to do anything given they’re assessing me for DID atm). Bear in mind I’ve told the woman on the phone I’m actively going to unalive myself.

Anyway, the ambulance comes, and it’s the mental health paramedics and they’re really nice, but they say they can’t do anything either as last time they referred to the crisis team, it wasn’t even assessed before they said no. So they just left.

They also couldn’t take me to A&E as they won’t see me, they refused to on Friday.

I have no idea what to do. I’m massively falling through the gaps and there’s nothing I can do about it.

I’m genuinely wondering. I don’t want to be admitted, but it’s starting to look necessary for my safety, but MH services say I’m not section-able. I’m actively suicidal and hurting myself, experiencing switching between different personalities, big highs and insane lows. I suspect I have DID and cyclothymia or bipolar 2. I’m currently being assessed for both. If you’ve seen some of my other posts, community teams/A&E are refusing to help as crisis and A&E say they’re not helpful and CMHT says I’m under assessment so they can’t do anything. Police were actually told to withdraw and let me die the other day which they did. I have section 117 entitlement from being sectioned previously.

Second question - if you have been suicidal for a long time, does this negate any criteria you might meet for detention

I have had suicidal thoughts and anxiety most of my adult life and I’ve started self harming again. I’m terrified of going to the NHS as admitting these issues. I don’t wanna get locked up or shoved on a waiting list or something else I can’t predict. I can afford private psychotherapy if I really need to, but I can’t get meds from there and I don’t know if I need some. I just don’t wanna be branded a freak or have people find out how bad I am. I don’t know what to do. I’m not an active risk but it could change I dunno

I have severe depression. I got diagnosed as autistic a week ago. I have no "support network". I just lost my job. I have childhood trauma. Over the summer I was distracted by caring for a dog which was very good for my mental health, but that ended quite abruptly which upsets me greatly. Earlier this year I had counselling sessions, provided through NHS Talking Therapies. Although it was no kind of treatment, it was beneficial to speak to someone every week and not be judged. At the end of the sessions the counsellor told me that after 3 months I'd be able to re-refer with Talking Therapies to have more counselling. He was very sure of this. It was a comfort to me to know I would be able to talk to him again. So I re-referred myself and had the phone assessment with Talking Therapies, and she told me I couldnt have counselling. There was no help basically. She told me of a couple of charities and that was that - I was dismissed. I've been told that CMHT are to prescribe an additional medication, but I believe there is a mix up because of people not reading letters properly. The letter last year from CMHT suggested 2 options for medication. This was because I was taking Trazadone and it was not helping. One was to switch to Effexor, which I have, and the other was to continue with Trazadone and take this additional medication. I had been planning to look into private therapy but now I've lost my job that is out of the question. I have been on a waiting list for counselling with a charity for about a year or more. I have self referred to another. I don't know if I will make it through this winter. I have been suicidal for over a year and now I just can't see any way forward.

I CAN'T. LIVE. LIKE. THIS. ANYMORE.

I HATE ADHD.

What am I meant to fucking do

I can't access any support or meds because FUCK WAITING LISTS

It doesn't matter that I was in a dark place last year they sent me home with a CPN who just got fucking mad at me for being shit with emotion

I CANT LIVE LIKE THIS MAN. I HAVEN'T HOOVERED I A MONTH. I HAVE MOLD. MY EMOTIONS ARE EXPLOSIVE. I CANT EVEN FOCUS ON FUN STUFF, MY BRAIN WANDERS OFF. AND MY HORMONES MAKE IT WORSE!

Hey guys!

so my parent that i live with has psychosis. They do not understand that they are mentally ill and do not wish to take medication. They were not always like this. They had a breakdown in 2020 and got diagnosed with psychosis in 2024. They were in a mental hospital for a month then was discharged and she stopped taking the meds. Ive tried to get her to take them but she doesn't want to.

I have contacted doctors several times to try and get her some help but she knows how to hide her symptoms and so doctors think that there is nothing wrong. But when we are alone she is an entirely different person. Everyday i get up she is shouting saying things like the neighbours have stolen her possessions or that I've been possessed. She is constantly talking to herself and not in a normal way. She draws weird things on the walls and kitchen tables. She breaks and throws things in the house. She constantly wakes me up in the middle of the night comes in my room and tells me things that do not make sense and i find it hard to go back to sleep. For the past six years she keeps saying the same thing every single day. I feel like if i dont find a way to leave this house i may become mentally ill too. I am constantly tense as i have to walk on eggshells around her. I cant even have a normal conservation with her because she starts to get upset and begin to shout at me for no reason. When im having a nice day she finds a way to bring my energy down and it hurts because im actually a nice person. She calls me names such as the b word or other nasty things that i wont even mention on here. It really hurts because growing up she was such a nice person but the psychosis has made her become not so nice.

She has not payed rent and other bills for years as one of the delusions is that we are allowed to live in a house for free. We have had several eviction notices due to rent arrears over the past 3 years. It came to a point where i had to quit my job because it was extremely energy demanding and i expressed c-ptsd symptoms where simple things such as remembering details and interacting with people was tough. Ive been paying the rent with my university student loan. Ive hardly no money for myself, all of my savings are gone, taking into thought that i am also paying for food shopping, public transport for the both of us as my parent does not work and is in debt for almost everything.

The psychotic symptoms my parent experiences are thinking that everyone is out to harm her, people are speaking to her through the tv or phone, the military is spying on her and so on. I have bought nice things to pamper myself with such as perfumes, body lotions even food shopping where ive spent alot of money on and she throws them away when im not at home. I have decorated my room with nice pictures that ive painted and she takes them down and throws them away. She then decorates the room in a way that she likes.

She broke my sim card and i lost all of my friends phone numbers. In my late teens she would tell me to stop talking to nice ppl that i was friends with and i listened to her because i was a very obedient child and i had no one to talk to taking into consideration i was home schooled.

I called mental health services on her the other day because she had a bad crisis where she thought that neighbours were coming into the home and taking our things and also thinking that the neighbours have done indecent things to me which has never happened. She then went outside the home and begins to shout around the neighbourhood expressing her delusions. So i called a mental health charity just so they can speak with her and gain an understanding of her symptoms. I gave her the phone and she destroyed my phone by beating it with an iron pot. Ive lost alot of my data and ive been so sad because i am just trying to help her and she keeps sabotaging my life.

She then visited one of the mental health centres as they wanted to speak with her and she lied on me saying that whatever i told them about the psychosis she is experiencing is a lie and that i was drunk and misbehaving. They believed her and she told me that they took her of the mental illness register. I don't really have the energy to call them again because the whole sectioning process is horrible and i feel really guilty about it and i remember she was crying the last time it happened and i felt like a horrible person.

I am just really tired and i dont want to pay the rent anymore even though we are facing eviction. Im finding it really hard to focus in my 2nd year at university. Im 22 years old and there is alot of life skills i have missed out on due to the fact that ive spent my teens and early 20s caring for her. I find it hard to interact now as i feel constantly on edge and ive been dissociating alot. Alot of people think i am weird. Due to the emotional abuse im still going through, i feel a little in shock and shaken. As a child i was so energetic and full of life but now i feel so slow in brain and i feel like no one understands me. Theres so much other things ive gone through but its just too much to say. I keep thinking about what its going to be like when i go back home when im outside. I dont have an option to move in with family or friends and i dont know what to do with myself.

If anyone could give me any type of advice I'd really appreciate it and im sorry for all the spelling mistakes.

Thank you all for reading and for your responses xx

I’ve struggled with my mental health for 11 years and I can’t help but feel punished for it by the benefits system.

I’m 23, autistic, and suffer from severe anxiety, depression and agoraphobia. Alongside some other health issues, my conditions have affected almost every aspect of my life, and despite years of trying to manage them, I’m still unable to live what most people would consider a normal life.
I’ve worked before. I’ve genuinely tried. But working came at such a significant cost to my mental and physical health that it became completely unsustainable. I wasn’t gaining independence through employment; I was sacrificing my wellbeing just to earn money.

I’m currently receiving benefits, but changes in my personal circumstances mean I’m facing a significant amount of financial uncertainty. It’s terrifying because we’re already struggling with the cost of living, and I’m constantly worrying about how I’ll manage financially. The stress is having a serious impact on my mental health, and I feel as though I’m running out of options.

What I find particularly upsetting is that I’m not any less disabled because my personal circumstances changed. My mental health hasn’t magically improved, my needs haven’t disappeared, and neither have the bills.
I’ve also recently had my PIP appeal rejected, which has been absolutely devastating. Throughout the process, I felt as though my difficulties were constantly being questioned and that isolated examples of things I’d managed to do were being used to undermine the struggles I experience every single day.

I feel as though I’ve spent years trying to prove that I’m unwell enough to deserve support, and it’s exhausting. I don’t want to spend my life relying on benefits. I’d genuinely love to work, earn my own money and have some financial independence. But wanting to work and being able to sustain employment are two very different things.
I’ve spent today desperately researching remote work and alternative ways of earning money, but everything seems so uncertain and competitive. It’s difficult enough finding employment as a young person without having disabilities that significantly limit what you can realistically manage.
I find it all so frightening. I’m being pushed towards a situation that I’ve already experienced and know can be incredibly damaging to my mental health, simply because I can’t see another way to afford to live.

I’m not expecting to live comfortably without ever having to work. I just wish there was a way to have some financial security without constantly having to sacrifice my health to achieve it.
It’s reached the point where I’ve been experiencing passive suicidal thoughts. I don’t have any intention of acting on them, but I genuinely struggle to see a way forward sometimes. I feel completely trapped between protecting my health and being able to afford basic necessities.

I’m just exhausted by the constant uncertainty, by having to justify my disabilities, and by feeling as though my future depends on being able to do things that my health makes incredibly difficult.
I don’t really know what I’m looking for by posting this. I think I just needed somewhere to express how hopeless everything feels right now.

I’m not looking for benefits or legal advice, and I’m deliberately keeping the details of my circumstances private. I’m just hoping to hear from people who understand how much financial insecurity can affect your mental health, particularly when you’re already struggling.

M 28, started struggling with mental health at 13/14. Developed agoraphobia and was housebound until around 18 while being seen by camhs. Other fun things too like depression and extreme anxiety, health anxiety, adhd. Had an autism diagnosis this year. But it's the agoraphobia. Although no longer house bound, I can't manage more than maybe a 20 minute walk myself. I can do supermarkets with someone, dentist, barbers, hikes, bike rides. I need someone with me outside, I still avoid so much because of this. I've recently finished cbt therapy again and got on a bus for the first time in 13 years but this still has control of me. I feel so claustrophobic 90% of the time, just watching the world go by. Only getting out further when someone can get me out. I know only I can solve this but it still seems so damn impossible. I can't do another 14 years like this. I genuinely think if I could start driving my world would open up so much..... I know it can improve because I'm no longer housebound but at this rate ill be stuck forever. The physical side of the anxiety is ruining me. The urge to pee takes over, my head gets faint and it just makes me be so avoidant. But I'm tired of missing and falling behind. I have my partner of 9 years so I feel a lot of guilt feeling this too, I need more in life, friends, plans, things to look forward to. I just don't see it happening for me. Even with all the work I've put in.

I am convinced that the end of the world has started or is about to start. Whether it be AI, WW3, Nuclear war, antibiotic resistant plague or something else. It feels there is too much being hinted at for it not to be true.

But I also know I have mental health issues and history of paranoia and perhaps making conclusions that aren’t quite real. How the hell do I figure out what is reality and what is my mind when it all feels so bleak and real. Neither option is great but I want to know what’s right so I can prepare

Mental health support petition, for those leaving crisis care. Please sign and share!

Hi all,

I suffer with social anxiety and have done for my whole life. I've tried seeing a therapist through insurance and made 0 progress, felt like the therapist was pretty clueless and just reading from a textbook. Can anyone recommend a private therapist they've had a good experience with? Preferably for social anxiety. Or a website etc that provides a directory of therapists who specialise in SA.

Much appreciated!

I really don't want to be speaking out loud about my problems so I usually opt for the shout service. But I haven't actually been able to get a conversation with them since march. I will sit there for over two hours getting the automated messages every now and then but never get an actual response and eventually give up. I really need to speak to someone about something but this service just seems crap

I don’t have any social support and don’t feel safe living where I am living due to ASB. I am a child protection social worker, and while work distracts me, it also traumatises me. This is the second time I am in a recovery house in a year. I was last an inpatient at the end of 2024 - my fourth time. I am tired of fucking talking about my ADHD. No private psychiatrist will touch me because I am too complex/risky and it is also very expensive . I want the pain to end and I don’t know what else to do. This place is also not helping as half of the patients are bringing in alcohol and god knows what else.