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Still struggling with my mental health, a month after a ten-day psychiatric hospital admission (which I talked about here), meant that on March 28th, my Mum came with me to a meeting with an NHS Psychiatrist, and a member of the Step-Up team. The appointment has inspired this post which will provide insight and advice around psychiatric appointments/meetings, in the hope that it will help service users about to attend their first appointment, existing service users who still struggle with theirs, and others who might just be genuinely interested to know or understand what can go on in these instances…
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If you find yourself in a waiting
room with others in, and believe you’d find talking to someone helpful for
yourself, I think you really need to be very intuitive around deciding whether
to speak to another service user or receptionist – there’s no hard and fast
rule.
The best way to make the decision
is probably by putting yourself in their shoes; if you were sat alone waiting
for an appointment like this, would you want a complete stranger talking to
you? And, if you were really busy on the computer, would you want a service
user chatting your ear off?! If you’re unsure on any of these, maybe play it
safe and stay silent.
Personally, though, I usually like
talking to strangers when I’m in such situations because I find it a welcome distraction,
which was why it was really helpful having my Mum in the waiting room with me,
because it gave me someone to talk to! So, maybe keep that side of things in
mind too?!
Here are some links that I think
provide decent advice around talking to others in a mental health service:
Helping
others with mental health problems - Every Mind Matters - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Talking
about mental health | Mental Health Foundation
Helping
someone with a mental health problem - Mind
Why
the language we use to describe mental health matters | Mental Health
Foundation
9
Mental Illness Phrases You Should Banish From Your Vocabulary (bustle.com)
7
terms to avoid when talking about mental illnesses | HealthPartners Blog
One difficulty in waiting for your
appointment to start, is the feeling that your mind is going ten-to-the-dozen
in terms of how many thoughts are going on in it, and trust me, I know how
dizzying, intimidating, and exhausting that can be! The overwhelming nature of
this can largely be caused by the anxiety of not knowing exactly what to expect
in terms of the appointment. I mean – for this one of mine – it was set to be a
discussion of medication and it was with a psychiatrist who I’d never even met
before so it was like double the nervousness and uncertainty!
It ended up being another reason
why I was glad my Mum was with me in the waiting room because it meant I was
sort of distracted by my frantic worrying. When I’ve attended appointments
alone though (which I usually do!), I have found some DBT mindfulness exercises
really helpful in calming my thoughts…
Here's a few helpful links for
this challenging moment related to psychiatric appointments:
Calm
- The #1 App for Meditation and Sleep
11+
DBT Mindfulness Exercises (list) | OptimistMinds
DBT Mindfulness
Exercises | Mindfulness and Mindfulness Exercises » (mindfulness4u.org)
Mindfulness
Exercises - DBT Self Help
12 Fun
Mindfulness Activities For Adults to Be More Present (meditationbrainwaves.com)
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I recently saw a video on Twitter
from the ICU of the Western General
Hospital (part of the NHS Lothian
Trust), and it was in support of #WorldAutismAcceptanceWeek (you can view it here) so it
detailed the reality of an Intensive Care Unit for someone with Autism. It
highlighted just how over-stimulating and overwhelming the Unit could be – it
kind of feels wrong saying all of this because I don’t have Autism, so when I
say it was the ‘reality’ and that it's effective; that’s only because so many people
who actually have the diagnosis have supported the video campaign! Also, as
someone who has been in ICU twice, I’d agree that it is that busy, frantic, and
noisy.
Anyhow, so after seeing that video
it really reminded me of how I felt walking into the building I had this
appointment in and how utterly thrown I was to find that the place I hadn’t
been in for about four years, had massively changed their interior. I mean, it
was pretty unrecognisable(!) and, with me already being so anxious and nervous
for the appointment, it was really off-putting to walk into a waiting
room/reception area that I had never seen before. And that notion – of not
seeing what I had expected – was actually really dazing and confusing for me (and
this was something I really didn’t need when I was already struggling with
these… hallucinations and like, strange thoughts or beliefs that were coming
into my head uninvited and completely irrelevant to anything and everything going
on in reality).
Here’s some links to help ground yourself
in scenarios where you feel less certain:
Grounding
Techniques (Article) | Therapist Aid
Grounding
Techniques: Exercises for Anxiety, PTSD, & More (healthline.com)
10+ Mindful
Grounding Techniques (Incl. Group Exercise) (positivepsychology.com)
Grounding
Techniques | The Survivors Trust
The
Grounding Technique That Helps When I'm Anxious | YoungMinds