Published on 12, July, 2020
Yesterday I had a Psychological assessment arranged by my Mental Health Worker (due to my deteriorating Mental Health) to assess me for Aspergers & worsening OCD. My MH Worker believes that my severe depression, growing paranoia and self harming are masking an undiagnosed problem.
I have daily problems with travelling, communicating with strangers, people entering my personnel space, memory loss, depression, anxiety, compulsive behaviour, self harming, insomnia, obsessive behavoiur and now paranoia.
I had a one hour session with a so called Psychiatrist and was left disillusioned, very confused and felt COMPLETELY WORTHLESS.
He told me I DON'T suffer with Depression even though it affects me ALL THE TIME. I am constantly paranoid about friends and family dying and in the past have been suicidal.
Because I do not 'CUT MYSELF' but constantly scratch and nip myself (drawing blood), and pull my hair out he acted like that my self harming WAS A SMALL PROBLEM and not worth discussing.
He told me that I only have MINOR O.C.D. if at all even though I have CONSTANT PANIC ATTACKS when things are not down 'correctly'. I told him repeatedly about my OBSESSIVE and COMPULSIVE BEHAVIOUR which is now turning into PARANOIA. He seemed to brush it all off as 'LIFE STYLE CHOICES'.
When discussing my insomnia (which I have had since being a child) he told me to JOIN A GYM.
He constantly told me that he was there to help BUT then he came to the crux of the matter and REPEATEDLY reminded me about BUDGETS and Mental Health suffers who's NEEDS were more important than mine. He stated (and I quote) " If you had a family member who severely cut themselves, or a family member who was stood on Humber Bridge about to commit suicide who's needs would come first, yours or theirs?"
He then said he would give me 3 months of help but then warned me that it was up me to MAKE SURE I followed up on this help.
When I left the 'session' I felt like a worthless time-waster, confused and upset. If it wasn't for being able to call my partner (I am paranoid about Mobile Phones but she insisted I carry one for emergencies) I would have gone on a 'Bender'. I very rarely drink but the last time I went on a 'Bender' I became suicidal and was almost 'Sectioned'. The Psychiatrist knew all this.
Can anyone out there advice me on what I can do. My Mental Health Workers is calling me today because she knows what I've just been through but can I complain? Can I ask for a second option?
Yours Paparaw
I assume this is all under the NHS, in which case you may find the following useful:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/wales/health/nhs-healthcare/nhs-complaints-w/
That's the one in Wales that popped up in my search. Here's one for England:
https://www.nhs.uk/nhsengland/complaints-and-feedback/pages/nhs-complaints.aspx
It is unfortunate when so-called "professionals" can't do their jobs properly and it results in more anguish for people who are already vulnerable.
Hi Paparaw,
In addition to the good advice you have received from forum members, it is important the professional you see has experience of autism spectrum difficulties. You can find details of diagnostic services on our Autism Services Directory in the Assessment and diagnosis section:http://www.autism.org.uk/directory.aspx
If you were interested in finding out if you are on the autism spectrum, you would need to have a formal diagnostic assessment. You may find it useful to have a look at the following link for further information about diagnosis and the benefits of getting one: http://www.autism.org.uk/about/diagnosis.aspx
You may like to have a look at the following page which includes personal accounts, which may help:http://www.autism.org.uk/about/adult-life/stories.aspx
It might also be useful to pass on information about autism to health professionals when seeking a diagnosis. The following page includes information for a range of health professionals: http://www.autism.org.uk/Working-with/Health.aspx
If you have further questions, you may like to contact our Autism Helpline team. They can provide you with information and advice about getting a diagnosis. You can call them on 0808 800 4104 (Monday to Thursday 10am to 4pm, Friday 9am to 3pm). Please note that the Helpline is experiencing a high volume of calls and it may take a couple of attempts before you get through to speak to an advisor.
Hope this helps,
Nicky-Mod