Mental Health Services

Bardic Poet said:

Well it was even worse claiming JSA and signing on at the Job Centre and the thought that I will have to go there again if I don't get a contract is even worse than my present situation.

Yes I can imagine - I would never cope with that which is why I’ve never done it, even when I was out of work for a period...I didn’t need the extra stress. I was lucky in the sense that I still live with my mum (I’m in my early 20s) and I had savings at that time, so I could choose not to claim JSA. Indeed, we do live in uncertain times, but do keep searching for a job that would suit your needs better, because it can really make life a lot easier. I was out of work for about 18 months following my unfair dismissal by my former employer, and my mental state was such that I thought I would never cope with work again, but after a great deal of selective job hunting I found the right position for me and it’s helped me so much in building back some confidence within the workplace and keeping my anxiety under control whilst there. It’s not easy to find a good employer, but it can be done, so don’t give up trying.

Well it was even worse claiming JSA and signing on at the Job Centre and the thought that I will have to go there again if I don't get a contract is even worse than my present situation.  I think it's the uncertainty getting me down but we live in anxious times.

Yes, it’s very hard to manage these difficulties on top of work. For me personally, finding a supportive employer has done me the world of good, though I still have days when I really struggle in work and the mental health problems caused by my former employer haven’t abated as yet. I’m glad you have found some techniques to help you manage your anxiety in work, just make sure not to push yourself too far in this regard - having done it previously, I don’t think it’s worth sacrificing your mental health for any job.

I totally agree that many people with autism also suffer from mental health problems, so relevant support should be there for this. I suppose we just have to hope that one day the world will catch up and be more understanding of the needs of those with autism.

Starbuck said:

Even the clinics and specialists I had visited previously rejected my referral saying 'they don't specialise with people who have my condition'. 

That’s complete madness! It makes you wonder why these services are so complacent in treating people like this. It’s like they are completely desperate to refuse every referral they possibly can, even on scant grounds. Their actions certainly don’t give me the impression that they actually want to help people.

I find that the advice from the National Autistic Service was great in dealing with my own mini meltdown at work, go to a quiet place, which I do at lunch time, breathe and relax which also helps with anxiety, stress and panic attacks.  I think there are a lot of overlaps with mental health and autism.  I am against those who want to empower people by withdrawing any type of psychological support by stating it's just another form of seeing the world.  Yes it is but some of us need support and the recent Government would love to cut more funding from support services. Those who advocate that autistic people should be treated the same, don't realise that some of us on the spectrum really struggle as someone who may have hearing difficulties or poor eyesight and stating that everyone is on the spectrum annoys me immensely because anxiety and stress is what I have to cope with everyday and it does not improve as a woman going through the change of life, when hormone levels are affecting me too.  In an ideal world we would all accept neuro differences but we don't live in that world yet.

Hi I am also having trouble at work, despite a report from my psychiatrist, to my employers, having had a panic attack yesterday and being advised not to rely on antidepressants as I have been on them for eighteen years.  I am also on a claims casual basis, not a contract and my job is likely to end in mid July, I still suffer from stress and anxiety and feel the lack of support at this present time.  The next time I have a crisis I will be referred to Social Services not the Mental Health team, but we as ASD people do need mental health support as well.  I also have to care for myself, having no carer and at times life can be tough, so I feel for you in your situation.  

I would be keen to hear on how you progress with this.  I had a similar problem when I was suffering with a bad episode of anxiety and depression, my GP was great, but the mental health services were shocking in their actions and response.

I am very sensitive to medication, so this is not an option for me.  I have found psychotherapy to be very useful in the past and it has helped me enough, so that I am in a position to start helping myself again.  After I received my diagnosis for autism no one would deal with my referral for mental health support in counselling and psychotherapy. Even the clinics and specialists I had visited previously rejected my referral saying 'they don't specialise with people who have my condition'.  My GP was furious, but also powerless and after four referral attempts to multiple clinics, my GP said he was very sorry, but there was no else he could refer me to, but that he would be taking the matter up with the board.  It's ludicrous and also discriminating how before my diagnosis, no one had any issues in treating me, but following my diagnosis, even though I am the same person they now refuse based on having autism.

Yes, I came across that petition a while ago, but as you say it hasn’t had enough exposure. I’m still waiting for a response from the NAS regarding what they are doing about this issue. All I’ve had from them so far is information about how they are making sure that GPs are more aware of autism, and whilst this is good, it doesn’t help with the mental health side of things.

I’m sorry you’ve had difficulty in this area also, though I’m glad to hear that you have found some private mentoring that has helped you. I just can’t afford private treatment currently given what my Employment Tribunal proceedings have cost me.

My GP does her best and she is frustrated by the lack of services herself, but there’s nothing she can do about it. The stupid thing is that in the county next to me there is apparently a mental health service that better understands autism, but I can’t be referred to it because the Local Authority area I live in do not fund this service! So I’m a bit stuck with it all. Many thanks for your suggestions though; I will be sure to do some research to see if those things are available under any service in my area.

Sorry to hear it's been so difficult for you. This is a particular cause of mine too - all those years trying to find effective treatment for depression, and no one suggested autism, and when I did get a diagnosis, there were no appropriate services that could help with the difficulties underlying the depression.  And getting stuck in group psychodynamic psychotherapy that was predicated on the idea that my problems were from my upbringing, and like most psychoanalytic/psychodynamic therapy is of limited benefit to anyone, and harmful to the clients.

I don't think you're being too demanding at all. Given maybe one in ten people in the mental health system is autistic (my rough estimate given 66-80% secondary mental health problems), you'd hope the professionals had something to offer than inappropriate stereotypes, but you'd be lucky to find one who has.  It's a dreadful situation based on decades of psychiatric myths.  Most of them don't seem to believe alexithymia can exist.  There's a petition at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/207658 which hasn't had enough exposure.  I'm lucky to be able to get private mentoring and not need much more right at the moment.

My suggestions would be to make sure you have your GP seeing the maze of non-services in the same way you do. It sounds like your case is lost in overstretched secondary services - I've been on the waiting list for services that wouldn't accept me before, mis-signposted and so on.  However,  your GP might find something in primary services like IAPT - some areas have clinical psychologists who have at least an interest in autism, and if you find that, all you need is a discharge from the CMHT....  The big question is how you can imagine support (or 'scaffolding' that could later be removed) helping you.  I've met people who've had adapted CBT and it seemed to help - systemic therapy or problem-solving therapy might also be useful. 

I quite agree Former Member, and I think that’s another reason why we need professionals who can understand, diagnose and treat all of the relevant problems.

I think it works both ways. If you get a mental illness diagnosis first then everything is seen as being related to that diagnosis and things like ASD/dyspraxia/NVLD get ignored or overlooked. Either way it means inadequate/poor help/support/treatment  .

I am sorry you have had such a poor experience too. It’s terrible that when you need this help you get nothing, or as you say those that are supposed to help actually make you feel worse. Thank goodness for your therapist and I am glad you managed to get your diagnosis in the end.

I had the same problem with my local CMHT.  Pushed from pillar to post, treated like a malingerer, told to stop drinking and I would get better, told that I couldn't have ASC because I was too high-functioning, etc.  Their level of knowledge on the condition seemed to be zero - even among trained psychiatrists.  It's a disgrace.  They made me worse, not better, with their constant rejections.  It was only when my therapist insisted to my GP that I bypassed them and got a referral to specialist autism services that I finally got my diagnosis.

DragonCat16 said:

I don't want to take drugs because I really don't see how that's going to help me, when my problem arises from how others treat me, and not from some chemical imbalance or whatever.

I feel much the same about them. I did forget to mention that I’m offered antidepressants every time I see my GP despite me making clear that I don’t want them and explaining why. At the end of the day, like you say, a pill can’t magically fix everything that has been done to me by others that made me feel that way in the first place!

I’m sorry you are having your own difficulties in this area, as I say I think it’s mad that nobody wants to deal with mental health problems plus ASD. I’ve even sent an email to the NAS asking what they are doing about this issue, but all I’ve received so far is information regarding how they are making sure GPs are more aware of ASD, which whilst good doesn’t address the mental health side of things. I’ll keep trying...

As someone who is still suffering serious mental health issues because of the way I was treated at work, I can sympathise.

I also find it strange that I keep going to my GP and they just keep giving me sick notes so that I can get benefits (I ultimately lost my job due to discrimination and bullying), but they have never offered me any actual treatment. When I asked about this the last time, saying that my stress-related headaches were getting really bad and painkillers no longer made any difference, I was told that I could go on antidepressants (though I have not been prescribed anything yet) and I was referred to a stress management course involving CBT. I'll give the course a try, but I do not understand why I couldn't continue with the same psychiatrist who diagnosed me, or something like that. I don't want to take drugs because I really don't see how that's going to help me, when my problem arises from how others treat me, and not from some chemical imbalance or whatever.

Of course mental health professionals should understand ASD. It's in the flipping DSM-V as a "mental disorder", not that I particularly agree with that, but it's definitely not a physical condition. The trouble is that people in the healthcare community just don't want to put in the effort of treating someone with more than one thing "wrong" with them because that would require too much effort. After all, GP appointments are limited to 10 minutes because they only want to treat people one symptom at a time. Therefore, anyone with ASD along with anything else is just too much trouble.