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Discharged by mental health services for being autistic

NAS51082

Hi

I'm autistic and have serious anxiety disorder 

I've recently been discharged by community mental health services for being autistic and struggling really badly with a recent trauma that has effected my mental health really badly 

My CPN worker had boldy told me that if I cannot engage with them then they cannot support me and had a deeply critical tone to the way she said it putting so much hurtful blame on to me making me feel like I was an inadequate piece of ***. Even though I had stated that I'm struggling with suicidal thoughts and struggling with anxiety and being autistic. But I feel like that as I am unwell and I cannot help my neuro divergency ( autism ) and mental health illness it was incredibly unfair that they did such a thing and that in all honesty I believe they couldn't care less about supporting me. 

I'm not sure what I do now as my mental health is deteriorating and I've been discharged by community mental health services because I'm mentally unwell. 

Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks 

  • Dear NAS51082, 

    Thank you for posting and telling the community what you are going through. We are sorry to hear that you are struggling with recent trauma which is effecting your mental health. It is good that you’ve let us know how you feel. Many people have similar thoughts when coping with so much and we hope you’re okay.     

    If you are unable to cope with the distress or despair, it’s very important to tell someone about your feelings or thoughts of suicide. Call your GP and make an urgent appointment. Your GP can make sure you get appropriate help and support . 

    The National Autistic Society does not currently operate a crisis or emergency service. We advise you to contact 999 or any of the mental health crisis lines listed on our Urgent Help Page if you are at risk of immediate harm: https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/help-and-support/urgent-help  

    If you are not at immediate risk of harm, we would encourage you to speak to your GP or another health professional about this if you haven’t done so already. If it’s outside your GP hours call 111 to reach the NHS 111 service. In England, Wales and Scotland there is now an option to speak with mental health professionals by selecting ‘option 2’ when calling NHS 111: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/urgent-and-emergency-care-services/when-to-use-111/  

    You may also find the following useful:  

    Help for anyone struggling to cope  

    • Samaritans: Call 116 123 for free, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.  
    • Mind Infoline: 0300 1233393 for information and signposting (9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday)   
    • SANEline: 0300 304 7000 for anyone experiencing a mental health problem or supporting someone else (4.30pm to 10.30pm, every day)  
    • Shout 85258: a free, confidential, 24/7 text messaging support service for anyone struggling to cope.  

    If you are interested in counselling (NHS & private), you may like to have a look at the Autism Services Directory: https://www.autism.org.uk/directory under ‘Health & Counsellors’. 

    This guide produced by NAS may be of interest. It collates suggestions on ways professionals can make mental health talking therapies better for autistic people.   

    Content note- the guide contains sections on suicide and self-harm: Good practice guide for professionals delivering therapy  

    We hope this is helpful to you.  

    Kind regards 

    Rosie Mod  

  • Other people will probably give you practical advice on where to turn.  I can only give you sympathy and understanding.   It reminds me of a job centre appointment, where my work coach rejected the suggestion that I was autistic and said that in her opinion I was completely normal, two minutes later she was reprimanding me for having unusual body language and not communicating clearly.