Taking a stand for Mental Health.

I really hope you work out these issues. If indeed the therapy indicated for your depression and suicidal ideation is psychotherapy with an MD psychiatrist, I hope you get this promptly and that your response to the treatment is swift and makes a positive and lasting impact in your life. Mental health can be debilitating, and it's a shame to see people slip through the cracks of our system.

Often times, people afflicted with mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, psychosis have very real social setbacks which make it hard to overcome their illness. You touched on having less money. It can certainly be harder to pull yourself out of an emotional rut if you are faced with debt or tough financial decisions. Other factors such as poor interpersonal relationships, poor living conditions, and being physically unsafe can also make things seem more hopeless. Unfortunately, sometimes the psychiatrist doesn't have the means to correct these environmental factors.

Right now, the mental health program in London is very overburdened. I can sense frustration in your words through repeated vulgarity and accusing others of being 'part of the circle jerk'. I appreciate that you are taking positive steps to get involved and try to address these issues, and commend you. However, these nonconstructive statements do not help anyone and are frustrating to read. I am also 'on the other side of things', and try very hard to care for each patient I see as much as possible regardless of the resources I have at my finger tips. The truth is, the alternative to seeing the psychiatrist 2 days after leaving the ER is waiting for days confined to a room in the ER until you can be seen by a psychiatrist in the inpatients unit. Frankly, I'm not so sure that this would help your depression either. I can't comment on the specific care you received, because I don't know you or the nature of your illness, but I can say that the previous advice regarding community resources and hotlines is bang on.

Once again, stay safe and I hope you conquer your mental health issues. I sympathize with you, I know it must not be easy to admit you need help, make positive steps to get that help, and feel unheard regarding your illness.

/r/londonontario Thread