"Reach out"? "Talk to your doctor"? What a joke.

There isn't infrastructure, funding, or pharmacare for the mentally ill. The medical community doesn't care about the mentally ill. They didn't care before COVID. They'd just watch the clock as you tried not to cry during a 10 minute appointment that took all of your energy to show up for. During COVID, I haven't bothered reaching out for help. What's the point? They equate mental illness with a lack of intelligence. Why can't you just pick yourself up & pull yourself together? In my community, there is a one year waiting list for subsidized, sliding scale therapy and a three year waiting list for housing, in case you're too ill to work & pay market rent. Stop telling people help is out there. Just stop.

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Agreed

Nov 10, 2021 at 9:39pm

This is very well said. “Just reach out, help is out there” is what people who haven’t been through any of these systems say.

It’s no wonder that people would rather turn to the Teal Swans of the world (cultish and problematic, yet speaking the words we’ve been yearning to hear) than seek help that ends up taking more than it gives, creates more internal conflict within those that are already hurting, and emphasizes how flawed one must be not to be able to function within a broken system.

Personally I wish there was 1) more trauma-informed help out there that truly understood the widespread nature of under-the-radar abuse and its impacts on the brain, nervous system, and body, and 2) more opportunities for mental health consumers to contribute their ideas for meaningful systemic change and actually be listened to as lived experience experts rather than dismissed or treated with condescension.

Signed, a certified loony who had to figure most of it out in her own.

26 3Rating: +23

Bo

Nov 11, 2021 at 8:44am

I totally agree with OP.I have been trying for a year to access affordable ,competent therapy to no avail.The waiting lists are indicative of a failed system that has been underfunded for decades by all levels of government that really don't care.And the mental health issue has gotten worse with the pandemic. Governments have the money,they lack the political will to do anything about it because it doesn't serve their interests. One has only to take a walk through the Eastside and the downtown core to witness the neglect of those in power. And the problem is only going to get worse .My friend was assaulted by someone with a severe mental illness and the cops basically said" not much we can do".Where are the facilities to help these people?? And we desperately need a conversation on the reality that many mentally ill people will never be able to care for themselves and need to be in a place where they can be cared for properly.What's been allowed to happen is a disgrace but politicians continue to talk the talk with no real results.

21 1Rating: +20

You are...

Nov 11, 2021 at 9:50am

Very correct...it’s very sad, but very correct

12 2Rating: +10

Mack Driver

Nov 11, 2021 at 11:55pm

Medical doctors don’t give a shit about you. There are the odd ones that are great, but try to find them. How about this, if they won’t help you, what are you gonna do about it? Sulk in bed? Get mad at the medical industry? They won’t listen. You should help yourself because only you can help yourself at this point.

10 8Rating: +2

At Mack Driver

Nov 12, 2021 at 6:30am

The problem that you don't seem to understand is that yes,some people can and are able to help themselves but many people can't and thus the dire need for services.Not every mental health problem can be fixed by reading a self help book.I have PTSD and no amount of books or self care helped; a therapist that specializes in treating PTSD saved me and I'm now able to function in this world.You sound like a " pull up your bootstraps" kind of person and the reality is that just doesn't work for most people suffering from mental illness.

"Doesn’t care about" the ill period

Nov 12, 2021 at 10:33am

Mentally and otherwise. As we're clearly seeing now. Most of us who had experience with these institutions pre-pandemic knew the real story. The ones who really care are the ones who got the axe. Performative people banged their pots, couldn't care less now as long as they can have brunch...With what's happening, in the open, not trying to hide any of it, we can all see how ugly the system really is.

17 2Rating: +15

At At Mack Driver

Nov 12, 2021 at 11:21am

Maybe I'm just smarter than most people. I have my own mental health issues, but I have learned how to manage what is going on in my brain. I've seen many doctors and 99% of them don't help you. They will tell me, "I can't help you. Go see this guy", or "Here's a pill, try this." I got sick and tired of hearing this BS from the people who are supposed to help you so I figured out how to deal with these problems myself. It's quite easy to manage it when you figure out how to. And no prescription drugs needed. I wish I could help people with their issues...

Test Rats

Nov 12, 2021 at 9:15pm

Both my GP and psychiatrist pass me off like a hot potato. In our last meeting, my psychiatrist reminded me that he’s “Just a consultant.” I wish I knew that 12 years ago when he started the pills. Not once did he ever suggest a change in diet. These guys are frauds and in denial. And now I look in the mirror and see a test rat… a Guinea pig. Subhuman. They skip testing on animals and go straight to the “animals” in our society. Let’s Talk? We Charity? It’s a scam.

18 1Rating: +17

Women Doctors and Practitioners

Nov 13, 2021 at 6:13am

I was questioned all my life and looked down and and not believed by male doctors until I was 30. Got an amazing women doctor down in the pride district and after a few years and a surgery, figured I had been passing bile stones my whole life. being believed and respected was what mattered most and what I overcame. but in line with that was the medical advice and surgery was life changing. after said surgery a few years later I had a brief episode, and the male on call literally questioned me. I walked out, did it my way and the episode wasn't that bad. god complex in doctors is real. I don't have the issues any more and it is literally zero thanks to male doctors I've ever been to.

6 1Rating: +5

@@@mack driver

Nov 13, 2021 at 6:20am

That's great you could manage your mental illness on your own but I take great offense at your "maybe I'm just smarter than most people".Mental illness has nothing to do with intelligence and you seem to be implying that people who can't cure themselves are stupid.I have 2 degrees and I still needed help.I agree so much that most of the help offered is inadequate but without therapy,I would be either dead or in jail.You also seem to be implying that if people are incapable of treating themselves,then somehow they must be weak,they are not.Please stop acting sanctimonious .I'm glad you were able to help yourself but most people suffering from this illness require professional help.It is an illness. Unfortunately the care so desperately needed by so many people just isn't there.I hope you can manage to show some compassion,rather than judgement of those that need it.

6 11Rating: -5

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