Venting How about making mental health services actually fucking affordable, hm?

[Dun Emeritus]

Absolutely fucking frustrated right now. I'm only available during weekends because of work. The free ones in my country aren't available during weekends and the one that is available has a reputation for being too religious with their therapies. The affordable ones however, I can only pay every after payday so that's once every two weeks. I don't think this is an ideal schedule for therapy.

The fuck does the world expect me to do now? GF recently broke up with me because she got tired of my issues. My very small number of friends aren't really helping. I have an auntie who listens, but I really need a professional to fix myself and not just an ear to listen.

The fuck do I do now? I can live with my issues my entire life, but for fuck's sake. Come on, seriously?

 

[Rocksandsand]

Can I ask - and you don't need to disclose if you don't want to - what country are you from?

 

[Dun Emeritus]

Philippines. Where literally everything is fucking shitty.

 

[Rocksandsand]

I wish I had something constructive to say. I know it's not much, but have you looked in to self help stuff? I'm not a pro lifer by any means, but you sound like you want to recover? Or at least a part of you does?

 

[not_a_robot]

awww. Mental healthcare is a joke. It doesn't matter if it's affordable.
If you're poor, you're crazy.
If you're rich, just eccentric.
It's all bullshit-for-profit
(even if it's free, someone profits,
the "nonprofits/NGOs/charities"
profit plenty).

Sorry.

 

[Shamana]

Honestly most mental health workers are shit tbh. They hardly have anything creative to offer that you havn't thought about already. A psychiatrist can offer you drugs though that benefit some and harm others.

 

[HGL91]

Honestly most mental health workers are shit tbh. They hardly have anything creative to offer that you havn't thought about already. A psychiatrist can offer you drugs though that benefit some and harm others.

Yeah, I went to one of the best mental health outpatient programs in the USA in my early 20s (there was a waitlist and people flew from other states to do it) and my parents paid for it.

I found that while I was doing it, I felt better because it didn't feel like real life. Everyone coddles you by telling you you're right all the time and you play board games, do yoga, and share your feelings and negative experiences with each other in groups. You fill out worksheets about how to change your thoughts through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Ie. "I don't have friends" turns into "I don't reach out to my friends, and that's why I haven't seen them."

Basically, they teach you that you have control over your life, but once you get back into the real world, your family and workplace just calls you selfish, fragile and needy. It just delays the inevitable of feeling suicidal again!

 

[Shamana]

Yeah, I went to one of the best mental health outpatient programs in the USA in my early 20s (there was a waitlist and people flew from other states to do it) and my parents paid for it.

I found that while I was doing it, I felt better because it didn't feel like real life. Everyone coddles you by telling you you're right all the time and you play board games, do yoga, and share your feelings and negative experiences with each other in groups. You fill out worksheets about how to change your thoughts through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Ie. "I don't have friends" turns into "I don't reach out to my friends, and that's why I haven't seen them."

Basically, they teach you that you have control over your life, but once you get back into the real world, your family and workplace just calls you selfish, fragile and needy. It just delays the inevitable of feeling suicidal again!

Sounds alright, but I would honestly hardly spend a dime on therapists or psychiatrists from my personal experience. Here where I live, you can free help if you're very ill and in the system, but if I had to pay them 150 dollars and our, I would rather save the money and spend it on something else. I know there are a lot of good people in mental health care, but they very very rarely have anything to offer that a good kind friend couldn't do already.

 

[HGL91]

Sounds alright, but I would honestly hardly spend a dime on therapists or psychiatrists from my personal experience. Here where I live, you can free help if you're very ill and in the system, but if I had to pay them 150 dollars and our, I would rather save the money and spend it on something else. I know there are a lot of good people in mental health care, but they very very rarely have anything to offer that a good kind friend couldn't do already.

That's true that friends can do the same, aside from legally prescribe meds. Haven't seen a therapist in years because my boyfriend and I were like eachother's emotional support. I think sometimes people don't have anyone they can depend on, and that's when therapists are useful.

 

[1964dodge]

when my doctor wanted me in therapy I tried it for a few months. it cot $50 a session and my insurance covered $10 and I had to pay $40. so I went every other week because that's all I could afford and that stretched my budget. after a few months I decided they couldn't help me and saved the $40 every other week. yes money played a big part in my decision to stop.

 

[TAW122]

@Shamana Agreed with you. I had my fair share of mental health counseling over the course of my life. While most of them that I went to (with the exception of one or two) are free, I still regret wasting my time and getting my hopes up for some solution. They not only wasted my time, but only served to frustrate me more and there were a few times where they started to 'probe' me on suspicion that I may be a harm to myself or others (I get it's their job, but still... anyone who doesn't want to get locked up obviously won't speak their mind on certain topics). All in all, there is nothing (if anything) good that comes out of it, plus the added risk of saying the wrong thing and getting locked up against your will (and then billed for the treatment/detainment that you never agreed to).

@HGL91 Yeah pretty much sums it up. While I never been to a psych ward before, hearing stories like that just shows that it is nothing constructive from there and simply just a money (and time) trap. There is no real help and I'd rather save that money for other things that bring me joy and actually help me rather than pissing it away to something that society and majority of people sell as the solution.