Call me crazy, but I've had this strange feeling, for some time now..that something is wrong. Seriously wrong with the way that the Australian Government is covering youth mental health issues and mental health issues on the whole.
I suppose this comes from personal experience. I've had two friends over the past few years, die from mental health related issues.
They committed suicide. Blunt, yes, but it's the only way to say it. Why beat around the bush? It's blatently obvious what the problem is, so why are we tiptoing around it?
It's all well and good for the government to spend money on baby bonuses and trade and all the normal, everday stuff that everyone is always bickering about. But when are they going to update our rehab facilities? When are they going to stop shelving plans to expand hospitals, create specific youth mental health wards, when are they going to start keeping generation y, safe?
There's nothing scarier, than being 18 years old and spending the night in a mental ward. Technicaly your an adult, so your not sent to the children's ward, which is where you've gone almost every other time. You know how it goes, you know the rounds....but this, this is new and strange and frightening. There are people running through the corridors, theres screaming and crying and wailing and you've lost all sense of time and space after a while.
You panic. And you cry.
And realistically, because the patient two doors down, who's 6ft and full of bulk, is having a fit and needs almost all the staff to hold him down, your on your own.
This can't keep happening. How can anyone agree to this?
The hospital. I was referred there due to my own problems with depression, to see a psychologist. It cost me nothing, which was good, because financially, we simply couldn't afford to pay for one. The services offered at the hospital are good. For some. I didn't find it overly fruitful myself. I suppose towards the end I stopped putting the effort in, because I felt as though I was getting no-where. Thats how it goes. After a while you feel like your going no-where.
Some people find it very helpful. I have a friend who goes religiously, week after week, in the hope of finding answers. And sometimes she does.
I think my answers are hiding elsewhere.
The point I want to make today, is about the lack of services available. See, whilst this service is available in my neck of the woods, it's not available elsewhere. And, whilst it exists here, not everyone gets in. Not everyones problems are deemed as important as others, which really annoys me.
I mean, I know that some people don't have a mental illness, but how can they be sure? What criteria do they use when their turning people away? It would be all well and good if there were appropriate councelling services in the community, but there isn't. theres not enough. And they all cost alot. This sort of thing isn't covered by medicare.
When my mum was really worrying for me, she went and asked medicare if anything was covered.
Yes, there was something. Under medicare we could be covered for 12 appointments with a psychologist. 12 only.
Yes, theres good money in all aspects of the medical profession these days. These people charge hundreds of dollars for help, that I believe should be free or atleast heavily subsidised.
Back to the criteria, I really want to know how they decide who to take in. I remember when I first went there, I had to fill out alot of forms that asked all these questions about my feelings and reactions to things. It helped that I had a referral from my doctor. Some kids don't feel like their problems are bad enough to warrent help. They feel like, because they have a mental illness, regardless of the fact they feel miserable all the time, they can hardly get out of bed in the morning and most of the time they just want to die, because they have a mental illness or because their problems arn't visible to the human eye, that their not important. That they don't mean anything, that they don't deserve the help they so desperately need and want.
The fact that these thoughts have entered their heads suggests theres something seriously wrong. If kids have to start cutting themselves up, just get some assistance...then there is definately something wrong with the system.
Affected by mental health issues yourself or know someone who is? Check out our sister site http://www.reachout.com.au/
