Long delays to get a doctor's appointment, waiting years to see a specialist and constantly being bounced around between services. These are some of the stories M.E.N. readers have been sharing about their struggles to get help with mental health issues. It comes after we reported on the heartbreaking story of mum Jane Kavanagh who took her own life after struggling to get help for her disabled daughter. Yesterday an inquest into the 33-year-old's death heard she called her GP surgery to say she was suicidal and was offered an appointment 12 days later. The next day she killed herself. Miss Kavanagh, of Rochdale, had been a full-time carer to her 15-year-old daughter, who was autistic and suffered from the degenerative condition cerebral ataxia. But despite living on her own with her two children, Miss Kavanagh had no care workers assigned to her, had no adaptations made to her house and was offered no respite care. Her case was described as 'extremely concerning' by coroner Nicholas … [Read more...] about Horrendous experiences of people trying to get help with mental health issues
I want help with my depression
I tried to fix my bipolar mum aged six as she screamed, wailed and spent all our money
AS I crept downstairs I could hear her crying, great racking sobs that got louder the closer I walked to the kitchen. I peered around the corner and there was my mum, slumped over the table. I stood watching before trying to comfort her. At four years old I was scared but desperate to help. I was always aware that my mum wasn’t like other mums and had problems with her ‘nerves’. There were days she’d wake up and it was as though she had a veil in front of her face. She would tell me when she was feeling better that on those days nothing could lift her. She could win the lottery and it wouldn’t penetrate the fog. I felt as though I had to fix her and did everything I could to make her feel better. Because she’d have episodes of over-spending we often had money worries and I’d empty my money box and give her my precious coins. There was the time we went to the bank and they took her bank card and cut it into pieces. Our electricity and … [Read more...] about I tried to fix my bipolar mum aged six as she screamed, wailed and spent all our money
‘I wanted to prove that I wasn’t just a good player’
Jerry Flannery and Felix Jones got to spend some time with the Crusaders during the summer. Having watched New Zealand dispatch France in the three-Test series down there, they had started off marvelling at the one-on-one contests that were all going New Zealand's way. For sure they were athletic, but most teams at this level have fellas who can get around the track. The difference, they concluded, was largely in the ability of the forwards to catch and pass the ball accurately, under pressure. Jacques Nienaber, who left such a deep impression on the players in his two seasons with Munster, had a line for it: "Passing forwards make space." And all the New Zealand forwards could pass the ball. Clearly this is not a startling revelation, but even in a game where coaches are clambering over each other to get to the next advantage line, they can lose sight of the obvious: the aggregate of performing lots of basic skills under pressure is a winning scoreline. So the lads came home from … [Read more...] about ‘I wanted to prove that I wasn’t just a good player’
‘I didn’t sleep for 40 years until I dealt with my father abusing me’
I don’t have very many memories of my childhood. I think that’s my mind protecting me from what happened to me. My father had a very unstable personality – he would fly into rages and be unpredictable and bullied my mother in front of me. I have a clear memory of running away from him and hiding under a wardrobe because he was so angry. I feared him. I’m very aware of how my dad’s behaviour impacted my entire life. There was sexual behaviour from him since I was about 12. He’d touch me intimately and talk to me in an adult way, leaving pornographic images hidden in my bed for me to see, or make me watch sexual things with him. Of course, in time my personality changed. Before he started touching me I was happy and outgoing. Then I started getting in trouble at school in a bid to get someone to notice what was happening. But if they suspended me I’d have to go home and face him as he didn’t work. Everything I did made it worse. I wanted to … [Read more...] about ‘I didn’t sleep for 40 years until I dealt with my father abusing me’
‘I wanted to abort my IVF baby’
England By Sophie Madden BBC News 30 July 2018 Share this with Facebook Share this with Messenger Share this with Twitter Share this with Email Share this with Facebook Share this with WhatsApp Share this with Messenger Share this with Twitter Share Share this with These are external links and will open in a new window Email Share this with Email Facebook Share this with Facebook Messenger Share this with Messenger Messenger Share this with Messenger Twitter Share this with Twitter Pinterest Share this with Pinterest WhatsApp Share this with WhatsApp LinkedIn Share this with LinkedIn Copy this link https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-44197458 Read more about sharing. These are external links and will open in a new window Close share panel For many women, pregnancy is a magical time. But for some it can be a struggle, with one in five mothers … [Read more...] about ‘I wanted to abort my IVF baby’