Mental Health awareness - talk to someone

Andy From Sligo

so this thing in Ireland about "talk to someone" about your mental health , be it family, friends, or strangers. Is this just to alleviate the mental health professional services that sometimes you could be waiting up to a year to see a specialist / psychiatrist ?

I mean i'm not being funny (normally when people say they are not being funny in a roundabout way they are being funny lol )

so anyway I am not being funny , but can we all agree that when a person has a serious issue such as metal illness or depression lets cut to the chase here they need professional helpful/experienced/positive expertise ... not some stranger or friend or family who

A.) dont have a clue what the affected person is going through

B.) havent got time to listen to the affected person, or get bored with them or are just as depressed themselves instead of lifting the affected persons mood up making them feel worse ... or on the other hand being too uplifted and getting them to 'cheer up' or giving them something to do to 'take their mind off it' or 'sure you will be grand your just having an off day, we all get them'

C.) might say the wrong things that exacerbate the problem(s) or make matters worse or makes the person feel worse than they feel already or give them wrong advice

I think this kind of approach to it can be a bit dangerous in a way personally.

you need professional help in these cases - sure with some people it may help by just talking to someone and getting stuff off their chest - but in the majority of times that just simply may not be enough. And as much as it pains me because I dont like tackling depression with medication , but sometimes medication is needed.

if you had a blown exhaust on your car you would go to a garage ... if you explained your exhaust problem with your uneducated family friend or stranger who hadnt a clue of how a car works and they said to you have you tried changing the petrol or filled her up with oil you would be getting the wrong information. ... but the HSE are expecting people to open up to others that are not qualified (unless maybe they have/are going through it themselves)

FanadMan

Sometimes just talking to someone can help.....doesn't need to be a therapist or psychiatrist. I suffer from depression and when things get bad, a simple call to a good friend can make such a difference. This friend knows my history and has been there and helped me through many really bad bouts.

And just the act of talking might give someone with depression the nerve to seek professional help. Not everyone wants to admit to themselves straight away that they are having problems.

El_Duderino 09

Lol. It's not either talk to a doctor or talk to Dangerous Dave down the pub.

The message is to talk to friends/family after seeking medical help.

freshpopcorn

Just basing it on people I know who had issues over the years.
Talking to friends/family really helped them with the issue.
It allowed them to get what ever was bothering off their chest.
They didn't have to bottle it all up any more and people knew why somebody might be a little off.
It also allowed them to talk about solutions to there problems. Some issues might be able to worked at with a family/work place/group of friends and others might need medical advice a friend/family member might be the person to book the appointment at the GP if it was needed and this was all because the person talked about it to them.

Sidebaro

Whenever I've been 'under the weather', I've actively avoided talking to someone about it. It's the last thing I want to do. Whenever I have done, it usually made me feel worse. I was on the dole when I was really bad so I couldn't afford a therapist. 'Talk to someone' as advice annoys me and I doubt I'm alone in that sentiment in terms of people with depression.

Having said that, I'm sure talking to someone has and does helped a lot of people so I won't campaign for it's abolishment as a solution just yet (not saying OP is saying that) but I can understand how people don't like the term or what it's suggesting.

Andy From Sligo

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Lol. It's not either talk to a doctor or talk to Dangerous Dave down the pub.

The message is to talk to friends/family after seeking medical help.

the message is not clear enough then because i believe whenever you hear the adverts on TV or radio it leans more to discussing / talking with your friends and family and strangers / colleagues at work - thats the way I interpret it

Pyr0

For a lot of people, the first stepping stone to seeking medical/professional help is talking to friends and family and I feel that's what the campaign is trying to get at.

Immediately jumping to the professionals is a scary prospect and can make people think that their problems don't matter that much and second guess themselves, sometimes it takes a friend or family member to put their issues into perspective enough to realise that their issues do matter.

endacl

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

thats the way I interpret it

The way you interpret things sure leads to some odd threads...

freshpopcorn

endacl wrote: »

The way you interpret things sure leads to some odd threads...

Some people talks to family/friends about how they interpret things. Andy turns to us.

Andy From Sligo

freshpopcorn wrote: »

Some people talks to family/friends about how they interpret things. Andy turns to us.

thats one way of looking at it I suppose

Graces7

And there are the samaritans,.. anonymity which can be easier

Andy From Sligo

I think the older generation and certain areas (urban/rural) could be different results - I know I have had heard on a couple of occasions words like "we never had depression in our day, - you just had to get on with it! ...."

its the same with things like autism and Aspergers - they more than likely used to have a rake of kids in 'the old days' with autism and the like but just went un-diagnosed

my lad who has scoliosis was told by one of our old relatives once "stop stooping, stand upright - put your shoulders back! - theres a good man! "

FanadMan

Pyr0 wrote: »

For a lot of people, the first stepping stone to seeking medical/professional help is talking to friends and family and I feel that's what the campaign is trying to get at.

Immediately jumping to the professionals is a scary prospect and can make people think that their problems don't matter that much and second guess themselves, sometimes it takes a friend or family member to put their issues into perspective enough to realise that their issues do matter.

That was exactly my experience. Spoke to a friend first who suggested speaking to my GP who in turn referred me to a psychiatrist and other services. Without the first chat with my friend I could have taken things worse.

FanadMan

Andy From Sligo wrote: »

I think the older generation and certain areas (urban/rural) could be different results - I know I have had heard on a couple of occasions words like "we never had depression in our day, - you just had to get on with it! ...."

I knew a few older people on heavy doses of vallium "for their nerves"....which was old-speak for depression.

ToddyDoody

I believe you're supposed to be in competition with your own depression. So if you feel depressed you're supposed to try and make yourself even more depressed.

Andy From Sligo

id be a bit cautious of how people can keep stuff to themselves . Talking things over with a GP or Psychiatrist or other specialist holds special (or should do) patient doctor confidentiality .

I would hate the thought of people who are depressed or suicidal talking to family/friends/strangers and their trust being abused and it being the next big thing talked about down the local shop / over coffee with the neighbours.

Can you imagine a depressed or anxious or suicidal person trusting / placing their trust in someone , building up that trust , being very brave and talking over their issues and only to be betrayed like that - it would be devastating.

When I talk to someone (friend or whatever) and they say "dont worry I can keep a secret, I wont tell anyone - what you say is between us 2" then I normally take that with a pinch of salt!