Samaritans

Lostsense

I think I text the Samaritans too much. I asked   about my local Samaritans branch and they told me the opening times as I'm thinking about going in and talking to someone. I think they thought I wasent going to text again then. I know I do there headin and I bet they're like it's her again when they receive a text from my number. Evan though I know this, I still text them as I need them. How desperate am I? Like I still don't text them as much as I'de like to thoughhh! People keep telling me they're concerned about my wellbeing and passing me the Samaritans details that I am allready in touch with anyway!
I have a doctors appointment in a weeks time as my housing support worker thinks I have PTSD from what happened last year so she was going to come with me in a weeks time however because it's a year tonight since it happened I'm worried how I'm going to cope or not so cope. So I guess I will try and reach out to my gp again today for some help! 🙃

JustV

I think it's great that you're being so proactive in seeking support, even if it is causing you to feel a bit dependent(?) on Samaritans. Reaching out to people like your GP or other support workers is never easy, so I take my hat off to you for taking that approach with things. Feel free to let us know how those appointments go if you like, by the way.

About Sams, though - ultimately, they are there as a listening ear and it's absolutely okay to use them as just that. Requiring that extra support and space to vent doesn't make you desperate, it just means you're finding things particularly tough at the mo. Morevoer, given the nature of what they do, they'll run into regular contacts fairly often and that's okay. They won't think ill of you for it.

I guess the side to the coin worth thinking about is whether the relationship you have with them is a constructive one. If you're really getting something out of contacting them then great, but if you reckon texting them as often as you are could be having a negative impact on you then maybe it's worth rethinking. That said, I'm aware this isn't something you talked about in your post, so it's more of a side note.

Out of curiosity, would you mind me asking how often you get in touch with them? :chin:

Lostsense

I have put up in another thread how the doctors appointment went.

You wouldn't want to know how many times I have contacted sams lol. I have used different emails because I have different personalitys (yep I am a complicated young lady) I would like different phones with different numbers if I could afford it! Compare to other things (mental health apps) that have had a negative impact on me. Contacting the Samaritans dosent come close to that so thats somewhat positive however I sometimes need my spagetti brain picking at and can't say how I feel and if I can't say how I feel Samaritans are no good but I always end up contacting them again soon I don't know..it's a complicated one.

JustV

Sounds like you've certainly got a lot going on, @I believe! It must be tremendously difficult to be dealing with all these things at once. Am I right in inferring that you have MPD?

I'm hearing that having someone to help you articulate your feelings and try to unravel that 'spaghetti brain' (nice terminology, btw ) would be quite useful. That in itself is a barrier that support services are often able to help you past - is it something you've discussed with Samaritans or do you just find you make less progress with them when you feel like you can't word how you're feeling?

It's cool to hear you don't think you have a negative relationship with them, too. With the mental health apps you mentioned, are you currently using any of those?

Lostsense

Whats MPD?! 🤔 yeah that would be rather useful (and thanks lol) I know that in itself is a barrier 🙁 I can't remember wether I have discussed my spaghetti brain with the Sams. It is difficult when I can't find the words of how I'm feeling because then I am unable to use the Sams. I often use pictures and quotes which help when I am unable to find the words of how I'm feeling. No, I've been kicked off them hahaha 😆 I have stressheads and won't get kicked of that ah

JustV

MPD as in multiple personality disorder?

Yeah, I hear that having trouble articulating yourself can make things much harder (something I can actually relate to, though not in the same way). I think using pictures and quotes is a great idea, and it's awesome to see you being creative with things and finding ways around it.

Apologies if this sounds patronising and you've already been down this road, but have you tried spending a bit of time writing down your thoughts and feelings before talking to someone? Being able to refer to something from a piece of paper can feel much easier than trying to come up with things on the fly, especially when you've got a spaghetti brain to contend with!

Take care and feel free to let us know how you're getting on.