A&E; it wasnt so bad as i thought

hello everyone
ive had quite a busy yet draining day, so please excuse me if ive made any spelling mistakes
so i didnt think id ever had to resort to going to A&E but i did... i wont go too much into detail because ive vented quite a lot today + i dont really feel like it
the staff who helped me to explain my situation with my mental health were actually really helpful and understanding which shocked me. its likely due to me being too negative about it, since most of the other people's experiences online didnt find it quite helpful. and even now im still trying to process how i had a positive one.
the waiting times were much shorter than i had expected... i roughly stayed there for about 3 hours. i geniunely believed that i would wait in there for the whole day.
now im not going to get too hopeful about this, however im going to have a follow up session in 7 days time. given the amount of time i had to wait even for my physical disability in the nhs, this is honestly... amazing. i dont feel like losing hope

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Comments

Maisy

So glad to hear you had a positive experience!

I think it's easy to read other people's negative experiences and feel put off. But at the same time, people very rarely post their positive experiences...mainly only the negative ones which often leaves others feeling like there are no positive experiences (which isn't the case, as you know!)

It's good to hear that you'll be having a follow up session soon. I hope that goes well and that you get the help you need

toffuna101

thank you

Amy22

Hi @toffuna101 I'm glad to hear you had a good experience in terms of the support they offered in A&E. I often sometimes this isn't always the case and that most A&E's are not prepared for mental health or even crisis'. But this sounds like a positive thing really for you especially as you had to wait for 3 hours. Waiting in A&E can takes ages sometimes even just to be triaged by a doctor too or nurse. I am also happy that you have been given a follow up appointment in seven days time as that may be very helpful to have so they can check in with you. How are you feeling at the moment?.

toffuna101

@Amy22 since im not mentally fit at the moment to go to school (i tried but i went home in the middle of the day) im going to try to see if i can have medication since im in a bit of a weird place at the moment, educationally and personally.
im less than 6 months away from my birthday, and given the waiting lists, i can logically assume that ill receive more permanent outlets (like therapy) for recovery on at least my 16th birthday
now what does this mean? i tried to do some research to see what it was truly like, being 16 and 17. now i have a general understanding about the certain rights that young people have, what the law states about education into 18... but it doesn't touch upon the mental health aspect of it. for example if i were to find myself in crisis again at 16-17 id have to go to hospital in an adult unit, however the actual treatment i receive will be under cahms. and the hospital that ive been in has allegedly short waiting lists for children up to the age of 16, but LONG waiting lists for adults in emergency services. and what this means is that in these long waiting lists and limited spaces and the NHS staff will have to prioritise each individual need. rightly so. even though they will indubitably always halt a patient's needs or even disappoint them. what i displayed there when I am in crisis (and still now)... i attempted to hide it

Amy22

@toffuna101 That definitely sounds like a lot to be going through. I will be honest that a lot of adult mental health services are very narrow and tends to have long waiting lists just like you mentioned. I think it's because mostly the adult mental health services and the NHS itself is a very stretched service at the moment. I noticed you mentioned about taking medication and it may be a good idea to book an appointment with your local gp to discuss your options and what medication would work best for you. I feel like the crisis support should be easy to access if needed but sadly sometimes this isn't often the case for most people.

I'm always here to if you need someone anytime

. Hope you are feeling okay,

Sending hugs,

Amy22

toffuna101

little did younger toffuna know, it gets worse before it gets better.

Amy22

toffuna101 wrote: »

little did younger toffuna know, it gets worse before it gets better.

Hugs how are you feeling at the moment right now with things? I know that A and Es are a lot more busier and stressful especially with those long waiting lists too. I hope your doing okay right now but I'm here if you want to chat

toffuna101

@Amy22 i feel better since i made this thread, however heres what happened since then:
- in february of 2024, i started to get much worse
- i saw the crisis team again
- i got diagnosed with psychosis
- i got admitted into A&E again
- people started talking about me
- i was scared (see the diagnosis story in creative corner for more details if you want)
- the delusions were getting worse
- i got admitted onto a ward afterwards
- at this point it was early march of 2024
- roughly two weeks later i got sent to a psychiatric hospital
- by then it was the 15th of march 2024
- they stabilised my meds
- in the general hospital they still gave me meds nearer to the end
- in may of 2024 i got released back into the community
- i now see community camhs
- i got sent to A&E again in january of 2025 after a suicide attempt
- i had to wait five hours to be seen
- the whole experience was alright i guess
- recently i got my section 117 aftercare approved which is good

Amy22

toffuna101 wrote: »

@Amy22 i feel better since i made this thread, however heres what happened since then:
- in february of 2024, i started to get much worse
- i saw the crisis team again
- i got diagnosed with psychosis
- i got admitted into A&E again
- people started talking about me
- i was scared (see the diagnosis story in creative corner for more details if you want)
- the delusions were getting worse
- i got admitted onto a ward afterwards
- at this point it was early march of 2024
- roughly two weeks later i got sent to a psychiatric hospital
- by then it was the 15th of march 2024
- they stabilised my meds
- in the general hospital they still gave me meds nearer to the end
- in may of 2024 i got released back into the community
- i now see community camhs
- i got sent to A&E again in january of 2025 after a suicide attempt
- i had to wait five hours to be seen
- the whole experience was alright i guess
- recently i got my section 117 aftercare approved which is good

That sounds like so so much you went through and I can't imagine how that must have felt too. (I've looked at your diagnosis story on the creative, I love your poetry as well you did as well) I'm glad though you were able to get your section 117 aftercare in the end as I know how much you needed it as well. It sounds like things have been improving then but again that sounds like so much is so little time to be going through as well.

toffuna101

@Amy22 yeah. luckily my psychotic symptoms have gone for the most part thanks to counselling and medication. ill definitely be writing more parts in the future for the diagnosis series as i feel as if i need to share my story using a fictionalised character. and i want to as well.

Amy22

toffuna101 wrote: »

@Amy22 yeah. luckily my psychotic symptoms have gone for the most part thanks to counselling and medication. ill definitely be writing more parts in the future for the diagnosis series as i feel as if i need to share my story using a fictionalised character. and i want to as well.

I'm glad that the counselling also medication helped for the most part as psychosis sounds scary especially when you feel like your not in control of your thoughts or psychosis at all, it sounds super hard to deal with constantly. I'm glad that writing has become a form for you to discuss how you feel with things. I find writing can be helpful when processing emotions, thoughts and our encounters. It sounds great that you want to write a story about you but with a fictional character because it still feels personal but yet anonymous as well too.

toffuna101

@Amy22 yes, id like to keep myself anonymous because i dont feel comfortable with sharing my first name on the mix. or my last name for that matter, i dont think youre supposed to share your full name on the internet anyways because of online safety and all of that. even on a moderated platform like this one youre not allowed to. i also have depression too but that was only diagnosed later on by my psychiatrist in community camhs. i think i mentioned that in my diagnosis story.