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scared about turning 18

toffuna101toffuna101 Posts: 4,129 Community Veteran
in Health & Wellbeing
although my 18th birthday is 8-9 months away i cant help but feel scared about becoming a legal adult. i know 18 is not much different from being 17 but from a legal standpoint it changes quite significantly. by then ill be in adult mental health services along with me dropping out of college so that i can get a job. my care coordinator says that ill most likely be in the enhanced primary care team which is sort of a middle ground between GPs and CMHTs (community mental health teams). but i dont know, i feel like being in secondary care would be better because theyll be more extensive support. thats just a matter that i have to discuss with my camhs team for now.

Comments

  • AzzimanAzziman Discussion Boards Moderator Posts: 2,547 Boards Guru
    Hey @toffuna101, I can hear how you're concerned about the implications of turning 18 and what that means for your health care and support. Your feelings are valid, and there are many people (including some on this forum) who have experienced, or are experiencing, this same concern. You deserve to receive quality support for your health and wellbeing. It sounds like a good point to raise with CAMHS, who can advise on how the transition will work, and hopefully having more information will clarify any doubts. But also, I hope that others on here can share their experiences of how turning 18 changed their health support and any points of advice they can share with you. We're here to support you through this.
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  • toffuna101toffuna101 Posts: 4,129 Community Veteran
    thanks
  • independent_independent_ Community Connector Posts: 10,136 An Original Mixlorian
    For what it’s worth, you don’t have to immediately know everything there is to know about the world just because you are a legal adult. Heck, I’m nearly 5 years into that magic legal adulthood, and I’m still winging it. Hopefully the mental health services will support you, and given you’re coming from a CAMHS team, you’d think they should. But otherwise, I promise you it’s not a flip of a light switch - you can still ask for help if you need it.
    “Sometimes the people around you won’t understand your journey. They don’t need to, it’s not for them.”
  • AnonymousToeAnonymousToe Posts: 2,819 Boards Guru
    I think just make sure you’re discussing with CAMHS etc about what happens when you turn 18. I didn’t, nobody said anything about it and I just got kicked off and left with nothing. I don’t think that’s what’s supposed to happen. I was doing a bit better and I think they just decided that my 18th birthday was the perfect time to drop everything. I don’t know about your experience but I found CAMHS pretty useless for the whole of the time I was under them.

    But honestly I find now (I’m 20) that it’s easier to ask for help as an adult than it was before 18. People don’t freak out so much and report every single little thing as a safeguarding concern. I don’t miss that 😂
  • toffuna101toffuna101 Posts: 4,129 Community Veteran
    independent_ wrote: »
    For what it’s worth, you don’t have to immediately know everything there is to know about the world just because you are a legal adult. Heck, I’m nearly 5 years into that magic legal adulthood, and I’m still winging it. Hopefully the mental health services will support you, and given you’re coming from a CAMHS team, you’d think they should. But otherwise, I promise you it’s not a flip of a light switch - you can still ask for help if you need it.

    yeah, thats reassuring. i think the mental health services will support me no matter what team i go under.
    AnonymousToe wrote: »
    I think just make sure you’re discussing with CAMHS etc about what happens when you turn 18. I didn’t, nobody said anything about it and I just got kicked off and left with nothing. I don’t think that’s what’s supposed to happen. I was doing a bit better and I think they just decided that my 18th birthday was the perfect time to drop everything. I don’t know about your experience but I found CAMHS pretty useless for the whole of the time I was under them.

    But honestly I find now (I’m 20) that it’s easier to ask for help as an adult than it was before 18. People don’t freak out so much and report every single little thing as a safeguarding concern. I don’t miss that 😂

    ok i will, my experience with camhs is pretty mixed. if i got an appointment with camhs earlier say at the age of 12 then i dont think i wouldve developed psychosis. but the inpatient care with camhs and what its doing to me now is pretty good. i dont know where i would be now if i didnt go into a psychiatric hospital. maybe i wouldnt even have them at all. im glad that you find it easier to ask for help as an adult.
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