Horrible day

I called the out of hours number again last night. I felt awkward doing so - I didn't know what to say, and it felt wrong as I wasn't intending to kill myself then, as today was the funeral of my mum's boss who died last week, and she was obviously going to that, and I was supposed to be as well, and something about his funeral today made me feel like it would be disrespectful and unfair to try and kill myself the night before. But I got to a point where I was feeling really tense and desperate, and although I didn't plan to kill myself then, I really needed to talk to someone, so I rung them. I spoke to a different woman to the other night, but again, she was very nice. She asked what was going on, and so I told her I had been struggling a lot and that things had been bad for several weeks, but were getting even worse. She asked when I had last been seen by the CMHT, and I said that day, and she asked if plans had been put in place to support me and I said no. I said how suicidal I was feeling, and she asked if I had a plan, and I said yes, and explained about not being able to act on it that night. She asked if I had told L I had a plan and I said she hadn't asked - that she knew I was feeling suicidal but that she says it is pointless talking about suicide and there is no mileage in it. The out of hours woman sounded a bit baffled by the whole thing to be honest. She asked if I had been honest and actually told her how bad I was feeling, and not just said I was a bit low or something, and I told her I had definitely been honest, and there was nothing I had told her that I haven't told other professionals over the last few weeks. She said they couldn't just leave me like this and that I clearly needed help, and it was urgent, and that I had to try again today. She said to speak to my GP and ask for a crisis team referral at the very least, and also to make sure L knows just how bad I feel. She was very supportive, but seemed kind of bemused by the fact that I was getting no support other than fortnightly appointments.

Following that I sent L an email, saying I had spoken to out of hours, and saying I had been advised to contact GP and ask for a crisis team referral etc, and went on to tell her how strong the thoughts were etc, and the reasons why I hadn't acted on them last night, and basically everything I had spoken to the out of hours woman about. I got a reply saying it wasn't appropriate to email those thoughts and she would prefer if I rung next time. She also said that the crisis team wouldn't get involved as I have a care coordinator, which I know is not true - they might not get involved because she tells them not to, but the fact that I have a care coordinator is completely irrelevant. I replied saying that I thought perhaps the crisis team could help, and certainly if I was to try and do the things she was suggesting then it could help, and that I thought they were there for when you are in crisis regardless of whether or not you had a care coordinator. I got a reply this afternoon saying that if I needed support to do things we could discuss a support worker next time I saw her (I had said months ago that I wished I still had a support worker but she didn't mention anything about it being a possibility then) and that the crisis team do sometimes get involved when you have a care coordinator but only in certain situations. I replied that I couldn't cope, that I couldn't even put into words how desperate I was feeling, and that I know things could improve or that things might help in the future, but that right now I just can't cope, that this is as bad as I have ever felt, if not worse, and that I have kept going for as long as I can, but I didn't get a reply to that.

I tried calling my GP this morning. She was in morning surgery, which I knew she would be, but they said they would get her to phone me when she was finished. They did the usual of asking if I could say what it was about, and I said that I was suicidal and had been told to phone her - I don't usually tell them things like that but I am just totally desperate. Morning surgery finishes at 12:30pm, although she often runs over, but I still hadn't heard anything by 2pm so I rung back and asked if they had any idea what time she might be able to ring me, and they checked that the note to call me was on the system, which it was, and said she was out at the moment but shouldn't be long and they would ask her again when she got back. Afternoon surgery starts at 4pm, and I still hadn't heard anything, and it is now 5:15. I suppose there is still a small chance my GP will call me back after afternoon surgery, but I am not holding my breath, and I don't think there is much she can do anyway. I was just calling her because the out of hours woman made me promise to.

I don't know what I am supposed to do. I have done absolutely everything I have been told to do. I have been completely honest about how bad things are. I have asked for help. I have done what the woman from the out of hours number said and tried to contact my GP, and I have made sure L knows how bad things are. But I cannot get any support at all, and I can't cope. I have tried so, so hard, and it is just hopeless. It is so clear that they either don't give a shit whether I kill myself or not, or they don't believe me. But either way there is nothing more that I can do. I have spent the last three weeks desperately trying to keep going, and get some support, but I can't get anything more than a fortnightly appointment, and my mood has just been getting lower and lower, and I just can't cope. I really wish I knew what they expected me to do. I am completely exhausted, and feel utterly hopeless.

And yes, I am sure this is all self pitying drivel and I need to stop feeling sorry for myself. But the fact is I have been trying incredibly hard to get the support I need to keep going, and it just isn't there for me. And I can't do this alone.

Emotional

I am feeling really emotional tonight. The suicidal thoughts are very strong and everything is just feeling really overwhelming. I am frustrated and upset that I have been feeling so low and desperate for so long now - I thought that if I did keep going things would have started to lift by now, but every day seems to be as hard, or harder than the one before, and it isn't getting any easier at all.

I just phoned the out of hours number that goes through to the local psych ward. I find that incredibly hard to do, so I have to be really quite desperate to phone them, and therefore it happens very rarely. But it was 3am and I was desperate and lonely and I didn't know what else to do, so I called them. The woman I spoke to was actually really lovely. She was really sweet and caring and although she obviously couldn't suggest anything earth shattering, because there isn't anything, she was very supportive and understanding and she talked to me for about half an hour. She told me multiple times that I must call L in the morning and tell her how bad I am feeling and about the suicidal thoughts, and that I had to ring the ward tonight because things felt so hard. L already knows how I am feeling of course, and I did tell her that, but she was very insistent that I call her, and made me promise that I would, so I guess I will do that. She also said she would be contacting the crisis team to let them know I had phoned. I told her they probably wouldn't want to know, and she said it was likely they would leave it to L, but that was the only thing that she could do. She kept telling me to just get through tonight and speak to L tomorrow, and if I was feeling really unsafe tonight then to wake my mum up etc. She was very sweet and kept telling me I mustn't give up and to keep hopeful, and that there was something out there that would help, because there is for everything apparently. She said she thought I needed a medication review (I wonder how many more people will say that before it actually happens?) and that seeing the psychologist might really help. I told her how hopeless I felt, and how I just get through one bad patch to go into another one a few months later, and how this time it just seemed to be getting worse and worse and harder and harder and how I had been trying so hard and being honest about how I felt but that it just felt so hopeless, and how things like medication and seeing the psychologist felt like such a long term thing compared to where I am now and how I am feeling, and that I wished I had killed myself weeks ago when the thoughts first started getting strong. She said again how I really needed to talk to L and tell her all of this. I tried to explain that she does know, but she said she needs to know that the suicidal thoughts were bad enough tonight that I had to call the ward etc. I will speak to L, because I promised I would, but I know there is nothing she can do. Nobody can take these thoughts or feelings away and I am just so exhausted.

But I am glad I rung. She was just so sweet. It made me cry, just because she was being so kind and supportive, and when I am really struggling, as soon as someone is nice to me I just fall to pieces. So I did get a bit upset and sniffled my way through half the conversation. She seemed genuinely concerned, and I hadn't even told her a quarter of what I have told L or the crisis team or my GP over the last few weeks. But just being listened to and feeling like I was being taken seriously just made me feel so emotional. She said she was sure there were a lot of people who cared about me and what happened to me, and that she didn't even know me, but that she cared about me. It just made a really nice change to speak to a professional who didn't seem to be against me, and who cared about what happened to me etc. It hasn't changed how I feel, because I don't think anyone can do that at the moment, but just speaking to someone who took the time to talk to me and listen and made me feel like I was worthy of their time etc meant a lot. And it is reassuring that there are mental health professionals out there who do care.

Diagnonsense

I have grown increasingly frustrated regarding diagnosis the last couple of weeks. I feel quite sure that if I didn't have a BPD diagnosis, I would have received more support than I have done. I am totally convinced. What my GP said to my mum about having BPD, not depression, really clinched it for me. She had said nothing like that when she spoke to me on Wednesday and thought the crisis team should be seeing me, so either the crisis team or the CMHT manager must have told her that. And the only reason they would have told her that would be as justification for why I wasn't getting more help. The frustrating thing is, I don't even see it as relevant. I don't actually think diagnosis should ever be relevant - I think symptoms should be treated/given support for, rather than the diagnosis. But I am particularly pissed off because actually I don't even feel like BPD is relevant at the moment even in terms of treating diagnoses. I am not disputing that I meet the diagnostic criteria for BPD. However, if I look at the diagnostic criteria for Depression I literally meet every single criteria at the moment. Therefore surely that is the current problem rather than BPD, and should be treated accordingly. The diagnostic criteria for BPD relating to mood is 'Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days).' That is not me. My mood is not reactive, and it has lasted weeks, not hours or days. The only time that applies is when I have episodes when I am particularly irritable or hyper for a few hours. It never applies to my depressed or suicidal periods, and I would not consider my mood unstable - it is consistantly very low, and has been for weeks. It makes me so angry that there is still so much prejudice surrounding BPD, which there absolutely is. I don't self harm or take small overdoses and then turn up at A&E - I have never, ever done that. I don't make threats regarding suicide - I only talk about feeling suicidal if I am feeling genuinely suicidal and unable to keep myself safe. And the times I have attempted suicide have not been impulsive - it has been at times like this when I have been feeling desperate and reach a point where I can no longer cope - they have been planned. But I feel like I am being treated as though I am the 'stereotypical' borderline who takes overdoses for attention and that giving me support would be encouraging attention seeking etc. I know I meet the BPD criteria. But I also meet the criteria for Depression, and more closely in my opinion, and that is what is making me feel like this at the moment. And I honestly feel that if Depression was my only diagnosis, I would be receiving different treatment at the moment. I am sure that would be denied by the crisis team or any other professionals, but I have seen from the experiences of friends the difference in the support given to people with a BPD diagnosis, and the support given to people with mood disorder diagnoses, even if presenting with the same symptoms, and except in a few exceptional cases, those with mood disorders virtually always seem to get given more support in crisis. I know the medications I have tried have seemed to have little effect, but I am sure that if Depression was my only diagnosis then medicaations would continue to be tried until something helped. I would not just be left, when feeling suicidal, and expected to get on with things. The crisis team would have arranged the appointment with the psychiatrist that they talked about, and they would probably have continued to visit, and although they aren't always helpful, when I am feeling like this I do find it helpful to know that I have some form of support, and knowing there will be daily visits etc does make a difference. It doesn't change how I feel, but I know from past experience that it makes it easier to take things one day at a time, which is something I am struggling with at the moment, and various other things. As I said, I am sure it would be denied, but I am convinced that had my diagnosis been different, I would have received different treatment these last few weeks, and that makes me angry.

I spoke to L earlier. I can't remember what we talked about. It was only a few hours ago, but my brain just isn't working. I remember that she was supportive though, and I didn't feel like she didn't care about me. I trust her a bit more than I did. It all feels rather irrelevant though. Nobody can change how I feel, and I still have the same level of help. Or lack of.

(Mis)Trust

I wrote the buttercream off as a disaster. I have no idea what went wrong. Who would have thought it was possible to mess up mixing butter and sugar? The number of times I have made buttercream too. It really isn't hard. I suppose I will have to try again tomorrow, because at the moment my mum still doesn't have a birthday cake. I feel sorry for her - she had a bad birthday. I think she had a really tough day at work with her boss dying this morning so unexpectedly - all of the staff were really upset, and so she was quite emotional all day at work I think, and then had to come home and only have an hour at home before taking me off to ballet and rehearsal. She went to see my brother whilst I was in ballet, and then we had a little bit of time between ballet and rehearsal so we got take away pizzas from a nice bar in town, and then she went to see a friend whilst I was rehearsing, so I guess she had an ok evening, but I think overall it can't have been a very nice day. I will try again with icing the cake tomorrow. I want to make it look really pretty but I can't quite decide how. I am a bit rubbish at doing anything other than basic icing. I made quite a pretty cake for Mother's Day last year, but I would have liked to do something a bit different decoration wise, but I either lack the imagination or the skill to pull off anything much more creative. Whilst I am on the subject of food, the last few days my weight has started to go back up and I am really struggling with it. It was going down, and that was literally the only thing that I felt was going right in my life. Now it is going back up, which is making me feel even more hopeless, and I would be lying if I said it wasn't adding to the suicidal thoughts, which were certainly strong enough without dealing with weight gain as well.

Well I got through ballet and rehearsal. It was an enormous relief to get home and know that I don't have to go anywhere tomorrow - that there is absolutely no need to leave my house for anything. Rehearsal was difficult yet again. I feel like I am completely useless and they cast the wrong person in the part, and like by now they will have realised that and be regretting their decision. The girl who is playing the second female part has a stunning voice - vocally she is definitely stronger than I am, and I hear people talking about how good she is, and I am sure they are thinking that she should have been cast in my part. When I hear her sing I think she should have been cast in my part. I also had to have the publicity shots taken tonight, which weren't terribly attractive I don't think, but I kind of don't give a shit at the moment. What was more difficult was talking with someone about the show etc as part of the publicity. They asked the easy questions I could answer, like where I live and how old I am, where I went to school, what other companies I have worked with etc. Then came the 'What do you do?' question. I do nothing. I said something along those lines. She said so are you still studying or anything? No.... I do nothing. How do you say that without sounding like a complete idiot? And then she followed that up by asking if I had been to drama school or university. No, I haven't done that either. I actually am 24, not studying, not working, and haven't done anything since the age of 19. Not that I said all of that of course. Then it was why did you want to audition for the show, and what attracted you to this part, which were easy enough to answer, followed by how are you finding it - are you enjoying it? Mmm. Enjoying. That doesn't seem to be the word that has been springing to mind lately when I have thought about rehearsals. Dreading? Yup, that will be the one. That doesn't sound so good in an interview though, so I switched it for enjoying. White lies don't hurt anyone right? So that felt quite difficult, because it just reminded me of everything I should have achieved and haven't, and the things I should be feeling about the show and am not. And then I always hate having my photo taken. Oh, and finally, to add insult to injury the costume woman was there to take measurements. Perfect! That cheered me up no end.

I wrote yesterday how I have found I am cutting myself off from people online a lot - usually I spend most of my day online, and am always logged into Twitter, MSN, Facebook chat, Skype, and usually have several conversations on the go. Lately I have been appearing offline on MSN a fair bit, not signing into Skype, not signing into Facebook chat, and watching Twitter but rarely engaging with anyone. I think I am just terrified of the same thing happening with the people I trust online as it did with the people I trust in real life. I am also generally ignoring texts, and most people know better than to phone me anyway. I can't cope with feeling let down or abandoned by any more people. I am scared that somehow people from the internet will be taken over too, despite knowing that makes no sense, as I don't believe that my mum or GP etc were taken over by some form of mind control and had thoughts beamed into their heads or anything like that. I believe that the crisis team and the CMHT manager (who is probably influenced by my psych, as I feel like she is involved, despite my not seeing her since June - perhaps because of my not seeing her since June) managed to persuade L, and my GP in particular, of things that they hadn't previously believed or thought, and my GP to the extent that she did a complete 180, and went from trying to get me more support from them last Wednesday, to telling my mum they couldn't do anything because I have BPD etc on Friday, and persuading my mum of the same thing. So I know logically that unless someone from online speaks to someone from my treatment team, which is not going to happen, they can't be taken over. But that doesn't stop me feeling paranoid that they just might. Or that the crisis team and psych and everyone else are right and I am just an attention seeking, manipulative borderline who doesn't deserve any help, and people will start to see through me if I talk to them. I feel incredibly alone. I really, really feel like I need some professional support at the moment, but I have exhausted that, and now there is nowhere to turn to, and it is still a whole week before I am due to see L, who at the moment I don't even trust. I just feel so isolated and I don't know what I can possibly do.

Alone

Over the last couple of days I have thought increasingly about telling my mum. This morning I decided that it couldn't make things any worse and that I would. I sent her a text saying that I couldn't cope, and that I had been trying really hard, but that my GP seemed to be the only person taking me seriously. She was out when I sent that, but she rung me and said she would come home but she needed to go food shopping at some point today so should she go whilst she was out already, and I said that was fine. I was quite surprised she didn't ask me what was going on or anything but I thought maybe she wanted to talk about it when she got home. She came home and didn't really say much. She said she had spoken to Dr O, she didn't say what they had talked about, but I know that at some point in the conversation she must have complained about the crisis team saying that they would arrange a psychiatrist appointment, and then just discharging me, and Dr O (who is anti meds) evidently told her that I have BPD, not Depression, so she didn't see what good meds would do, as my mother who had been annoyed all week about me not being seen by the psychiatrist suddenly thought it was completely fine. She also seemed to have no problem with the crisis team suddenly stopping seeing me, which she had previously been annoyed, and didn't seem to see that there was a problem that I was being left with no support for two weeks. Somehow they managed to convert her so that she just agreed with them. My mum used to call up and complain if I wasn't getting enough help - now she is justifying their actions to me. I think they all either think that this is something I am choosing, and that I feel like this because I want to, or they think I am exaggerating the whole thing, or they don't care whether or not I kill myself. I am not sure which, but they have got my mum thinking the same. So I don't even have support from her - she has been indoctrinated to say the same things that the professionals say, and is defending things that yesterday she was annoyed about. I feel like she doesn't care what happens to me. Despite me being incredibly upset, and her knowing that it is incredibly rare for me to be asking for help, she did absolutely nothing apart from calling and speaking to my GP. She didn't even bother calling L, which seems a bit strange given that she is my care coordinator. She clearly wasn't concerned enough to think it worthwhile. And amazingly she didn't even try and take away the tablets I have or anything. Which I am glad about, but it just reinforces the feeling that she doesn't care, as in the past that has always been the first thing she has done. Of course I always have others hidden so it doesn't matter if she does take them, but the fact she didn't even try proves that I am right. I feel like everyone is against me. I don't know what I have done wrong, because I have honestly just told the truth, but there is very clearly something. 'Nobody's Side' has been running through my head all day. My eyes are stinging from how much I have been crying. I feel incredibly alone. I don't trust anyone.

Overwhelmed ramblings

It is 4am and I am sitting here crying feeling totally overwhelmed and like my head is actually going to explode. This may not make much sense, I don't even know what I am saying yet. I just need to do something to try and ease my head a bit. It's been a really difficult evening and night, the thoughts are very strong, and I just seem to be finding it harder and harder to cope every day that goes by. I have no support for the next week and a half, and no way of accessing any other than calling whoever is on duty at the CMHT that day and them telling me to have a bath or go for a walk. I am feeling so desperate and I just keep trying to carry on and keep going and it just feels like torture, and I feel like there is nothing to keep trying for. There aren't even any small things that I can use as little targets, for example this time last week I knew I was seeing my GP the next day, then the crisis team the next day and so on, and although these weren't fun things, and in fact they made me very anxious, knowing that I had some support was helping me cope. I found it really difficult on Monday when I didn't hear from the crisis team like I had been told I would, but I knew that I was seeing L on Tuesday and I was just desperately hoping that would help a bit, or that she would be able to offer something in the way of support, or just something, anything. Since then I have been finding it harder and harder as I am just feeling incredibly unsupported.

I think a week or two ago I said how people always expect me to cope because I generally do, but that was the case last time I attempted suicide, when the only support I had was fortnightly sessions with a psychologist who I hated and found very unsupportive. I always thought that at least now I would never feel as unsupported as that, because I have L who has always been very supportive of me, but in a way it is worse at the moment, because I didn't expect that psychologist to do anything to try and help - she very clearly had a problem with me, and I found her patronising and sanctimonious. I felt like actually she couldn't have cared less whether I killed myself or not, and so I didn't expect any support from her. I hoped for different from L. She always has been very caring, and she would care if I killed myself, or I think she would, but I am still not getting any more support, and that almost hurts more and feels harder, because I hoped for more. Hope is dangerous, because then you end up in an even worse position if whatever you have hoped for doesn't materialise.

When the crisis team let me down at the weekend, by making promises that didn't materialise such as arranging an urgent appointment with the psychiatrist, and saying they would phone me and then not doing so, I wasn't that surprised, because most people I know have had bad experiences with crisis teams, including me. But it still hurt that they discharged me without telling me. And then I saw L, and I know I must have been very difficult that appointment, because at the moment my mood swings between just wanting to die, and feeling like I need to try and get through this but that I can't do it alone, and that morning I just wanted to die, which isn't really surprising given that I had a stressful day the previous day when I was essentially waiting to hear from the crisis team the entire day, then a difficult night with only a few hours sleep. I was obviously not in fighting mode. But I was still honest about everything. And to just have an appointment made for two weeks time actually felt quite devastating. As I said yesterday, I spoke to my GP, who seemed unimpressed with the crisis team discharging me, and L not seeing me for two weeks, although I did say that L would be on leave next week. And now it is Thursday night, or technically Friday morning, the suicidal thoughts are very strong, the person I have trusted most for the last 18 months hasn't seemed able to offer me any support this week, and is on leave next week, and I am being left with nothing and I am just supposed to get through and cope somehow and I just can't do it. I know this sounds terribly self pitying, but I have been trying so fucking hard, and doing everything you are told to in terms of asking for help etc, and it has just got me nowhere. And I am still feeling as bad as ever, and feeling less and less able to keep going, but with nowhere to turn. And I don't want to upset people or let people down; my family, my friends, the cast of the show, everyone who reads this or who I talk to on Twitter, L, my GP, which is why I have been trying so hard to keep going, and why even when I have wanted to die I have been honest about my feelings. But I just feel like I can't keep going any more. Today I thought about calling L, as she had said on Tuesday that she would be there today if I needed to talk, but I realised I had absolutely nothing to say. I couldn't ring and say 'Well you already know I am feeling desperately low and that I intend to kill myself, but I just thought I would remind you' and what else is there to say? I have asked for help, and that didn't get me anywhere. I feel ready to punch the next person who tells me that I am strong and that I can get through this (no offence to anyone if you have said that) because I can't cope with being strong at the moment and I can't get through this. So I didn't call. And then after tomorrow she won't be in work until the 21st, and there is no way that I can cope that long. Or that I want to. I know it is selfish, but I can't keep living for other people, which is what I have been trying to do lately. And I can't cope with no support. I feel like I have been backed into a tiny corner so that the only option I have been left with is suicide.

I realised something a little while ago. For as long as I can remember I have wanted to perform. For years and years it has been my ambition, my dream, to be in the West End. It has been the thing I have worked towards for years, and it is the only thing that I ever care about. Performing has always meant everything to me, and being in the West End has been like a life ambition. And I realised that if someone came to me tomorrow and offered me a job in the West End I would still want to die. I want to die more than I want the thing I have wanted and worked towards for as long as I can remember. And I don't think there has ever been a point in my life, however low I have felt, when I could have said that before. And that is a really horrible thing to realise. My lifelong ambition wouldn't be enough to make me want to stay alive.

Somehow it has taken me nearly 2 hours to write that. I don't know what my head is doing at the moment. It feels like time is playing games with me.

Not a life

I seem to be feeling particularly desperate and hopeless today. I think it is because my mood is not shifting at all and I know that I have literally exhausted all possible forms of support available to me. There is no point in speaking to my GP again, despite her being supportive, because all she can do is contact the crisis team, who clearly don't want to see me, or the CMHT, who already know how I feel. There is no point in contacting the CMHT, because they see me getting through the next two weeks with no support as a valid option, and I most certainly do not. There is no point in going to A&E because I would be assessed by the crisis team who, as already mentioned, clearly don't want to see me. So that's it. I have asked for help, despite not wanting it a lot of the time. I have tried. I have tried so hard. But I am still here feeling completely unsupported, and the suicidal thoughts are still just as strong. In a way I wish I had never told anyone how bad things were and tried to get help, because in a way the constant rejection when I don't get any makes it even more difficult to cope. But if I hadn't asked for help I would feel really guilty about acting on my thoughts, as perhaps someone could have done something to help me get through this, despite my feelings of not wanting to get through this. At least now I know that I have tried. I have tried every way of getting help, and I have been honest about my thoughts and feelings. I don't see what more I could have done. I feel exhausted, hopeless, and desperate. This is not a life.

Hopeless

I can honestly say I have never felt so hopeless in my life. I saw L this morning. I had a hideous night last night, I was feeling truly desperate and really struggling a lot, and so I was exhausted and very tense by my appointment this morning, and to be honest I went in there wanting to die far more than I wanted to get better. I can't remember it in too much detail, as my head was all over the place. At first I was finding it really difficult as there were lots of slamming doors and people talking and laughing really loudly and it was making me feel very on edge. She asked how I was. She asked what the most difficult thing to deal with was at the moment, and what was occupying most of my thoughts, and I said definitely suicidal thoughts. She asked how they had changed since I saw her 2 weeks ago: in intensity or frequency, or type, and I said all three. I had written down some of my thoughts last night, as when I was feeling so bad last night I was talking to Part of Being Sane and she said to tell L everything that was going on, and suggested I write down everything I had said to her about suicidal thoughts, images etc etc and write it down so that I could give it to L today. I wasn't sure if I would be able to give it to her or not, but at this point I mentioned that I had written about it last night, as I felt like her reading it would be easier than me saying it, but she said she wanted me to try and explain first, so I did. She never mentioned what I had written again, so I didn't show her. I said a lot of it anyway - I think there are probably things I did forget to say, but nothing too major really.

She asked about what had happened with the crisis team - what they had said and who had I seen etc. I said about speaking to someone Friday night, and then them visiting Saturday, and saying they would call the next morning, but that nobody did, and then they suddenly turned up without any warning and hadn't read my notes, and then about speaking to the woman on the phone in the evening. I said they had talked about getting me to see either their team psychiatrist or Dr E as soon as possible, and said I now had no idea what was going on, as I had been told twice on Sunday that I would be called on Monday, and I hadn't heard anything. She said that they had spoken to her Monday and discharged me back to her, and told her that they either had or would contact me, which obviously they didn't, and that they hadn't mentioned anything about arranging a psychiatrist appointment. I felt immensely frustrated by this, as it was the one thing that everyone from the crisis team that I saw or spoke to had said would happen, and I was also really annoyed that I had been discharged without being told - I think they should do what they say they are going to even if they are planning to discharge you, as the woman Sunday night just said I only needed to focus on getting through Sunday night, and then they would be ringing first thing, and seeing me again etc, and then I heard nothing all day yesterday, and although I wasn't even sure whether or not I wanted to speak to them, I found it really hard that they didn't call - partly because waiting for their calls or visits makes me very anxious, and so I spent the entire day in a state of anxiety. So that is the end of their involvement

She asked how I thought things could change, and I said I had absolutely no idea. She asked if I had been seeing or talking to friends, and I said I hadn't seen or spoken to anyone on the phone, but that I had spoken to people online. For some reason she then went on to talk about relationships - how did I feel about them, did I ever feel like I wanted to be in a relationship with someone, how do I feel about it when things are better. She asked about my concentration, and whether anything at all helped at the moment. I suppose she was just asking the type of questions usually asked to gauge risk, and that things like relationships and thoughts about the future all come into that. She started saying something about getting through this, I can't remember what, and I suddenly felt like I had been hit by a tonne of bricks - I felt physically sick and incredibly anxious, and all I could think was that I couldn't cope and that I didn't want to get through this. She asked what the matter was and I explained that, and also said that last night was just more hideous than I could possibly even begin to describe and that I just could not face another night like that, and that even things got better they would get worse again, and I couldn't cope with that, and so the thought of getting through this wasn't what I wanted - I wanted to die more than I wanted my current feelings to change, because I knew even if they changed, I would end up feeling really awful again at some point and I just couldn't cope.

I can't remember if she asked me anything else or not at this point. She said that if things were as bad as this, then she needed to think about involving my parents. I tried to explain that I genuinely didn't feel it would help (I really don't, and not because I am worried they would be able to stop me from killing myself or anything - I just do not find it helpful). I said about the woman on Sunday night telling me to ask my parents to look in on me before I went to work, and how since then the suicidal thoughts changed in nature because I felt like I needed something without a time restraint like that as a result of what she said, and that since then I had felt worse and that was really when I started getting a lot of graphic images etc. She said that she had to assess risk, and felt that with everything I was saying about how suicidal I was feeling, not being able to see a future, not caring about anything etc etc, that she had to consider what to do, and that she felt it would be appropriate to have a CPA review with my parents as well, and that we also needed to look at if anything she was doing was helping if I was feeling this bad, or whether she was using a wrong approach, or was the wrong person to be working with me. All of this made me feel even worse - I felt like I was being backed into a corner with the situation with my parents, which immediately made me start having thoughts about killing myself as soon as possible, and I then felt like the only person in mental health I had ever really trusted was going to abandon me even if I did get through this, which was another reason not to. I said that I didn't understand how I could be considered high enough risk that my parents could be talked to against my wishes, and yet the crisis team had discharged me. She said that they had discharged me back to her, so it wasn't though I had just been discharged completely, but that they had presumably done their own risk assessments.

I can't really remember what happened then. I know she said that she was mindful of the time as she had a meeting to go to, but I can't remember if that was before I said the previous things or after. She made an appointment to see me in two weeks and told me to think about things and what I wanted to change, because at the moment she felt like there was nothing to work with as my outlook just seemed so bleak, and that she would organise a CPA review at some point with my parents as well, which I am assuming will be in more than two weeks, as she is apparently on leave next week. I asked how I was supposed to get through the next two weeks alone when I didn't feel able to get through another night like last night. I said that even the thought of knowing I am supposed to go to a rehearsal tonight made me feel really desperate and sends me into a panic. I know that I was difficult today. I was completely honest, but I was in a mood where I felt like I just wanted to die rather than get better, and said so, and I know that must have been really frustrating for her. I did explain that sometimes I did feel like I wanted to get better and wanted help, but that my mood just swings so quickly between the two. She said something about needing to make the decision to keep going or something, I can't really remember. I had started to cry by this point, which is very rare for me, and she said she really needed to go, so I got up to put on my scarf and jumper and was really upset by this point, and really just wanted to sit and bawl for a while, but I knew she would need to lock up the room and so that wasn't an option, so I just had to choke back the tears and leave. She said to take care and that she would see me in two weeks.

I am unsure if a) she doesn't believe I am feeling as bad as I am, b) truly believes that I will be able to get through the next two weeks with no support as I have coped in the past since I have been seeing her, or c) doesn't care what happens to me. I actually don't think it is a) - she seemed to fully believe what I was saying, although she seemed to be at a bit of a loss about what to say some of the time. It could be b) but I don't know how if she believes a). And it could be c) but she always used to care so I don't understand what changed if it is that. I am honestly at a complete loss as to what to do. Despite feeling so ambivalent about wanting help today I was still completely honest with her and told her everything, and I still don't understand how she can think a CPA with my parents is necessary, but giving me any support at all over the next two weeks isn't. I told my GP on Friday. I was honest as I could be with the crisis team. I feel like I have done absolutely everything that I can.

Nothing

Today has been a strange day in that nothing has happened. That wouldn't usually be strange, but given that when I saw the crisis team yesterday they told me they would be speaking to L and psychiatrist today and try and get me an appointment to see a psychiatrist as soon as possible, and then when I spoke to the crisis team woman last night she said they were going to phone first thing today (amongst other threats), I am slightly baffled that I haven't heard from anyone. They may have tried to phone the landline I suppose, but I gave them my mobile number when I was first referred to them and told them to contact me on that as I don't answer the landline (I don't like not being able to see who is calling, and nobody ever phones me on the landline, so I just end up being an answerphone on the odd occasion I do answer it), and so they have called my mobile whenever they have rung me, plus there is no answerphone on the landline, so I am assuming they haven't called, and I haven't heard anything from L either. I wasn't necessarily expecting to, as I am due to see her in the morning, but if for example the crisis team had spoken to her and decided to stop seeing me, I would have thought she would have phoned, or they would have phoned to tell me so, and if they are still seeing me then I am not sure why they haven't contacted me.

I am not sure how I feel about it. Part of me is relieved. I didn't want to speak to scary woman from last night again. And I was feeling less and less like I wanted help yesterday, and feeling increasingly that it was a mistake to tell my GP how I was feeling and get referred to the crisis team, so perhaps it is for the best. But I dislike changes to plans, and the plan was that they were going to call me this morning, so for that reason I don't like that they didn't, just as I didn't like that they didn't call yesterday but just randomly turned up. I suppose I am still slightly concerned that might happen and that they will just randomly arrive, but I think it is unlikely now that it has got to this time of day and I haven't heard from them at all. And I would certainly have a massive complaint if they did turn up and felt it appropriate to break confidentiality as threatened yesterday, after not even contacting me all day, as they are quite clearly not concerned.

I was supposed to go to ballet and rehearsal tonight but I couldn't face leaving the house. I did try to make myself, but in the end it just felt impossible. I told the director of the show that I have an upset stomach. I just couldn't even face the showering and getting dressed part, let alone leaving the house and having to be sociable. I think I would just end up having a complete melt down. I don't even want to leave the house to see L tomorrow, but I will. I am also exhausted. My sleep isn't really improving, although I have taken 10mg Diazepam the last two nights, at the suggestion of the crisis team. It was about 6am when I got to sleep, and then my sleep was quite disturbed, and I eventually stopped trying to sleep at about 12, so allowing for the time spent awake I think I got a maximum of about 5 hours. I am still feeling much the same really, although feeling less like I want help. I am not sure if that is because I am feeling worse, or because I felt intimidated by the woman last night and it has scared me. It sounds ridiculous as they are meant to help, but I found that whilst I was talking to her the suicidal thoughts were just getting more and more intense, and I was getting a lot of really graphic images in my head, which I wasn't able to shake all night, or today. I have been having quite intrusive thoughts regarding killing myself, which have been somewhat different in content to my usual thoughts. I am feeling thoroughly exhausted.

Crisis team phone call - 2

The crisis team did call back as promised, at about 8pm. It was the same woman. Why is that I never get to speak to/see someone from the crisis team more than once unless I don't like them? She asked if I had spoken to my parents, and I said no. She asked if I would like her to, and I said no thank you. She asked why not, and I said that I didn't feel it would be helpful, as if I was going to act on my thoughts and knew my parents would be checking in on me in the morning, then I would use a method where time wasn't an issue. She seemed to ignore that and said she really thought I needed to speak to them, and that if they felt I was at risk and I hadn't spoken to them tomorrow then they could break confidentiality and speak to them without my consent. Just what I wanted to hear - that makes me feel so much more likely to be honest with them about my feelings. To be honest, I don't understand breaking confidentiality. I feel like if they are concerned enough about you that they feel they have to break confidentiality in order for you to stay safe, then you aren't receiving the right treatment - surely if they are that worried then they should be considering admitting you to hospital, and if they're not then I don't see what right they have to break confidentiality. That is something that really pisses me off. If I was living on my own or in supported housing they wouldn't call my parents to let them know how I was, so why should they just because I live at home? It is something I have had problems with multiple times in the past, both with the crisis team and CMHTs. I think L is probably the only care coordinator I have never had that concern with - I know she wouldn't do it, which is one of the reasons I trust her so much I suppose. So yes, that really annoyed me. She said to speak to my parents tonight and get them to come in and check on me before they go to work (which would probably be an hour after I got to sleep and would disturb me well and truly) and that then they would call me first thing in the morning (presumably to disturb me again). Bloody hope it isn't her.

She went on again about how I had got through this before and so know I can do it, and that things do get better. I said that I feel like I could never feel good enough to make it worth feeling this bad. She said we were talking in circles. It is apparently ok for her to talk in circles though, as she repeated that things aren't usually this bad, and that I have got through bad times in the past, and that I have obviously been doing a lot better in the last year or so because it has been a long time since I have been under their care. I didn't bother to tell her that is because L doesn't think it is helpful to see that and so usually just supports me herself when I am in crisis, unlike my previous care coordinator, who made me go to A&E and be assessed by them every time I was feeling suicidal. She also said that I am an intelligent girl and I understand my feelings, and that she thinks that by engaging with them that shows that I want help rather than to die. She is the type of professional I just don't get on with. I am sure she is a perfectly nice person, but I do not like being treated like a child, and I find it patronising when a professional tries to tell me that I am not really suicidal because I am asking for help or something like that, as I know how I feel, and how difficult it is to ask for help, and how much my feelings regarding help vary. I am feeling really quite frustrated and wound up.

Crisis team phone call - 1

I just phoned the crisis team. I felt like I needed to do it before things were at a point where I wouldn't be able to tell them how bad things are, which is likely to be what happens the later it gets. I spoke to a nurse who I am pretty sure I have seen a couple of times before and never found to be overly supportive, but I decided I needed to try and tell her anyway. I said that I found it really difficult to talk earlier but that I was struggling a lot, and she said they had known I was struggling at the moment, so I did get that across. I immediately wasn't quite sure what to say, as it felt like she was saying yes, we get it, you feel crap, why are you ringing? I said that the woman yesterday had said to call if I felt like things were getting any worse before it got to the point where I wouldn't be able to and she said that was the right thing to do and that sometimes talking things through for a few minutes can help. She talked a lot about how things aren't always this bad, and how although I have bad periods, it has been a long time since it was bad enough that they were involved, and that things would get better etc etc. I then went on to say that I had been thinking a lot about killing myself tonight over the last couple of days, as I would have all night when my parents were asleep, and then all day tomorrow when they would be out at work. She said I should ask them to check in on me in the morning, and then that would mean I wouldn't have that time and so wouldn't act on the thoughts, and that I should go and ask them to do that as soon as I stopped talking to her. But I can't. I don't want to be checked on in the morning. If I feel like I need to kill myself I want the highest chance of it working. And as soon as she said about that giving me less time etc it immediately made me think that I needed to use my second method, which is my less preferred one, but not a time issue. She then went on to say that I had called so obviously wanted help, and so there was at least part of me that didn't want to die and didn't want it to work, which I have to say I always find really frustrating. It may be true, but it feels like a 'if you wanted to die you would have already killed yourself thing'. I do often find that asking for help means you get taken less seriously. And the thing is, my moods are just so all over the place, sometimes I do want help, other times I just want to die and I don't want help. Obviously there is a part of me that is asking for help, but it is for the sake of others, rather than because I want to live for myself, because I really don't. So I found that quite difficult. She asked how it had been left with them seeing me tomorrow, and I said about them saying they would contact the psychiatrist and L, and she said they would probably be visiting again tomorrow, although I am not sure if that will be the case after they have spoken to L. It wasn't that she was unhelpful or anything. I just feel so hopeless. She said someone would still call later this evening, as they discussed earlier, so I guess that is something, but I am just feeling pretty hopeless.

Crisis team visit - 2

I feel like today has gone completely wrong and I am feeling really hopeless. I was told yesterday that the crisis team would call today at about 10 - 10:30am, and then probably come out to see me again. I left my phone on vibrate so that it would wake me up, and didn't bother setting an alarm because I knew that would wake me as it always does. I had said to my mum last night that I didn't feel comfortable talking to people when they were in the house so could they go to see my sister or something, and she said that was fine, but how would they know what time to go, and I said that the crisis team would be calling in the morning and so I would know what time they were coming then. That was the plan. And then I was going to try and tell them how bad things were.

I woke up to my phone ringing at 1pm, and it was a woman from the crisis team asking if I could tell them how to find me. I was thoroughly confused, as I hadn't had the morning phone call as planned. I assumed they needed vague directions, but when I asked where they were it turned out they were actually already outside the house - they just didn't know which house it was, as we like to confuse people by not having a name or number or anything on display. So that threw me into a complete tail spin, as their phone call had woken me up, as yet again it had been about 6am before I got to sleep, and obviously my parents were home as we hadn't had any warning, and I didn't even have time to do things like go to the toilet, so I was feeling really flustered and confused.

My mum came upstairs to do housework and was hoovering etc, so I didn't feel uncomfortable with her being there really, but my dad was downstairs, painting in a room virtually adjoining where I was sitting with the crisis team, he had very good hearing, and the man from the crisis team spoke very loudly and had an irritating habit of repeating everything I said. To be honest the whole thing was a complete fiasco. I felt paranoid that my dad would be listening in and so felt extremely uncomfortable, I was confused about why they had suddenly turned up without calling first like they were supposed to, and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to be honest with them because I was feeling so tense and anxious. To make matters worse they knew absolutely nothing about me, and had never even seen my notes - the reason they had randomly arrived was because they were out this way seeing someone else who was only about 15 minutes away, and so decided to come straight on and see me. I still don't understand a) why nobody called this morning, and b) why they couldn't have called when they were 15 minutes away so that I would have had at least had a tiny bit of advance warning. So they literally knew absolutely nothing about me, my history, when I was referred to them, why I was referred to them, how long I had been under mental health services, what my diagnosis was - nothing. I know I complained yesterday about the crisis team not reading your notes properly, but this was a whole new level - they had to ask things like how old I was, and when had I been referred to them. I said I had been referred Friday by my GP, and they asked why he (she's a she but I didn't bother correcting them) had referred me - was it because I was feeling low, and I said it was because of suicidal thoughts, which he loudly repeated, which really set off my paranoia. He asked if the feelings had changed and I said no. I think it was at this point they told me they knew nothing about me and started asking things like how old was I, and did I work, and what had I done education wise etc, and how long had I been involved with mental health services for, and why I was originally referred, and about previous suicide attempts and hospital admissions etc. They were also in agreement with the people that I saw yesterday in that I should see a psychiatrist, they said urgently, and that they would speak to their team psychiatrist tomorrow, and I would either see them or Dr E as soon as possible. I don't know if I will have any more visits from the crisis team, because they said they would speak to L tomorrow, and I am guessing she will probably not be too keen on me seeing them. He asked if I felt able to keep myself safe today and I just kind of shrugged. Saying yes would have been a lie, but I didn't feel able to say no when I was feeling so paranoid with my parents being in the house etc. He asked if I would be able to call them if things really reached crisis point, and I once again explained that no I wouldn't, because if things were any worse then I wouldn't want help. He asked if it would be ok if someone called me this evening, and would I be able to tell them if I was feeling worse, and I said that would be ok.

I am feeling really confused. I don't know what to do. I don't know if I should wait for the call this evening and try and tell them how desperate I am, or whether I should call them before then, or whether I actually don't really want to speak to anyone or want any help. I am frustrated with the way today turned out. I just felt so uncomfortable and I really had intended to try and be really blunt about how I was feeling, and I just couldn't, and now I feel really hopeless and just don't know what to do. I wish they had bloody called this morning like they had arranged to do rather than just turning up with no notice.

Crisis team visit

I have had a visit from the crisis team. They called about 2:30 and checked it was ok to come, and arrived about an hour later. It was a man and a woman, both of whom I have seen before, but don't really remember much about. I had a vague recollection of the man when I saw him but if he hadn't said that he had seen me before I doubt I would have remembered. The woman I recognised by her voice - she has a lovely Irish accent, and so when she spoke I remembered seeing her before. It all feels a bit of a blur, I feel a bit like I have been hit by a bus. Not implying that they were bus-like or anything. It is just exhausting. The man did all the talking whilst the woman wrote notes.

They asked how I was, and I fairly stupidly said ok. Because it seems like the polite reply? What I find confusing about the crisis team is that they ask questions that either they already know the answer to, or if they don't then they should, as it would only take a quick peek at the notes. There seemed to be a bit of confusion as they started by saying I had switched GPs to the one I go to now, and that I used to be under another county, and I said yes, but that was two and a half years ago. I have been under the care of the crisis team since then. They then went on to say I had been under a CMHT in the other county, and I said yes, but again, that was two and a half years ago, and I have been under my current one since, and they then asked if I was still under my current team and who my care coordinator was, and when I last saw her. Surely this is all fairly simple stuff that would literally have taken a quick glance at my notes to find out? Anyway, then they said I had been to my GP yesterday and told her I was feeling depressed and suicidal and so she had referred me to them. It sounded slightly accusatory - I really didn't want them to think I was being attention seeking and to be written off as being another Borderline etc. I explained that I see my GP monthly and yesterday was just a routine appointment, but that obviously we had discussed how I was feeling. They asked some questions about how my mood was, how long it had been like it etc, and asked what had concerned my GP and made her contact them, and I said that she hadn't said she was concerned, but presumably saying I was suicidal? Seemed a bit obvious to be honest.... They asked about medication and I said that I was only on PRN Diazepam (again, perhaps check the notes?) but that when I spoke to L earlier in the week she had said perhaps it was time to consider medication again, and they agreed with that and said that they thought I should see Dr E. It is all a bit vague. I was finding a lot of things quite distracting - my head for a start, but then I have been having a lot of issues with external noises lately - I can't even have music or the TV on in the background like I would usually as I find it stressful and irritating, so noises like the wind howling (and my house is 16th century and therefore one big draft - the wind really howls) and the dog barking etc make me very tense. It appears that this was obvious in the way that I was behaving, because at one point when I talked about how difficult it was to distract myself because of not liking any noise, they said that they had noticed how tense and agitated I seemed by the dog barking and when the wind got louder etc. They talked about my sleep and went through the usual things of no caffeine too late at night, try having a bath before bed to relax you, try taking extra Diazepam etc. They asked about getting out of the house and seeing friends etc, and I said I didn't really see any friends, and that apart from my appointment with my GP yesterday I last left the house on Wednesday for rehearsal. They asked about my suicidal thoughts, and I talked for a few minutes about wanting to die, and how I feel it is perfectly reasonable given how long I have been feeling bad for etc. I think it was around this time the woman took over the talking. I liked her voice. Her accent was soothing. They asked if I thought about suicide methods, and I said constantly, and they asked if I could tell them what. I hesitated over this for a minute, as I didn't want anything taken from me or anything, so I said that I didn't really like talking about a plan. They asked if there was anything I could do to make myself safer so that I would be less likely to act on it, like give them anything, and I said that at the moment I didn't feel like I wanted to be safe - that I wanted to be able to act on the thoughts, because I didn't want to be alive. They asked if I would call if I needed to - if I was feeling worse, and I tried to explain what I had said to the man yesterday - that if I was feeling like I was going to act on my thoughts then I couldn't call because I would be too determined by that point and I wouldn't want help.

She got a bit tougher at that point - prior to then she had been quite softly spoken and gentle, and I kind of assumed she was just that type, but she got a lot more kind of authoritative and assertive and I realised she wasn't the type of person to try and bullshit actually. She went on to talk about supporting me over the weekend - she said they could call me tomorrow, and visit again if necessary, and that then on Monday they would talk to L about what the best option was, but that I had to be willing to work with them and to try and keep myself safe etc. She said one of the things that I would be expected to do was call them if I needed to, if I was feeling at risk or something. I said I understood what she was saying, but that I would not be able to call if I was feeling like I was going to act on my thoughts, because if things felt any worse and I was feeling any more overwhelmed then I wouldn't want help. She said she understood that, but that she would want me to call before it got to that point, if I felt like things were getting worse, rather than waiting until it was at the point where I was about to kill myself. That made sense, but at the same time it didn't - if things were any worse then I would be at the point where I was about to kill myself. That was why I had told my GP and the crisis team man I spoke to last night how I was feeling. I don't think there would be a middle step between here, and being at the point where it was too late for me to want help. I was feeling ambivalent about it anyway. So I wasn't really sure what to do about that, and I'm still not to be honest. I am feeling unsafe, although I think I can probably get through tonight because it isn't a night I would consider suitable, but I am struggling with that. For some reason I didn't know how to put that into words, so I couldn't explain, so I just said that I would try. She said how the crisis team is an alternative to hospital admission, and how obviously in hospital you have staff around you all the time, which you obviously don't with them, but that was why they gave out this number, and to call it if I needed to talk to someone. And that was more or less it really. Or at least it wasn't, but it was all I can remember.

I am not sure what to feel. I am absolutely exhausted. I have been writing this on and off for 4 hours now - they hadn't long left when I started it, and it is now 8:30. My head is all over the place. I just can't think or concentrate and I am finding my thoughts really distracting. I am glad they weren't completely dismissive like I was concerned they might be, but I am still feeling unsure about whether I can get through this, even with their support. I do feel like I need to see them again tomorrow, but it is difficult as my parents will be home all day, and I feel extremely uncomfortable trying to talk to someone if my parents are in the house, partly because I am worried about being overhead, and that makes me not want to be honest, and partly because I don't trust them not to insist on speaking to my parents as has happened in the past, which I don't think is fair when I am an adult who just happens to live with my parents. I am so tired, and I have a headache, but I think that if I try and sleep now I will wake up in a few hours and not be able to get back to sleep. I don't know what to think about everything. I need to stop writing because trying to think is hurting my head.

Referral to crisis team

I had an appointment with my GP this afternoon, as I mentioned yesterday. I had quite mixed feelings about what to say to her. I didn't know how much to say. I didn't know if I wanted help or not. I didn't know whether I would be able to get help or not, even if I did ask for it. I just knew how suicidal I was feeling, and that if I left there without asking for/getting support then I would not get through the weekend - it just wasn't going to happen. Within a couple of minutes of me going in she commented that I seemed to be having trouble with my concentration, which I am. I keep losing my train of thought in the middle of a sentence and then just kind of drifting off and forgetting what I was answering. I can't really remember the appointment very well, I don't remember what order things happened, or even what she asked really. I know I was in there for quite a long time. I told her how bad my sleep was, and she asked if I had any of the sleeping tablets left, and I said that I did but they didn't help, which was why I hadn't been taking them really. She had received a letter from the psychologist that had been sent to L that she had been CCed on, and asked me what that was about. I told her I had an assessment with the psychologist and she had put me on the waiting list for CAT. She asked if there being a psychologist there was new, as she never seems to have any patients who are seeing them, and I said that it wasn't, but since there is only one part time psychologist in the team not many people get to see her. She asked what CAT was, and how it was different from CBT, and I tried to explain, but my mind was really wandering, so she is probably none the wiser. She asked how long the therapy lasts for, and I said either 16 or 24 sessions, and she asked how long the waiting list was and I said up to 18 weeks. She got very frustrated by that - she said how ridiculous it is that there are such long waiting lists for things like that, particularly when the government are so keen to get people back to work and all that sort of thing - she said it really winds her up that mental health services are so underfunded. At some point I started getting slightly upset - I wasn't crying, but I knew that if I tried to speak I would start crying, so I just sat there trying to breathe for a minute. She was very sweet and asked what the matter was. When I finally felt like I could speak without bursting into tears I told her that I was just really struggling and feeling really bad. She asked how long I had been feeling like this for, and said (as predicted!) what a shame it was when I had been doing so well. I said I was just feeling really awful and the suicidal thoughts were really strong, and she said how I have felt like this before and that I know it will pass and so I could get through it, and I said that I didn't want to, I just wanted to die. She joked that if I said that she would have to suggest I started cross stitching again. She asked when I was seeing L, and I said that I was due to see her Tuesday. She talked to me for quite a while asking if I had any plans over the weekend, and if I had any friends I could see or talk to or anything who were supportive. She was very supportive and kept trying to encourage me that I could get through, and said to try and find something I could do over the weekend, and then go and talk to L on Tuesday, and that I could see her again sooner than usual if I felt I needed to, and that she was really sorry I was feeling so bad, but that it would get better etc. I didn't really know what to say - I find it really difficult to be totally blunt about how bad things are when I am actually speaking to someone, and I just felt so drained, and like I was going to burst into tears, so I said goodbye, and got about 2 feet outside her door and turned around and went back in and said I really didn't feel able to get through the weekend. She asked what I would like her to do, and I said I had no idea, I just couldn't cope. She asked if I had the out of hours number, and I briefly explained the mess of when I tried to call a couple of weeks ago. She said that was ridiculous, and that she was going to call the crisis team and ask them to make contact with me over the weekend, and that hopefully having that support would make it easier to keep going. Overall she was very supportive, and I felt like she actually gave a shit about what happened to me. Obviously mental health isn't her area of expertise, but when I am truly in crisis she does seem to try hard to support me. She spent a long time with me today - I must have been with her for about 40 minutes, and she did genuinely seem to care.

About an hour later I got a call from the crisis team. To be honest I wasn't really expecting them to call today - I thought it would be tomorrow, so I was quite surprised. I spoke to a man whose name I can't remember who actually seemed perfectly nice. Initially I thought it was going to be one of those quick 'oh great, we've had a Borderline referred, better give them a quick ring' calls that I have had in the past. He did things like asking if this was the first time I had felt like this (I always wonder why they ask things like that when they quite clearly have your notes in front of them) and then asking what had helped me get through in the past, or if after a while I just started feeling better, and when was I next seeing L. I said that nothing really helped, but that after a while it would start to get a bit easier. He said the stuff about how if I have got through it before then I could again, and I said that I didn't want to. That I was sick of getting through a really horrible patch just for another one to come along, and that I just didn't want to be here any more. I also said that this was actually the worst I had felt for quite a long time - that the suicidal thoughts were stronger this time than they have been for a long time. He asked how long, but I didn't really know - again, my whole conversation with him was rather stumbling and confused as I just couldn't think properly. I said I have been feeling bad for years now, and things never get any better and that I have just had enough - that I don't want to be here. He asked if I had any plans regarding suicide, and I said that it was all I could think about. He asked what I would do, and I said that I didn't want to say because that makes things rather awkward (as in my experience they have then merely attempted to take away whatever method I say I am planning, which doesn't solve anything, as I am still left with the feelings). He asked if I had the means to carry it out, and I said yes, and that if I couldn't use one method then I would use the other that I consider. He asked if I would call someone if I felt I was going to act on my thoughts, and I said no - that if I was any closer to suicide then I wouldn't want to speak to anyone because I wouldn't want to be stopped, and that it was difficult enough to tell Dr O how I was feeling, but that if I was about to do something then I would not call anyone, as it would seem completely counterproductive - if I was any more suicidal than I am now then I would just want to die, I wouldn't want to talk to someone. We talked about my sleep, and how the nights are when I feel most unsafe, as I know I have quite a few hours when my parents are asleep, and so it would be quite a long time before anyone found me etc. He asked about plans for the weekend etc, and I said I didn't have any. He said that the crisis team could visit me tomorrow, but that I needed to commit to keeping myself safe and would that be ok. I said I couldn't promise that - that I could try, but I couldn't give him a guarantee, because I didn't know for sure, and there would be a chance I wouldn't be able to. He asked why not, and I said that if things got too overwhelming then I couldn't be sure I wouldn't act on the thoughts, and he said that he was hoping that if they were seeing me and giving me support then it would stop that from happening, but that he understood and wouldn't ask me to promise, and that they would come out to see me tomorrow. He did ask me more, but I can't remember, and I can't remember the order of most of the conversation. At first I felt like he was just going to make a quick five minute phone call where he would ask when I was seeing L, reassure me that I had got through times like this before, and say to talk to L about it when I saw her, but actually he talked to me for a long time, and was pretty thorough and reasonable. He said they would come out and visit me tomorrow, but that if I needed to speak to someone before then I could call, and he said that he would give me their number, which he shouldn't really do until after they had seen me and assessed me, but that if I needed to call then to phone that, which goes through to a call centre where you leave your name and number, and someone would then call me back as soon as possible. So I have them coming out to see me sometime tomorrow, which I am quite nervous about. I would actually really like it to be him that came out, but that is very unlikely. It's funny, as usually I am much more comfortable with women than men, but the women who work for the crisis team seem to be either patronising, dismissive, intimidating, or a combination of the above, whereas there have actually been a couple of men who have seemed very reasonable. I am pretty much expecting it to be a couple of the scary women (there is one in particular who I have seen several times who I find really intimidating so am really hoping it isn't her) who will come out and either be very dismissive and say that I seem to have suicidal thoughts frequently and that I can get through this and to talk to L on Tuesday, perhaps also breaking my confidentiality by talking to my mum and telling her to confiscate all pills and dressing gown cords etc as I am a suicide risk, as that tends to be my experience with the crisis team, but I am really hoping it isn't like that. It is over two years since they last came out to see me etc - I think I have been referred one other time since then, but someone just spoke to me on the phone and decided I would be ok, and I have been assessed by them several times in A&E, during Summer '09, but I haven't actually had a visit from them for over two years, and I am a bit nervous. I hate the way they always visit in pairs - it feels really intimidating. I just really, really hope that it is someone who actually takes me seriously and tries to help, rather than just dismisses how I am feeling in the way that they so often seem to. I tried to be really honest with the man on the phone, as I figured it couldn't do any harm - it couldn't take suicide away as an option, but it might get me some support. I hope that I can do the same tomorrow, and that they actually take me seriously like he seemed to. I suppose if they don't I won't be any worse off than I would have been had I not seen them though. And it might help. The difficulty is, that as I explained to him, it is the night time that I feel most unsafe, and even if they are doing daily visits, they can't be here now, when the thoughts are at their strongest. But I will just have to see how it goes.