I have to try to wiggle my way out of an appointment today because I can't afford it. I mean, the last time I was there she told me that she thought it was anxiety and I felt like I'd wasted the money to get told I was crazy. I won't go into everything she said, but she made a lot of assumptions and said a lot of things a doctor shouldn't say, especially a specialist that knows nothing about my other problems. I hate phone calls so much, so I've ignored the need to cancel it for a month now. I can't afford insurance, I cant afford self-pay, and disability has denied me three times, so I'm basically left to try and fight an illness that's causing me to feel like I'm gonna die.
Too poor to live
- Thread starter Mayle Jay
- Start date
Errr, odd one, but anxiety is not related to crazy in any way shape or form. Anxiety is a mental health issue, but not madness or insanity and there is a huge difference.
Initially, assumptions have to be made as little is known about a persons problems, just what occurs in the first conversation or two. It could be that as you talk more and open up and discuss issues, that the first assumption is found to be wrong and there is more to it. That simply cannot be determined in one meeting. Therapy of any sort is usually ongoing, not a one off meeting where you receive a instant fix.
Speak to them, see what can be arranged by way of payments. I have read here at SF that often for people with little/no income, other options can be looked into. Not speaking to them about that is not allowing for that possibility.
Initially, assumptions have to be made as little is known about a persons problems, just what occurs in the first conversation or two. It could be that as you talk more and open up and discuss issues, that the first assumption is found to be wrong and there is more to it. That simply cannot be determined in one meeting. Therapy of any sort is usually ongoing, not a one off meeting where you receive a instant fix.
Speak to them, see what can be arranged by way of payments. I have read here at SF that often for people with little/no income, other options can be looked into. Not speaking to them about that is not allowing for that possibility.
Welcome to the club: Steerage-Class Citizenship™ aboard the US Ship of State. For some things, including dental care and mental health, our system is totally fend-for-yourself (unless it’s profound schizophrenia or intellectual disability, usually IQ < 55, or some other diagnoses provided they’re established before 22nd birthday and you have evidence of continuous diagnostic and care history from that date to now, etc., etc.). If you don’t have a good marketable skill, plan on a life of being uninsured and reliant on the indigent-charity care system—yet still with debt collectors seeking to extract whatever of your five-figure medical debts they can—in Blood from Turnips®.
And yeah: talk therapy is a waste of time and money if you don’t have Platinum coverage. It’s gonna go below keeping the gas on this winter and getting that rotten tooth fixed before it, too, has to be pulled, leaving you to gum your meals down. Research hasn’t shown most psychotherapies to be any more effective in most mental health conditions than doing nothing beyond medications if indicated.
Sometimes you can get a referral from a crisis worker or the hospital psych ward for a limited number of sessions, typically six or eight. If you have specific goals to meet, a therapist can be helpful in working on them.
Wishing you the best—and at least it’s not an African country where you live in a mud & wattle hut and walk three miles to get your water from the river. The world quite frankly sucks in the levels of inequality and poverty it not only finds excuses for, but celebrates at times—as when the newest Forbes 400 comes out to show how Mukesh Ambani is worth $22 billion and lives in a 27-story mansion boasting greater floor space than a Walmart Supercenter and Home Depot put together.
I won’t make assumptions or give advice as no Web site can care for your mental health needs—but Sinister Kid, posting above, is correct to state that options exist for anyone, no matter who you are or what your situation is. If there were no options for you, having a discussion here would be pointless—you’d just go down, like a sick gazelle on the Serengeti. And looking for those options is gonna take some effort and work only you can supply. Effort is hard to do with depressive disorders. But do it.
Again, best of luck to you. Feelings of suicide are the pits. I just got out of the behavioral health unit after a suicide-related hospitalization, and it seems you do have a good degree of insight into your issues.
Here it’s peer support—electronic hugs, as it were. Giving those out does help distract from those bad thoughts.
And yeah: talk therapy is a waste of time and money if you don’t have Platinum coverage. It’s gonna go below keeping the gas on this winter and getting that rotten tooth fixed before it, too, has to be pulled, leaving you to gum your meals down. Research hasn’t shown most psychotherapies to be any more effective in most mental health conditions than doing nothing beyond medications if indicated.
Sometimes you can get a referral from a crisis worker or the hospital psych ward for a limited number of sessions, typically six or eight. If you have specific goals to meet, a therapist can be helpful in working on them.
Wishing you the best—and at least it’s not an African country where you live in a mud & wattle hut and walk three miles to get your water from the river. The world quite frankly sucks in the levels of inequality and poverty it not only finds excuses for, but celebrates at times—as when the newest Forbes 400 comes out to show how Mukesh Ambani is worth $22 billion and lives in a 27-story mansion boasting greater floor space than a Walmart Supercenter and Home Depot put together.
I won’t make assumptions or give advice as no Web site can care for your mental health needs—but Sinister Kid, posting above, is correct to state that options exist for anyone, no matter who you are or what your situation is. If there were no options for you, having a discussion here would be pointless—you’d just go down, like a sick gazelle on the Serengeti. And looking for those options is gonna take some effort and work only you can supply. Effort is hard to do with depressive disorders. But do it.
Again, best of luck to you. Feelings of suicide are the pits. I just got out of the behavioral health unit after a suicide-related hospitalization, and it seems you do have a good degree of insight into your issues.
Here it’s peer support—electronic hugs, as it were. Giving those out does help distract from those bad thoughts.
When they had steamships back around 1860-1940, it was accommodations below deck, pretty uncomfortable, no bed or stateroom, everybody just crowded in. But lots cheaper than a 1st or 2nd class ticket. That's how the immigrants came to America. Sometimes I think airliners are going back to this torture!
I want to be careful to avoid coming across as a know-it-all. I’m pretty smart and had a good education. Yet about many things, I am “stupider” than almost anyone else. I think I turn people off by spouting off about stuff they’re not interested in hearing, for instance.
Much of the “smarts” in this world goes unarticulated—it’s there, and behavior is governed accordingly—yet the possessor cannot easily describe or give a statement on the knowledge being used. It is very common. Questions are smarter than answers. But I guess you can get to England in six hours from New York by plane, instead of a week; and the steamship’s week likewise improved on the two months a sailing ship might need. What a marvelous world we have now.
Much of the “smarts” in this world goes unarticulated—it’s there, and behavior is governed accordingly—yet the possessor cannot easily describe or give a statement on the knowledge being used. It is very common. Questions are smarter than answers. But I guess you can get to England in six hours from New York by plane, instead of a week; and the steamship’s week likewise improved on the two months a sailing ship might need. What a marvelous world we have now.
Interesting time to have read this post- just 5 minutes after I called Dr that does not accept my insurance (a lot of places do not anymore since the new improved obamacare insurance) to ask if I should cancel my appt/change it for a few days because I do not have the money for the appt today. Really does suck making that call and does not mean anxiety or crazy- just sucks. I personally hate phone calls in general as well but it is my least favorit type of call to make.
I hope you find something thta helps - and if you want to talk more about what else is going on happy to listen.
I hope you find something thta helps - and if you want to talk more about what else is going on happy to listen.
I am so sorry you are going through this. I have a form of dysautonomia called POTS and was misdiagnosed for many years. It has been progressing because of a spine injury caused by a botched spinal tap. I now have a chronic pain syndrome called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. I now basically have dysautonomia on top of dysautonomia and it has caused anxiety that is not psychological but caused from my sympathetic nervous system being upregulated. My meds are 1k a month. I will be cashing out my small 401k, but I honestly can't fight this anymore. My family are sociopaths who won't help. So I will be ending it as soon as I get enough strength. But there is hope for you. Please don't stop advocating for yourself. Do research and be assertive. Write down your symptoms and give an outline to your Dr.
If you have been denied by disability, you need to get yourself a lawyer. I got a lawyer the second time I applied and after that I was awarded disability. I also got $10,000 in back pay. Usually a lawyer helps a lot, because they can get all the information from your doctors and stuff. The amount you pay him comes out of whatever amount you win. I only had to pay my lawyer $1,000.