Hi there squiggly squirrel,
So sorry to hear about your situation and your brothers struggles. It’s really shit that it’s so difficult to get help as an addict. My partner tried to commit suicide a few months ago, was addicted to opiates and when we went to the gp they literally said ‘what do you want from me’ and they wouldn’t refer him to the mental health team for an assessment until he was clean. Trouble is, addiction stems from mental health issues, if they aren’t addressed then it’s so difficult to come out of addiction and start a recovery journey, it’s an endless cycle. We found out the details for a local drugs and alcohol charity and, because of the severity of the situation, they saw him a week after the self referral. Charities also have wait lists though and he was advised it could take up to 6 months to get on a methadone programme with them. He’s since decided to go cold turkey and that worked out okay for him (not pleasant but the painful withdrawals didn’t last too long) and now has bi weekly appointments to help with the recovery. As he’s now clean he’s been referred for a mental health assessment so the balls rolling with that.
<p style=”text-align: left;”>I would have thought that as your brother has been diagnosed with mental health issues, he’d be given the right support with the NHS. Have you tried to contact the charity Mind? I’d advise reaching out to them in the meantime and like M said, let the charity know that he’s suicidal and hopefully that will escalate the support from them. It would also be worth finding out who he or you can call in your council area for crisis support.</p>
I know it feels like a kick in the teeth for him to finally reach out for support and get refused it. Especially if he suffer from depression and psychosis, this situation won’t help. If you or he can afford a session or 2, have a look on councilling-directory for a suitable therapist for a couple of sessions while you wait for support from the charity. He needs a professional to show him some empathy, and support which he’s not getting at the moment from the NHS.
I do just want to add, I appreciate our NHS and what they do, but unfortunately our gov has underfunded the f out of it and especially our mental health services to the point that charities have to pick up the pieces and there’s more people that need help than people that are available to help them at the moment.
I hope there’s something helpful in my comment, even just reading you’re not alone in this helps, I know it helped me when I first posted several weeks ago. Your brother needs to know that he’s not alone either, does your local drug service have any online forums or anything so he can speak to others going through the same thing?
I really hope he gets the professional support he needs soon, he’s lucky to have you. Stay strong and best of luck with everything.