Poll of the Day > some of these crisis chat rooms are totally useless

(+) Yeah! (+)

i couldn't get into the one with trained and licensed counselors because it keeps getting hung up in my browser for some reason

so i went in this one with just volunteers

the guy just kept repeating back to me what i was saying to him

like if i wanted to talk to myself i would have talked to a mirror. that was fuckin' useless. now i have to try to get into the other room again. i've been trying to do this for like an hour and a half.

i just want to talk to someone because i'm having bad anxiety after my therapy appointment today. shouldn't be this challenging to get help or someone to talk to.
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the crisis chat rooms are totally useless?
you went with one with just volunteers?
youre having bad anxiety after your therapy today?
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Greenfox111 posted...

the crisis chat rooms are totally useless?
you went with one with just volunteers?
youre having bad anxiety after your therapy today?

yeah! that's nice dear, ok? blogfaqs. k.
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Out of curiosity is mental health care in the USA terrible too? It certainly is over here.
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wwinterj25 posted...

Out of curiosity is mental health care in the USA terrible too? It certainly is over here.

depends what you can afford.

so in general, yes. because most people can't afford it.
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Im sorry to hear that.
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Foppe posted...

Im sorry to hear that.

it happens. i just have a lot going on right now! hopefully it'll get better in the next few months.
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Jen0125 posted...

depends what you can afford.

so in general, yes. because most people can't afford it.

Interesting. I've attended a course for anxiety and seen a CBT specialist who was useless because apparently she can't help with my problem(what?) but I didn't pay a penny so it's no wonder they put little effort into it. On the other hand my brother attends a GA meeting for his gambling for nothing and he says it helps a lot. I don't know if you attend any meetings or the like outside of therapy or if you pay but I find there isn't many options when it comes to anxiety.

The doctor won't do anything for me outside of blood tests to rule out any other problems and says it's not something that requires a CT scan. I also won't try meds again. However the other option that people use is CBT but apparently they can't help either so I'm stuck in limbo. One thing that helps a bit is mindfulness but more specifically binaural beats. Have you tried any form of CBT?
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Why do you have a bad anxiety?
Were you not able to finish talking about a specific thing?
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how can cbt not help with your problem? cbt is perfect for people who get anxiety and isolate. you should just find a different counselor that lady is dumb. i did cbt for 5 weeks and it was great.

cbt is literally just about replacing negative thoughts with positive ones and negative behaviors with positive ones. there's no reason that couldn't help you.

Foppe posted...

Why do you have a bad anxiety?
Were you not able to finish talking about a specific thing?

no it was the things we talked about that gave me anxiety lol

i'm still thinking about it now so i just wanted to talk to a counselor again now but it takes forever to get through because there's lots of people who want to do the same thing. i could call but i really hate talking on the phone. that would give me even more anxiety.
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Hey you could see if your insurance provider has a free mental health hotline? I know Cigna does. Idk if any will have chat rooms tho if that's what you want.
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yeah i could call any number of hotlines because the place i go for group therapy gave me 3 already but i really hate talking on the phone because i get phone anxiety when it's not for work calls. plus i really don't want to hear the pity in someone's voice when i talk to them.
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Jen0125 posted...

how can cbt not help with your problem? cbt is perfect for people who get anxiety and isolate. you should just find a different counselor that lady is dumb. i did cbt for 5 weeks and it was great.

cbt is literally just about replacing negative thoughts with positive ones and negative behaviors with positive ones. there's no reason that couldn't help you.

Indeed. The thing is though my main issue is a constant head pressure. The CBT stuff they said on the course I was on wasn't helpful. Such as limiting negative thinking to 30 minutes a day. The problem is I'm not thinking anything negative yet still get this head pressure. Deep breathing is also something I do but that's common sense. She even suggested Autism because people with Autism experience anxiety. That doesn't make sense to me as by her logic everytime I puke I must have a serious illness because those who have a serious illness puke. You're right though I probably should explore other options because she was useless and didn't offer help with anything because "if these basics on the course didn't help we can't help as advance stuff is for if they do". -_-
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you may have some type of undiagnosed head injury. have you gotten the CT scan or an MRI?

is it a painful pressure or like a high blood pressure type of pressure?
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yeah i could call any number of hotlines because the place i go for group therapy gave me 3 already but i really hate talking on the phone because i get phone anxiety when it's not for work calls. plus i really don't want to hear the pity in someone's voice when i talk to them

Yuppp I can relate to that.
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Jen0125 posted...

you may have some type of undiagnosed head injury. have you gotten the CT scan or an MRI?

I got a shortness of breath, had a panic attack and was fine for a week. Then the same thing happened only this time I got pins and needles all over my head. Those went away but left a pressure in my head that's stayed since then. I've not had another panic attack but have had anxiety symptoms such as tight chest, blurred vision, shakes, heart palpation's, nightmares a lot and so on. I haven't had a CT or MRI scan as the doctor doesn't seem to want to put my forward for one as he's certain it's anxiety. All my blood tests came back fine and my heart is working as it should. I tried Amitriptyline and that did nothing. I probably should go for a eye test because that could be a factor due to what seems to be a lazy eye that I've had since I was little but that's grasping at straws as it's never bothered me before and these symptoms started from a panic attack. I've had this for two years so not that long but long enough. I refuse to accept that there isn't a answer as to why outside of "it's just anxiety!".
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Yeah. I'd just go see a different counselor.
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Jen0125 posted...

Yeah. I'd just go see a different counselor.

Yeah i probably will. I'll get to the bottom of it.
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cbt is great if you really give it a chance and practice it a lot. you have to really consciously apply it for a long time though because you're reversing however many years of negativity. and even if you think you're not having negative thoughts if you're having anxiety and panic attacks you're having negative thoughts in some form.
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Jen0125 posted...

replacing negative thoughts with positive ones and negative behaviors with positive ones

Oh, hey; that sounds like something I'm doing at the mo'!
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Jen0125 posted...

cbt is great if you really give it a chance and practice it a lot. you have to really consciously apply it for a long time though because you're reversing however many years of negativity. and even if you think you're not having negative thoughts if you're having anxiety and panic attacks you're having negative thoughts in some form.

I've probably become immune to it. However I apply some form of cbt to my life everyday with deep breathing, mindfulness and I've even dabbled in meditation. It helps a little at least as I don't get a tight chest as much. I probably should cut out the nicotine and caffeine too. It certainly doesn't help matters.
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caffeine probably matters more than nicotine just because it makes you more hyper and potentially on edge.
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True. I'm cutting down on the tea drinking.
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avoid the ones with volunteers at all. costs.

typically they're just filled with shitty people who need to jump off a bridge and are only there to try and make things worse.
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I left the one I was in after the guy said four responses to me. He was so slow in responding and when he did it was just things I had just said to him. It was completely pointless.
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Jen0125 posted...

i couldn't get into the one with trained and licensed counselors because it keeps getting hung up in my browser for some reason

so i went in this one with just volunteers

the guy just kept repeating back to me what i was saying to him

like if i wanted to talk to myself i would have talked to a mirror. that was fuckin' useless. now i have to try to get into the other room again. i've been trying to do this for like an hour and a half.

i just want to talk to someone because i'm having bad anxiety after my therapy appointment today. shouldn't be this challenging to get help or someone to talk to.

Cause none of these clowns can help you. Smoke some weed that will chill your anxiety. Then watch some funny ass movies that will pick up your mood.
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I never met someon whobis high to be anxious.
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I can't do any type of marijuana consumption. That is too closely related to my alcohol use and I don't even want to risk a relapse.
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i know a few people who get bad anxiety when they're high

i can't believe you've never seen a high person be paranoid before

that's anxiety
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I'm giving cbt another try myself. Recently bought a book that can help get you set in a routine of replacing bad thoughts with good. It didn't really stick when I was in therapy.

Anyway, I hope you manage to get in contact with someone who can help you. It really sucks that you're struggling to get in contact with anyone actually useful.
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Foppe posted...

Im sorry to hear that.

Why? Is it your fault?

KogaSteelfang posted...

I'm giving cbt another try myself. Recently bought a book that can help get you set in a routine of replacing bad thoughts with good. It didn't really stick when I was in therapy.

Yeah it only works if you make it work.
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Jen0125 posted...

the guy just kept repeating back to me what i was saying to him

Think this guys eaten up the saying where its quoted:
"When Women tell you their problems, they dont want a solution, they just want someone to unload on".

I probably can't be much help, but, I'll just throw this here since it has helped me a little bit in the past.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDq6TstdEi8" data-time="
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I'll talk to you about your problems Jen

For $50 an hour we can go deep into your desire to have a child.
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SmokeMassTree posted...

I'll talk to you about your problems Jen

For $50 an hour we can go deep into your desire to have a child.

Why do you take a page out of the book of Sunwu for your crappy insults?
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Mental health care in this country is definitely fucked up. Like if I didn't have insurance when I lost my mind, I would have stayed in the county... lockup. Because I can't call that a mental hospital. It's a horrible tiny filthy little place where you're left alone the whole time and women are FREQUENTLY raped there. Because I had good insurance I got to go to a swanky place in another county that was practically a vacation other than not being allowed to leave, and where I got all sorts of therapy and counseling. It pisses me off that most people can't get that.

My psychiatrist also costs like $200 per half hour session and was seeing me weekly at one point. That is so very much not an option for most people.

The therapist I got sent to was kind of worthless like those volunteers. I think the most useful thing she said most of the time was "And that hurt your feelings." Uh. Yeeeaaah. Duh.

wwinter, do you have insurance or money so you could go get an MRI and CT because YOU want to? Do you HAVE to have that doctor's permission? Because I would just ignore their ass, advocate for myself, and get it done.

Jen, it is absolutely understandable and possibly the best idea to refuse to do any substances to avoid a relapse. But I will say this for marijuana... It is now becoming well known for helping cure addictions to other things, especially heroin and alcohol. I was drinking pretty heavily for a while but after I started vaping pot I stopped wanting alcohol much. Could really go without it forever if I still had muh weed.

It absolutely does cause anxiety attacks in some people though, guys. Especially when you start using it.

And I'm not like the absolute best person to talk to, but if you really need someone to talk about anxiety with, I definitely know how it feels. If you have Facebook messenger you could like PM me and contact me that way when you can't find someone more useful. I have my tablet with me more often than not. :P
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Jen0125 posted...

SmokeMassTree posted...

I'll talk to you about your problems Jen

For $50 an hour we can go deep into your desire to have a child.

Why do you take a page out of the book of Sunwu for your crappy insults?

It was a serious offer.
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I called a suicide hotline once.

I asked "do you get other calls like me sometimes?"

She said "no"

I was like :(

minervo posted...

I called a suicide hotline once.

I asked "do you get other calls like me sometimes?"

She said "no"

I was like :(

And that hurt your feelings?
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SmokeMassTree posted...

minervo posted...

I called a suicide hotline once.

I asked "do you get other calls like me sometimes?"

She said "no"

I was like :(

And that hurt your feelings?

Yes, i couldn't believe it.

What no you're supposed to say

Uh yeahhhh duh
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Naw, i was literally gonna end it, no time for smooth talk.

I did volunteer at a crisis line before med school. The repeating or paraphrasing is supposed to be an indication that they are listening or paying attention and validation of what was said, but thats conveyed better vocally than online and is an issue of the medium.

Also, one of the factors is that there is generally going to be some feeling out in terms of how theyre going to approach the call/chat. Is the person reaching out looking to vent and get validation or something else? Are they freely providing information or does the counselor have to ask more specific questions to get those answers? Are they disclosing more as they get more comfortable/building a rapport? Do they just click with the counselor? Are they trying to assess suicide risk. Sometimes the counselors are just not good with computers and take a while to type cause of age.

Any way, Im sorry you had a bad experience. If its necessary, I hope its better next time. A lot volunteers arent licensed medically and are just good samaritans trying to help out: hopefully they can do better by you
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Moonjay posted...

Jen, it is absolutely understandable and possibly the best idea to refuse to do any substances to avoid a relapse. But I will say this for marijuana... It is now becoming well known for helping cure addictions to other things, especially heroin and alcohol. I was drinking pretty heavily for a while but after I started vaping pot I stopped wanting alcohol much. Could really go without it forever if I still had muh weed.

It's more that they're intrinsically linked to me because I did them simultaneously. I don't think at this point I'd be able to try to marijuana without getting triggered to drink alcohol.
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SmokeMassTree posted...

Jen0125 posted...

SmokeMassTree posted...

I'll talk to you about your problems Jen

For $50 an hour we can go deep into your desire to have a child.

Why do you take a page out of the book of Sunwu for your crappy insults?

It was a serious offer.

You need to up your troll game, son. Getting a girlfriend made you slip.
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Jen0125 posted...

Moonjay posted...

Jen, it is absolutely understandable and possibly the best idea to refuse to do any substances to avoid a relapse. But I will say this for marijuana... It is now becoming well known for helping cure addictions to other things, especially heroin and alcohol. I was drinking pretty heavily for a while but after I started vaping pot I stopped wanting alcohol much. Could really go without it forever if I still had muh weed.

It's more that they're intrinsically linked to me because I did them simultaneously. I don't think at this point I'd be able to try to marijuana without getting triggered to drink alcohol.

That totally makes sense. I definitely wouldn't recommend weed in that situation. And good for you for realizing it.
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When I first got out of treatment I thought I'd be able to use my vape pen later down the road without an issue but Mando and my counselor kinda talked some sense into me about it and I agreed with them. So I just threw it away so I wouldn't even be tempted to try to use it lol.
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Jen0125 posted...

SmokeMassTree posted...

Jen0125 posted...

SmokeMassTree posted...

I'll talk to you about your problems Jen

For $50 an hour we can go deep into your desire to have a child.

Why do you take a page out of the book of Sunwu for your crappy insults?

It was a serious offer.

You need to up your troll game, son. Getting a girlfriend made you slip.

I'm not trying to troll you Jen. I'm legitimately concerned about your well being and want to offer my services.
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Yawn.
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