It can be so hard watching from the relative sidelines.

You might feel scared to offer suggestions in case they are taken as criticism or cause upset.

 

Lots of young people accessing care in all sorts of settings can have symptoms which don't resolve quickly by trying more and more medications.

Sometimes explanations & reassurance can really help.

Sometimes a different medical approach can help.

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Often we're a bit rubbish at addressing the psychological factors so that the medications can't do it all on their own.

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It may be that you already know that it's the psychological bits that are the greatest challenge. You might have struggled to raise that as a cause.

They may already have been seen and been advised to wait and see, or referred and either waiting for an assessment (or worse rejected from the service). 

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Please don't blame the CAMHS staff  - they are usually amazing folks who are swamped with demand and focusing on those with the greatest need.  On top of the soaring demand they have lost lots of resources and are frantically striving to even keep up. 

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They might be having medical symptoms which can be crippling. Remember you can only understand anxiety attacks when you've had one.

They might be feeling very low, very angry or thinking about hurting themselves.

If you feel like any of these are an immediate risk for your friend please encourage them to go & get help right away (via your doctor, your local A&E or 999).

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Sometimes a medical appointment is the answer and sometimes therapy is. I offer both through CaramoCare. 

It does however come with fees so won't be accessible to all.

I will be setting up some funded appointments as I already offer pro bono appointments to some selected groups.

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If they can access this service that's great.

If not please encourage them to reach out to your local services - while it's not easy getting treatment, it is possible. 

 

Doctor's appointment are usually much easier to access.

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Please continue to support and be there for them - you'll maybe never know how precious that is. At the same time look after you. You can only help others when pouring from your own full cup.

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Many charities do offer support locally & in fact CAMHS use these to refer to.

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Here are some links to them: (I wish you and your friend the very best & will soon launch some therapy questions to try & help you & I'll link those here too)

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