During my first year of university I was taking an introduction to psychology class where I started to learn in detail all the different mental health diagnosis that are recognized. As I was studying the symptoms and descriptions, I recognized a lot of symptoms that were present in me, fear of abandonment, outburst of anger, extreme mood swings, impulsive behaviours, etc. The diagnosis that I recognized in me was Borderline Personality Disorder, I thought long and hard about this and after months of sitting on it, I knew I needed and wanted to get some form of help.
I finally went to my family doctor to tell her about how I was feeling and what my symptoms were, so she did an initial assessment and told me that I would then have to wait 4 – 5 months to receive a referral. As I waited, I struggled, I had ups and downs, good days and many bad days. Finally, after the long wait I received a call to set up an appointment, it was hard to set up this appointment because the doctor assessing me only came in twice a month. I had to push back the appointment 3 times before I could finally attend it because I couldn’t miss any class to see the doctor on the days, they were available.
The first call I received was in September, and I couldn’t get to see the doctor until December. I first initially asked for help in the may of that same year and I wasn’t able to receive supports until December of the same following year. This was frustrating because I had struggled throughout the year and I was in need of support, yet I was unable to attend any meetings because I could not make my schedule as flexible as they needed it to be. A few months later in February after my first intake, I was contacted to be a part of psychodynamic therapy. I was hopeful to receive therapeutic help because I had struggled for a year prior to receiving help, I was 18 at the time and many of the relationships that I had developed over the years were crumbling apart as I was unable to cope with my mental health properly.
The thing about finding mental health services as a young adult is that often you are in a critical period where your mental health is at its worse because you have yet to develop coping strategies to self-manage and in return many of the relationships you have are affected strongly because of it. As a student, waiting up to a year to receive support was one of the hardest and longest years to endure as I was consistently stressed out because of classes, I was building new relationships and I was still living at home. For me, I was able to function for a year without needing immediate help, however when I first went to my doctor I was in distress, and hearing that I would have to wait another 4-5 months was challenging to hear. I made it work, but I can only imagine others who have suffered and have had to wait longer to receive support. I hope that with my voice I can advocate for shorter wait periods for people who need access to services, as mental health is a critical part of our health.
Now, I have been in weekly therapy since that February that I had that initial call back for services. I attend on a weekly basis, with the most incredible therapist who has helped me immensely to understand the emotions I felt and why the hard times were so hard. As well, as we developed a relationship and she was able to see me more, she re-diagnosed me as not to have Borderline Personality Disorder but to have symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Therapy is effective for me, and it was hopeful to know that there was a light at the end of that long dark tunnel. My journey with mental health has not been a nice sunny walk in the park but a rainy, cloudy thunderstorm. However, with the proper services, I am now able to manage my coping skills and for the most part live a very happy life. I urge any of you who have received services to help advocate for those who are in need of support but may not be able to wait as long as I did.
Written by: Emily, second year social work student
