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FawkesSenior Contributor
How do you deal with being kicked out of the private sector when in crisis? Being blamed for your “failure” as a patient? Being treated like vermin in the ED? How do you continue to pick yourself up and dust yourself off when you have a terminal mental health disorder?
In response to: Patient Failure
tymeModerator
Hey @Fawkes ,
I hear you loud and clear. It happened to me too. I was too 'high risk' for the private mental health system and so I stuck with the public system. And you know what? I'm so so grateful because it turned out for the better because I got so much support from the public mental health system that I never would've received in private.
In response to: Patient Failure
MJG017Senior Contributor
Hi @Fawkes
I'm so sorry about what you are going through. There is definitely a failure here,b ut it is with the health system and not with you. Try to remember that you are not failing, just human and struggling with your mental health and not receiving the help and support that you need and deserve. Try to take some solace in the incredible strength and resilience that you have already shown. Also that your voice and concerns are valid and that the way you have been treated is in no way fair and you have every right to feel frustrated and angry about this failure in the system you are experiencing.
Hopefully you can find some of that much needed profession support somewhere else soon, but I hope reaching out to places like you have here can be helpful for you. One of the things that has really helped me is to try and build a support network around me after finding professional support less 'helpful' that I would have liked. People like the folk here and some other community based places have provided that support for me and have been invaluable in getting my through and extremely tough year.
I also completely understand that it may just be a fight that you feel you can't take on right now, but remember that it's okay to fight for your dignity and what you deserve, by writing complaints, and contacting places like local ombudsmen and advocacy groups to demand some accountability... even if it's just to make you feel better by being heard and the empowerment that that may bring you.
You're not alone and i understand that it must feel like the world has turned it's back on you, but we are her and we're listening and we understand and are help to help how ever you feel might be helpful to you. Keep focusing on looking for those small wins and as I've learned recently, just try to take things one day at a time to get through a clearly extremely difficult time.
In response to: Patient Failure
chibamSenior Contributor
Damn, @Fawkes , I been there. Not the ED part, but the part about being treated as if I was failing the treatment, rather then the treatment failing me.
I wish I had some good advice for what to do about it.
In response to: Re: Patient Failure
tymeModerator
Totally @chibam @Fawkes !
What tends to erk me is when a person is told they are treatment resistant. This makes the person lose hope. Why don't they say they are not able to meet the need of the person rather than place the 'fault' on the person???
Arghhh....
In response to: Re: Patient Failure
chibamSenior Contributor
@tyme wrote:Totally @chibam @Fawkes !
What tends to erk me is when a person is told they are treatment resistant.
Same, @tyme ! I've really come to hate that phrase; although I've encountered it more in the various reports, testimonies, ect. surrounding the public mental health discussion then I ever did from my own therapists (I don't recall them ever saying it to me).
But whatever you call it, it all amounts to the same thing - therapists blaming patients for not being good enough patients, rather then the therapists looking at their own failings - one of which is often the fact that they don't even listen to their patients, or just dismiss what the patient has to say.
In response to: Re: Patient Failure
FawkesSenior Contributor
Thank you. I want to recognise the support that SANE has provided in the past and the value of patient advocacy.
Help us push aside the stigma and discrimination surrounding complex mental health and change the way people talk about, and care for, mental illness.
SANE acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and to Elders past and present.
SANE values diversity. We are committed to providing a safe, culturally appropriate, and inclusive service for all people, regardless of their ethnicity, faith, disability, sexuality, or gender identity.
Help us push aside the stigma and discrimination surrounding complex mental health and change the way people talk about, and care for, mental illness.
SANE acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures; and to Elders past and present.
SANE values diversity. We are committed to providing a safe, culturally appropriate, and inclusive service for all people, regardless of their ethnicity, faith, disability, sexuality, or gender identity.
You’ll soon be able to use one secure login to access all SANE services.
For added security, members are now required to log in with their email address and password - member names are no longer supported for logging in.
If you had a Forums account before 19 May 2026 and haven’t set up your new login yet, you'll be prompted to set up your new secure login when you sign-in.
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