How much does "mental wellness" cost you?

More than I can afford at the moment. I am on a mental health plan and even with that in place I just can't afford any psychology sessions. I'm trying to give things a go off medication but it's really hard because it is expensive to go to a psych regularly. I honestly think that cost of mental health care needs to be looked at by the Government.

@Eden1919 @Betharina Great thread Eden1919. Ummmm ....... as both of you have said 'alot' ..... I really cannot put it into numbers as I take so many meds (I also have to factor in son2's medications ) and they get renewed at different times it is hard to put a absolute figure on it. Pdoc costs for myself and my son2 once a month and then of course there is the change of eating as I have now gone healthy because of mi hoping that it will help in the long run.

As for my head sometimes I wish I was mad again .... I kind of miss it at times tbh. greenpea

@Betharina that is so hard i heard a doctor on a promotional add for getting mental health help say " the 10 medicare sessions under the better access to mental health plan are enough for people who do NOT meet the criteria for a diagnosable mental illness" like what are the people who DO meant to do suffer and be broke for the rest of their lives honestly this is why the hospitals are always full because poeple cant afford help and then they get to a point where they are desperate and end up in hospital then because the hospital is underfunded and so full all the time you dont even get what you need there so it just ends up a continuous cycle and people never seem to be able to get out of it.

@Bunniekins i honestly dont even think that covers the real cost as far as my numbers go add in things like private admissions and DBT aslo done privately it really racks up. thankfully health insurance covered the private admissions but some people cant afford that either. i must say that is something i really appreiciate about my family if someone needs something finacially we all pull together and find a way to help each other out. but not everyone has that option either. but i do remember times i had to see my psych less frequently because we didnt have the money and we had other health related thing to pay for as well. i think the hard thing with mental health is it doesnt heal in 6 weeks like a broken bone it can go on for years even decades and at least with something broken you can stop paying not long after.

i can understand which to be "mad" again. although in my experience there are some types of mad i never wish to have again but the mania isnt too bad.....

@Eden1919 Yes my pdoc said mine would be a forever illness so I have my meds to look forward to for the rest of my life .... great .... and it is expensive and god only knows what its side effects are to the rest of the body. Eg: It is not like high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes which is often brought on by being over weight, lose the weight problems solved ... oh no our meds often put on weight making us susceptible to diabetes and high blood pressure! wonderful .... just one more thing to worry about.

ps: I agree with the 'mad' 🙂

@Bunniekins yes diabetes, hypertension and many many other things and the weight is such an over looked issue if you are over weight (which can be caused by the meds) you are at risk for a whole bunch of cancers and other issues like blood clots and strokes and so so so many things. not to mention there is a number of studies that have proven that antipsychotics cause brain shrinkage and loss of grey matter when taken over long periods of time and some people are even looking into the meds and a link between demntia. AND this is something that baffels me but there have also been multiple studies that showed that people who took anti psychotics after 1 year had the same relapse rates as people who didnt or stopped taking them and that after 5 years the people ON meds had WORSE outcomes socially, occupationally, and mentally than the group who didnt take meds or stopped them. there is also evidence to suggest that medications taken as a child can actually cause mental illness later on in life particulalrly there is a link between taking anti depressants as a child and bipolar later in life. anyway i have a whole bunch of info on this stuff as i have more than done my research but i wont go too deep in but they are not the magical fix it pills that society think they are.

Hi all, I’m so glad to have found this thread tonight. This is a real practical problem and a major barrier to people getting any kind of help. Financial constraints on treatment methods or support is actually a huge issue (as you all are aware of course!) but I also don’t think it’s discussed or acknowledged enough. Many health professionals are aware of this but maybe they expect too much sometimes. I hope that most if not all tailor treatment to fit into peoples’ real lives.

I know that meds can impact people in many different ways. It’s also really common for people struggling on those meds to need support too. I’m just flagging that while medication can be difficult and debates are had about their benefits, but it is an important part of treatment for a lot of people. There is definitely evidence out there that reporting on outcomes of medications, but these will be reporting the positive, as well as the negative outcomes. I’m definitely not saying these are “magical pills”, they can come with a lot of drawbacks, but in terms of treatment, the meds benefits should outweigh the risks.

I hope that my chiming in doesn’t shut down the discussion, if it feels awkward, I’m really sorry. It’s just important to acknowledge the benefits that medication can provide to peoples’ wellbeing. Along with the barrier of other kinds of treatment, sometimes people can’t afford therapy and also rely on medications to manage their mental health in a (mostly) more affordable way… so sometimes meds can be less financially stressful and practical and helpful!.

@Former-Member i am not against meds as an idea per say if someone chooses to take it and wants to take it and finds it helps them then go for it and thats great i am glad something helps you and it really isnt my business what others choose to do with their lives but i also think people are not told nearly enough about the risks i know i wasnt even though i specifically asked. and i also think people shouldnt be forced to take them if they dont want to. like it is one thing to ask for them and request them but to be made to take them when you are having problems with them is another issue and i really dont agree with making someone who isnt finding them helpful take them. also personally and no one else has to believe this but i strongly believe the way the meds work is actually a placebo which in and of its self isnt a bad thing placebos can be great for certain things and this i believe is one of them. but they actually did test them against a placebo and they had almost the same amount of efficacy as a placebo (anti depressants i am mentioning here but there were similar results from antipsychotics) but when compared with an ACTIVE placebo there was no different in effectiveness. so yes still better than nothing regardless of how they work technically but there is no current evidence (that i am aware of) that suggests they actually fix a "chemical imbalance" in your brain so far no one knows exactly what they do. but again people can do what they want but that is exaclty the point they should do what THEY want. and as for meds being a cheaper alternative i can understand that it is hard when there are not many options to begin with and you are struggling. so just to clarify i am not saying anyone should or shouldnt do anything i am just saying i believe in choice and freedom to control your own medical care.