I don’t like to gripe, and I certainly don’t want to be perceived as a whiny, entitled hypochondriac.
However, I think there is a lot wrong with the health systems in this country, and people like myself are getting a bum deal.
Stop! Don’t go – this is not a political post. Promise.
Let me say at the outset that I am not a medical, psychiatric or economic expert. All I have is my experience and reason. It just so happens that, in this case, I feel they are enough to warrant a strong opinion.
I know times are tough, and that resources are limited. I also know that a car accident, heart attack or stroke are far more acute than a panic attack or mental meltdown in the context of medical emergency.
But, when someone is at the height of anxiety, or the lowest point of depression, he or she should not have to wait a month to get real treatment. At the moment, that kind of delay is a fact of our mental health care system. And it is a burden on the workforce and on families.
Case in point: In early 2011, I was dealing with a variety of life changes that involved everything from loss of a family member to nutritional deficiencies. The resulting anxiety and depression set me into a downward spiral of improper diet, stress, weight loss, digestive symptoms, hormonal imbalance, emotional instability and perceived infertility.