I have recently turned 18 and in my last yr of school. I was reffered to Camhs when I was 17 and they didnt do much to help me because there was only a month before my bday. now I am 18 they are cutting me off. many think im not very bad because I do not talk I just use a cover and now im going to fall through the gaps. I know I should tell them how bad things are but soemthing is just blocking me. any advice.
thanks
Sam
Hi there,
Young people’s mental health support services like CAMHS often end when you turn 18, but there are other services that can help. Adult mental health services are different to those that work with young people, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. It can help to accept that things will be different after you’re 18, but know that you’ll still have help when you need it.
The first step to getting adult mental health support is usually your GP. You were probably referred to CAMHS by them when you were under 18 but they can now refer you to other services that might help. Some of the things available to adults may not have been available to you when you were under 18, so it can be a good chance to explore the different options.
Not talking about mental health can make it more difficult to get help you need. One of the most important steps you can take is to open up and talk about your mental health. It can help to be honest about where you’re struggling and also recognise where you’re doing okay. It might help you to read some of the stories on the Time to Change website, which has a lot of good advice and busts a few of the myths about mental health that might be making you worried about getting help. If you’d been with CAMHS a while, they would probably have helped you to transition to adult mental health services. It may be that a CAMHS worker will see you turning 18 as a way to help you move on to something new and different.
It can feel difficult moving onto new things - especially when they’ve been working well, or if you've become used to them. It can feel like you’re losing an important part of your life, which is scary. One way to try and cope with this change is to fill the time that you would have spent talking to CAMHS with another activity. Keeping yourself busy with something you enjoy might help you feel better.
I hope this has helped. If you're worried about making an appointment with your GP you can use Doc Ready to help you prepare.
You can talk privately to a counsellor online or call 0800 1111 for free.
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