Your views

Over the last year the Hub has gathered feedback from young people with a serious mental illness in Wales. Below we list what young people have told us to date on the barriers they have faced and also what works for them.

You may also be interested in reading some of the stories featured in our publication ’12 Lives’ which was launched at the Senedd (along with the Hub) last year (click here to read the news story). Young people’s issues and experiences feature prominently in the stories of Barry, Jason, Dave and Leanne.

To access ’12 Lives’ please click here.

If you would like to share your story with us please visit the ‘Contact Us’ page of this site.

BARRIERS TO ACCESSING AND ENGAGING WITH SERVICES

“If you don’t tick their boxes then you don’t get a service.”

“I had six sessions of counselling at my GP’s surgery, which I found really helpful, but I wish it could have lasted longer.”

“It is hard to know what services are out there and what they do, especially if you’re not in school anymore.”

“The support worker didn’t listen to me, they just wanted to talk about psychosis all the time, they wanted to know about my symptoms not about me.”

“Everyone at school knew what the CAMHS building was and they would say nasty things about me going there.”

“Sometimes my mum couldn’t take me to my CAMHS appointments because she was working and I was too anxious to get the bus on my own so I just wouldn’t go.”

“I’ve been told I need treatment from a psychologist but I have to wait at least a year before I can get an appointment. This is too far away for me to cope with. I feel like I won’t make any progress and that there are too many other people so my problems aren’t important enough.”

“They sat down and explained what was wrong. I couldn’t take it all in at once. It went in one ear and out the other. When you’re in hospital nobody sits down with you and explains what’s wrong. During a ward round you can ask questions but you don’t get much feedback, just a few words and a ‘see you next week.’ It’s not until you make a fuss that they will sit down and tell you things.”

“To get treatment or to be listened to I found that you have to be incredibly unwell, to be suicidal or hearing voices. If you want information you have to find it yourself, you have to find it on the Internet but you don’t know whether that’s reliable or not.”

WHAT WORKS?

“Someone to talk to regularly that you can get used to and learn to trust.”

“A quick text message to remind me of my appointment.”

“Support with practical things as well, like benefits and housing problems.”

“It was great that my support worker would come and see me at home because I lived in the middle of nowhere and had no car.”

“Having a choice of treatments and support worker, so I can choose what’s best for me.”

“Services you can contact by text or email to begin with if you don’t feel confident enough to meet someone new.”

“I’m young, not stupid. I don’t want to feel patronized like a child. I just need to know what my options are and be able to decide for myself what’s best for me.”

“No pressure, feeling in control of what happens.”

“Support in a friendly, comfortable atmosphere.”

“It was great that I didn’t have to wait weeks and weeks to see someone, it made me feel like I was important and my problems were taken seriously.”

“Reading people’s stories would not make me feel so alone. When you become ill you think you are the only one.”

“To be able to identify with someone else is always positive. If I could publish something it would be along the lines of encouragement, not to give up, to keep fighting to have your say. To reach out for help was difficult because you get branded as someone who does not know what you’re talking about. Not everyone with mental health difficulties doesn’t know what they’re talking about. It’s just we haven’t always got a voice.”

“Don’t judge a book by its cover’ that’s a message that needs to get across. People should be encouraged not to judge because they don’t know much about the subject themselves. Say someone has a mark on their face, people will point and stare but they don’t know how people (with the mark) feel until they’re informed.”

“Educating people is important, for them to know that even though a young person with a serious mental illness has problems they’ve still got feelings, they’re still a human being.”

“Having someone to listen always helps.”

“It’s important for young people to know if they’re not happy with the help they’re getting they should speak up about it.”

“Having someone who can advocate would be very helpful. Someone you can speak to who can stick up for you.”