"Discharged from mental health services, but still need help"

After 34 years of being told I needed the psychiatric system, because I had no less than three mental illnesses, I find myself discharged. I would like to celebrate, so why don't I feel happy?

My worker and I have meeting up regularly. I had an appointment very recently and she asked me to fill in a recovery type wheel to identify the areas I have problems in. The appointment before this she said we would be working together towards discharge. When I filled the wheel in it was identified that I had problems in 3 or 4 areas.

The next appointment was a non starter because I felt very low and was distressed. We didn't really discuss anything about my discharge or about the results from filling in the wheel.

Fast forward to my last appointment this week. I am going through a turbulent time at home and for an hour and a half we were talking about this and how I am coping (sometimes terribly).

About ten minutes before the session finished, she told me I was discharged! I had no idea it was coming this soon and without good preparation.

I asked about the problem areas I have and how they need to be addressed. She replied that some of my problems require group therapy and as I found being in groups difficult (it's part of my social anxiety problem), there was nothing they could do for me now. I was gobsmacked!

Effectively, I have been discharged with problems; problems that are going to prevent me from moving on in a healthy way.

I panicked a little. I KNOW I have problems that require guidance and therapy. My worker told me I had had therapy in the past... as if my quota is now up! What she failed to realize is that two of my particular problems right now have never been addressed.

To make matters worse, before I left I asked about the group therapy and was "reassured" that group therapy wasn't quite what I had assumed and that allowances could be made if things got too much for me in session.

Why didn't she tell me this before discharge? After she had told me that, she didn't give me a chance to say I would attempt the group therapy. No, I was discharged.

I am so angry with services right now. This is not how discharge should go after 34 years.

I am going to become a revolving door victim, because I know my doctor will be referring me back over and over. I wasn't really listened to properly and felt that my discharge was going to happen no matter how I felt or what I said. Doing the recovery wheel was my worker just ticking another box.

My discharge has just ticked another box without a care for the fact that I still have problems.