There is a lot going on in my life and I am starting to realize that I can’t do this on my own. I know that I can benefit from talking to someone but I have some obstacles that could prevent me. One of them is a goal that I am trying to pursue. (I’m not ready to talk about it because I don’t know if it is still possible but I want to pursue it) I have been pursing this goal nearly my whole life and I know that if I go talk to someone it might be used against me and I don’t want my issues to affect my goal when I know despite my issues I can do and accomplish so much. The other obstacle is lack of insurance and financial means. I just graduated from university back in July and while I am pursing things and have a job I still do not have adequate insurance or the means to pay out of pocket. That kinda correlates to my next obstacle which is due to lack of funds I not only have to take care of myself but also my Mom and sometimes my brother who is BP 2. I tried talking to her about maybe seeing someone and paying out of pocket but because funds are tight and my brother is mentally unwell that ended the conversation. My final obstacle is kinda embarrassing. While I was in university I did talk to someone because I know I needed to given family and school stress as well as help with some personal issues. The counselor I was with was amazing and is one of the very few people in my life that truly cared about me. It was sad that I had to stop but I graduated and I can’t stay in university forever. I guess I think no one can get what I’m going through other than him and I don’t want to feel like I am replacing him with someone else. I guess I really connected with him and think no one else can help me cope like he can. I know I have to figure out what is going to work for me and is forgoing my mental health really worth the stress.
You’re right, we can’t do it on our own. I think to acknowledge that you need someone to talk to is a huge step in the right direction. That is a good thing! Be proud of yourself for that!
Those obstacles are real and valid. People take our hopes and dreams the wrong way or they don’t understand them. Money sucks - there never seems to be enough. And it can be hard to trust people.
So what’s the next right thing to do? Not how do you get all the way to the end, but what’s the next step? Is there someone you trust that you can talk to? Is there a group that you know of that meets that you can join? Can you still talk to the counselor you’ve been meeting with?
Don’t give up. Praying for you.
Hi @mufcninja. I meant to reply yesterday, but just never got back on to do it, so I’m sorry it took me so long.
Obstacles really can affect the help you get. This is just my opinion, but I feel as if the financial side of this is your biggest obstacle. Because I don’t know what your goals are, I can’t really say if it’s an obstacle or not. It’s important to have goals, and I’m glad you’re pursuing yours, but in the long run, if you don’t get the help you need, you may not reach your goals. It’s more important to be healthy in mind and body than it is to push through it to reach your goals, only to fall back and lose them because you didn’t take care of yourself along the way. Pain and, in a lot of mental health issues, our thoughts and actions, is our brain’s way of telling us something is wrong. Ignoring it for something else is never a good option. If you need to, put your goals aside for a little while, just until you get the help you need, and then start pursuing them again.
There’s nothing to be embarrassed about in how you feel about seeing a different counselor. You know the care you got from your last counselor, and it’s scary to imagine how a new counselor might treat you. Maybe even depressing to think they don’t understand you or won’t treat you the way you need and send you spiraling in a direction you don’t want to go. But the thing is, if you don’t look to find one, you won’t get better. And if you don’t jive with a new counselor, you can always stop seeing the new one and find another one. Most people don’t find a counselor they like right away. Is it possible for you to talk to your old counselor just one more time? Talk to them about how you feel. He might be able to put a perspective on it to help you get started in moving forward in looking for a new one.
Last thing is finances. Finances are a big obstacle in looking for help. I’m assuming you’re in the USA. If you aren’t, I’m not sure how much good the next two things I suggest will do for you. There are a lot of employers who have some type of help. Not all of them do, but it might be worth it for you to look into to see if they do have something. My old job had something called EAP, or the Employee Assistance Program. Employers have to actually contract with the program, but basically it gave six free sessions with a therapist, single or family. Some employers have financial assistance for employees who need help with bills of any kind. It would be worth looking into. The worst you can be told is no.
If you’re in the USA, if you haven’t already, you could apply for Medicaid. It takes a lot of paperwork to prove you need it. You need to be low level income and have health conditions to get approved, but if you can get it, it would be worth it. I have Medicaid and my insurance is great. I don’t see a therapist, but that’s because they don’t have any near me. All of the therapists they’re contracted with are 15 miles away from me, and that’s mostly because I live on the county line, and everything they are contracted with is south of me. It’s going to be different for everyone, but again, it may be worth it for you to look into. And again, the worst you can be told is no.
Heart Support also has a week of free sessions with Better Help, so maybe you could look into that. You have to put in your credit card information because they want that info to bill automatically, but if you cancel before the week is up, they won’t bill you. Better Help also has financial assistance for limited income. If you qualify, you get up to 50% off their price, and you have to reapply every three months, I think. This is the link to that in case you’re interested in checking it out.
As I said before, this is just my opinion. I hope something I said helps you in some way.
~Daisy 
@WeartheAnswer I did send him an email to let him know of my concerns and what can be done I’m just waiting to hear back.
@Daisy You’re right at the end I have to decide what is more important my mental health of my goals because if I don’t address it then it will affect everything especially my goals. I appreciate you saying what you did about working with a counselor. I know part of it is me and letting people in and I know it took me awhile to trust the counselor I was seeing but I know when I did it helped tremendously and I got a sense that he truly cared and wanted to see me succeed. I did send him an email to see what he could recommend. If I could I would like to continue working with him however since I graduated university over the summer I cannot see him since he is a counselor where I attended university. Where I work sadly they do not sponsor that (I think they should given the nature of things at my job) I have thought about looking into maybe group or type of support groups since I know they are either low fees or community sponsored. I thank you for sharing the link I will check it out and go from there.
I wanna thank you both for responding to my post. Overall I just want to be able to accomplish my goals, find someone to talk to and not let my issues hold me back.