10 signatures reached
To: Scottish government
Adequate help for mental illnesses
I am calling on behalf of the residents of Scotland for the Scottish government to take mental health matters more seriously, and to provide funding for staff and resources to help everyone who may be affected by mental health issues. I want waiting times for referrals to be reduced and I want everyone affected by mental health issues to be seen on a regular basis, not just now and again. More centres need to be put in place for people to go to in order to receive help and mental health needs to stop being so stigmatized.
Why is this important?
This is extremely important to myself as I suffer from anxiety and my oldest son suffers with extreme anxiety and on occasion low mood.
I had to fight for years, constantly taking my son to his gp just to receive an initial referal for him.
He is currently being seen through CAMHS, where is he supposed to be seen on a fortnightly basis, however he hasn't had an appointment since November! I have contacted CAMHS on a number of occasions to be told he is still an active member on their list, however, they cannot tell me when his next appointment will be. This has left my son and myself feeling frustrated, deflated and we feel we have nowhere else to turn for support.
As a sufferer of anxiety myself, I know how awful it feels and how it gets in the way of your day to day life, but for a child this must be unbearable. There is no worse feeling as a parent trying your best for your children but not knowing how to help them.
In my area alone, the suicide rate has almost tripled in the past few years. I find this figure to be extremely alarming as it shows just how extreme the impact of mental health can have on people. Most of these people taking their own lives are kids....our children and the next generation. Our kids are living in a world where so much is expected of them, and the pressure to fit in and do well in life clearly shows it can all be too much for them. We need to end the stigma relating to mental health and we need to teach our children it's ok to talk about their feelings and it's ok to feel overwhelmed at times.
I was deeply shocked and concerned to see the handful of MPs who attended the debate just earlier this month regarding the issue of child mental health. If our MPs are not going to take this matter seriously and fight for our children then we must. It's about time they realised how important this issue is as the problem is growing and growing year by year.
