"Felt shamed on phone by clinician"

I commenced the phone call in significant distress stressed and frustrated by my situation of long wait periods for psychiatric care for chronic mental health conditions including my OCD and ADHD, financial hardship, social isolation, being house bound and feeling dismissed.

I had begun de-escalating the situation by lowering my voice, apologising that it was not their fault and asking what help is available, but they continued to be dismissive telling me I needed to take responsibility for my mental health by going to ED and seeking therapy despite me telling them that I regularly see a private clinical psychologist bi weekly out of my own savings and have been for the last three years and that I have engaged with a couple of different private psychiatrists over the last two years for regular monitoring.

My OCD revolves around a lot of self blame and self punishment and I advised the staff member of that. I was hung up on and by the end of the phone call was so distressed from feeling repeatedly redirected and abandoned over the last two years that I smashed a plastic first aid kit on my head which produced a significant laceration. I feel this could have been avoided if the staff member had responded with some empathy and validation instead of responding in such a way that I felt blamed and moralised for my mental health issues. 

Care Opinion Australia note: Please see update to this story.