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FREE Mental Health Micro Guide #5
How do I get help from the GP?
Ben Slater
August 03, 2024
Let’s get 1 million people trained by 2035
In this Mental Health Micro guide:
Welcome!
Thank you for joining us. It’s great that you’re here!
This issue is about getting help from the GP and is based on my own experiences.
There is also an exclusive offer for subscribers worth over £169 at the end of this edition.
The mission.
As always we are looking to provide resources that:
are safe
are accessible
could lift a life
could save a life
to 1 million people by 2035.
The community.
As always, get in touch. Ask questions. Push. Nudge. Suggest.
Let’s “know better, do better”. Together.
The guide.
There are 4 sections weekly:
The Question
The Time-Saver
The Checklist
The Pause Portal (A Beautiful Self-Care Tool)
Use them. Share them. Air them.
Right. Let’s work out how to get help from the GP….
The Question: How do I get help from the GP?
I have supported many people to get help from the GP.
But I didn’t really appreciate the energy it took…
…until I had to do it for myself.
So here’s a 6 minute video guide on what I learned...
(fwd is aiming to have all video content accompanied with a descriptive transcript so that we can benefit from the wisdom and character of all who engage. The descriptive transcript can be found under the video in Youtube.)
The Time-Saver: Getting help from the GP
Save time with this One Click Wonder, all the key resources in one place - just one click away.
Open and save your own pdf version to keep and to share around the office - link under the image.
This is part of a series. Interested in versions you can print without emptying the printer cartridge? Or interested in versions with your company logo on? Get in touch.
The Checklist: Getting help from the GP
This is what I learned from getting help from the GP for myself…
…but not by myself.
Here’s a summary from the video above.
Step | My experience | My learning |
|---|---|---|
Get a trusted person on board | My wife was my rock in this moment. They don't have to understand everything that's going on for you. They just have to understand that getting help is important and challenging. | This was a big deal for me, so I needed someone in my corner. |
Plan your approach | I knew that ringing the GP would mean negotiating the receptionist. They would ask me if it was urgent and what the call was about. I needed to be ready to say "Yes, it is urgent." and "I think I may have depression." You can also tell the receptionist it is a private matter. | This was a big deal for me, so I needed it written down. |
Put your phone on speaker | This way, my wife could hear the call, assist when I faltered, point at our script when I got confused and generally support me during the call. We made sure the location of our call was private and unlikely to be interrupted. | This was a big deal for me, so I needed someone to coach me through it. |
If we can talk without triggering stigma, we can help accelerate recovery…
The Pause Portal: Self-Care Gratitude Guide
This Pause Portal is dedicated to David & Clare Hieatt and is filmed just near them at Cenarth Falls.
I am grateful to them for showing a different way with manufacture, commerce, scaling and community.
Check out Hiut Denim Co. and the Do Lectures for a flavour.
The gorge at Cenarth is rare.
It was created by glacial meltwater which formed the mudstones, siltstones and sandstones that line the gorge in clear layers.
The water is peaty and slow for most of this stretch and then thunders and churns white through multiple channels below the 13th century water mill.
The tail end of a storm has passed through leaving only gusts and a mist of spent rain.
Dippers and grey wagtails bob at the water's edge and in the long thin pools that form between rock layers.
A kingfisher streaks from perch to perch.
Salmon will leap up here come the autumn.
Here is 90 seconds of that magic with a gratitude exercise.
Steady your breathing, noticing each breath.
Notice the thunder and spray of the water.
And the stillness of the water mill.
Who are you grateful for?
Whether they do things that are hard to ignore
or act in stillness and quiet,
say out loud or note in your mind why you are grateful for them,
saying thank you for each small aspect of them that makes life better for you.
Try it and see what difference it makes to you.
(fwd is aiming to have all video content accompanied with a descriptive transcript so that we can benefit from the wisdom and character of all who engage. The descriptive transcript can be found under the video in Youtube.)
Getting involved
Did someone forward this to you?
Jump on board here.
I would love to know what you thought of this Micro Guide.
Or have suggestions for future topics.
Press the “Get in Touch” button on the website.
Mental Health First Aid and Refresher Courses now are available for booking in August - limited spaces available.
**Exclusive offer as a thank you to subscribers**
Book one ticket. Get a second ticket half-price.
(Equivalent to a saving of over £169 on the RRP across the two tickets)
Get your first ticket here.
To apply for your half price ticket, press the “Get in Touch” button on the website and say who bought the first ticket. You’ll then receive a payment link via email.
Get in touch if you have any questions.
That’s all for this week.
Until next week, let’s keep moving fwd…
