Social perscribing

[Ilikechicken]

Hi, I went to my Dr to sort of confide in him at how things are going at home, and to get some sort of validation that it isn’tMe imagining things to be worse than they are…well I didn’t go into detail of the fist in my face, phone throwing and digging nails into me. I told him more about the financial stuff and digs etc. Well the Dr told me how he is going through a divorce and to not leave as grass isn’t greener etc. He then referred me to social perscribing…. What is that? Anyone done it? I was a bit shocked to be honest, I’ve confided in family members and a friend and they were all shocked at his behaviour and said he is controlling. I feel kinda stupid now and like I just can’t get any real help. X

[KIP.]

I’m sorry you didn’t get the validation you needed. Women’s Aid are the best people for that. Ring the helpline and find your local women’s aid. Sadly not all professionals can spot the signs of domestic abuse and you almost need to tell them that’s what’s going on. Stand up for your side and spell it out. Not easily done when we have such confusion, low self esteem and confidence and an abuser telling us it’s all our fault x

[freedomtochoose]

Hello there, this is very unfortunate with your G.P.
Something very similar happened to me with a G.P about x years ago when I was only a month out and in refuge. I had gone along to G.P to get a sick note with my support worker from refuge. Not only did I have (undiagnosed) PTSD but also physical sympstoms such as really heavy bleeding due to traumatic events with my periods.

The G.P. in question minimised what I had experienced and said that ‘he experienced abuse everyday in his surgery from his patients’. I fell silent at the time but afterwards my support worker was incensed – and so angry on my behalf she could hardly speak. She encouraged me to make a complaint at the time but I had too much on my plate of course.

I am so sorry you have experienced this. It was very unfortunate for me as it made me terrified of doctors. Maybe though in the end it was not so bad as I became more critical of them.

I only know of social prescribing in the context of gardening projects or things like yoga classes or a subscription to a sports centre. Basically instead of prescribing drugs the G.P can prescribe a subscription I think in some areas for free for such things or make other recommendations. This part of it may be useful for you…(martial arts classes?

The good news for me after that sorry story was that two years after this incident, I went to the local domestic abuse recovery programme and in the final session the head of policy came to us and asked us whether we had any suggestions to make about things that might help women in our situation. I told the story of the
G.P and she agreed to lobby for better training for G.Ps. Which I believe she did.

Nowadays I either ask for a female G.P. Write it down or indeed go private, even though I haven’t got the 60 odd quid, it is so traumatic for me to go to a so called professional who is not properly trained in D.A. but at least I can recognise and fight for such a thing now.

I am so sorry this happened. You are not alone keep posting eh
all best

ftc
x

[Ilikechicken]

I’m sorry you had a difficult time freedomtochoose, it is hard when you wana talk things out with someone mutual, If this social perscribing doesn’t go well I may talk to a female Dr as u suggested. I just thought it might help as I can’t phone anyone as my contract is in my partners name and he checks the call log, I thought maybe they wud refer me to womens aid and I cud speak to someone that way. Kip your right it does mess with your thoughts and emotions so much, I don’t see myself as abused but I know deep down that his behaviour is abusive to some degree and isn’t normal. Thank u for the support I do feel better talking on here xx

[Tiffany]

Can you go to a woman’s aid drop in? If you have a local branch close by this is probably an option. Or buy a cheap pay as you go mobile (with cash so it doesn’t show on your bank statement? I think you can get old style, non start phones for under a tenner. You’d only need about £25 to get a private mode of phoning people. Or if you have an old phone which works then you would just need a pay as you go somewhere card, which I think just costs the initial £10 top up. This may feel unreasonably subversive, but checking your call logs suggests serious levels of control, and I promise you this response is totally reasonable. Failing that can you borrow a friend or family members phone and make your first call to women’s aid from there? Support and validation is really important, and I hope you find it soon.

[Author]

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