I put this here in the hope of going some way towards explaining why I am leery of expressing my needs, making my problems public, and approaching institutions and organisations for help.
The cycle of psychiatric abuse explains my experience of dealing with authorities of various kinds concisely. You present your problem or predicament and solicit help; help is offered within the capacity or sphere of competence of various professionals and providers; the help falls far short of what is required to make a difference for the better; you are expected to appreciate and make the most of the help offered; you point out its inadequacy or inappropriateness, only to be accused of non-compliance; you may withdraw at this stage to avoid wasting time and energy as well as criticism; if you continue, the provider may well move from criticism to outright denunciation; if you remain within 'the system,' you will be on the receiving end of sanctions in addition to a lack of care and concern that makes you own your own problems; you may well withdraw at this point, nurturing a distrust towards institutions and organisations; if you continue, pain and suffering become intensified, causing you to seek help once more; the cycle begins again.
I could give examples from personal experience but won't. The above is the distilled essence of my attempts to seek help over the years. The consistent factor has been the extent to which the problem I have needed to be addressed has been turned back on me and made my responsibility, to be solved by my own effort and initiative. The institutional presumption is that people in need of help and support are in large part the authors of their own problems and need to assume responsibility for their circumstances. The not inconvenient corollary of that position is that there is little or nothing that resource-strapped, compassionless authorities need do beyond offering advice, education, and signposting. You are left to struggle alone. This is a form of institutional gaslighting which makes the person in need the author of his or her own problems. It tells people in need to keep their problems to themselves and never ask for a help that will never come.
