A week ago today I went to the doctor about my symptoms. I went alone, which was nerve-wracking, but I kind of managed. Anyway, I hadn't gotten halfway through [my symptoms] before he stopped me and told me to wait for a moment while he talked to his colleague.
I was slightly scared and when he came back he took me to the counselor's room at the back of the surgery. To cut a long story short I left the doctor's with no diagnosis and an agreement to three weekly sessions of counselling.
I'm angry because the doctor just dismissed me as a kid [come on, I go to boarding school and technically I'm an adult now] and I said several times I didn't want counseling. ._. I just wanted a diagnosis but oh well.
Now I'm worried about the counseling - does anyone have any experience of it because I have none?
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Yes I have had counselling, and I can strongly recommend it to you.
On the 28th January 2014 I sadly lost the love of my love of my life, my darling wife Lorna. We had been married for 26 years.
I have always suffered from epilepsy and my Lorna was my guardian angel.
When Lorna passed on I lived in in a world of tears, depression and loneliness.
After taking the counsel of Lornas family I agreed to see a therapist. After some visits I found that she was helping me a lot. Sometimes I talked to her crying my eyes out and other times about more joyous times in our lives.
So to clarify you can tell your therapist about your innermost thoughts and secrets. Being able to just speak to someone who we do not know releases us to tell them about all our stress, fears and depressive thoughts.
Wish you well and I hope that you accept your doctors counsel.
I'm so sorry to hear that, but I'm glad councelling helped you. I'm definately going to give it a try, seen as I did agree to it - no matter how grudgingly, I did agree - and to hear that it helped you gives me hope.
What diagnosis were you looking for? - depression is actually just a generic label for a group of symptoms that could have any one of a number of causes - or even a mix of those causes.
Some causes are 'organic' eg thyroid, B12 deficiency and others less so - eg reactive depression (though even there there could be an organic element), so actually 'depression' really doesn't do much for you.
Many forms of depression can arise from learning bad coping habits to stressors and counselling is a valid way of starting to address those issues. It is also a valid way of exploring what issues might be contributing to the depression/causing it so actually it is a very positive step.
Late teens and early 20s can be a time of great upheaval - lots of transitions - and also a lot of hormones going on which makes this more complicated. Pills aren't always appropriate and they aren't always effective - in some cases they can actually be harmful.
Honestly, I have no idea what I was expecting. Definately preiodic depression, perhaps ADHD/ADD, maybe bipolar, possibly BPD - I have very little knowledge of mental disorders, so I don't really know what I was expecting. I just really wanted to know what was wrong.
One thing I did know for sure was that I wouldn't take meds whatever happened.
I think that you have been taken seriously - as BOB says - diagnosing any of the disorders you mention is difficult and if the GP really had been dismissing you, then you would have been sent away with nothing - certainly not counselling.
Hope that you are starting to feel a little less as if you were dismissed and more reassured by what counselling may mean and lead to - different counsellors actually work in different ways but it will be a first step in deciding what other support and investigations might be needed to identify what is wrong and what is the best way of treating it.
Not really sure that most GPs have much knowledge of mental disorders either
If your GP managed to get you in so quickly for several counselling sessions, he seems to have picked up your problem and run with it.
In a way you have been lucky, the waiting times for that sort of intervention can run into months.
I understand you may not need to take medications at this time, your GP seems to be doing His best for you. Please run with his decision. There is nothing to worry about talking therapy. Just be yourself and good luck.
It was lucky - he caught the counsellor as she was leaving. I'm just absoluetly terrible at talking about what I'm feeling because all my life I've never talked about it which probably wasn't a great idea but hey. But I'm not going to turn down the counceling as I know I was fortunate to get it this quickly.
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Happy with the outcome
Sorry....The word ive been waiting to hear for so long....too long...
I'm at wits end. Please help. (18/m)
New to the community, hello :)
What do you have to do to get appropriate mental health help from the NHS?
