What will be happen if i go to the doctors?

[worried123]

I've been quite depressed for a couple of years now and i think i should go to the doctor over it. Would I be admitted into a physc ward or can they just gimmi medicine and leave it at that?

[Cazie50]

Hi and welcome.

Sounds like you've had to cope on your own for a long time without any help or support. so seeing your GP would be a good step. It's very rare now to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital these days, in fact the benefits for most people to be treated in the community is much better and admissions are usually short term for crisis, at risk of suicide or psychosis. I think the figure now is less than 1% of the population will ever be admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

The other thing though to remember is that medication is also not now encouraged as a first line of treatment, although many GP's are still doing this either because they don't have the time to work with their patients on their difficulties or they don't have anywhere to refer them. Medication is not always the answer and if it is given you are often also referred for therapy too, or just therapy on its own. Throughout the UK now they are trying to put money into giving everyone who needs it access to psychological therapies, so hopefully there may be somewhere in your area you can be referred to.

As with any appointment, you will certainly be asked to come back and talk things over to see how you're getting on. Depression is a very serious condition and needs the support and help it deserves in order to get better.

It's well worth seeking help, so I hope you feel able to go ahead and do so.

Take care and let us know how you get on.

[Chrissy53 in reply to Cazie50]

I suffer with depression one day im on top of the world the next there is a black cloud hanging over me. I have also recently been diagnosed with lupus so not sure if there is a link? Well as I attend my local church a small group of my friends there knows about my condition. They text me every day to ask how I am or if I want to meet for a coffee/chat, I am so supported and am now included in their life's. This is much better than any medicatin or counselling. So please take my advice seek out your local church tell the minister help out there and find those you can trust. I did it so any one can.

[Cazie50]

Oh and I meant to give you this link about seeing your GP too.

actionondepression.org/info...

[Amy01]

The first step to recovery is seeking help. I don't much like going when it's to do with my depression, but needs must, I'm afraid. I got into such a state a couple of years back, that I'd stopped going out, was sleeping most of the day, and barely ever left my room! Obviously, you don't want to get to that point. So I was encouraged to see my GP, and I hated it. When I came out of the GPs, I felt dirty, like I'd been violated, but that was the first important step to helping myself to feel better. I wasn't judged for my condition, I was prescribed medication and referred for counselling until the meds kicked in. I would have gotten longer counselling, but they didn't have the resources.

Hope this helps.

Good luck.

Amy x

[Hidden]

Hi, I remember feeling that fear, that if I sought help I would be thought mad and sectioned onto a hospital ward or else that I would not be taken seriously and turned away which would have been even worse as then I would have felt hopeless about getting any help to feel better. I did seek help (read my blog) and it has been helpful, although I do still get depressed and very weepy sometimes. Those feelings come in waves and sometimes the weepiness goes completely and I just feel quiet, not happy but not exactly depressed either, other times I feel awful for ages and seek help again. How your GP responds will depend on who the GP is, what he's like to talk to, whether he listens and his attitude to depression. If he thinks meds are the answer to everything then you might find it helpful or you might feel fobbed off depending on what you think you need. I would try to imagine being offered different kinds of help - meds, counselling, long term therapy, hospital care - and test out your immediate response to each idea. Doing that will give you at least some idea about what kind of help you hope to be offered and knowing that will enable you to ask for it! If you then get offered something other than the help you think you need then make sure you explain that to your GP. Believing something will be of help is an important factor in any treatment. You might also research depression online and look at what other forms of help are available, for example joining a local support group or helping others as a way of helping yourself. You'll know by gut reaction if any of them feel useful for you at this point in time and if they do you can follow them up. I think depression is an awful condition because it makes me feel like an awful fraud, as if I'm just being a wimp in failing to cope in the ways other people seem able to. When I seek help when at my worse I feel as though I'm just being dramatic as things never feel quite as bad once I'm with someone who may be able to help. But I have learned to put those feelings aside and just get on with seeking help anyway. The most you have to lose is your price. People who seek help are seldom in need of hospital admission, it is the ones who think they are ok when in fact they are disturbed that need the more extreme forms of help. The fact that you are writing here shows how normal you are, feeling awful and asking other people what they think. Go and see your GP or if you don't like him/her then seek alternative help via google! Good luck!xx

[Jamie186]

Excuse my ignorance but what part does coconut oil have in treating depression? .I'm not being obtrusive but I've never heard of it as a treatment. I am anxious to know to determine if it would help me.

Many thanks

Jamie

[Chrissy53]

Can you tell me how to eat coconut oil or do you use it as a moisturiser?