I'm not sure if my psychologist and psychiatrist are doing their jobs right. They diagnose me with things, and they don't tell me anything else about them. Then the psychiatrist puts me on meds.I was diagnosed with BPD, Bipolar, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I haven't officially been diagnosed with A.D.D. but I'm pretty sure I would be diagnosed as A.D.D.I was put on Abilify and Zoloft. It's been helping but not enough. I can't keep living life based on their schedule. I need to visit more frequently and let them figure out what I need to do to get better.I also have a problem with telling the doctor's how I feel. I don't know exactly why, but I have trouble telling them that. I never know how to describe it. I decided to just write a journal entry and try to explain how I feel and I handed it to my psychiatrist. He said it helped a lot.I usually want to talk to them about going more often, but it always slips my mind. My mom was also telling me that I am using my disorders as a crutch. I told her she was telling me one thing and NAMI was telling me one thing and my friends were telling me the exact same thing my mom was.NAMI has this posted on their website: Quote: Mental illnesses can affect persons of any age, race, religion, or income. Mental illnesses are not the result of personal weakness, lack of character, or poor upbringing. Mental illnesses are treatable. Most people diagnosed with a serious mental illness can experience relief from their symptoms by actively participating in an individual treatment plan.I live in a small town in Alabama. Who do I believe, where do I turn to? I know what's happening to me is real. And I just realized that I ranted and totally got off topic. Anyways what questions should I ask my psychologist and psychiatrist?
-
My psychologist and psychiatrist?
-
How long have you been on the meds? They can take up to six weeks to work fully.Writing things down is a very good idea. Not only can it make it easier to say things, but you can also use it to make sure you don't forget things, like wanting to go more often.Mental disorders are very real, but people who don't have them often don't understand how disabling they can be. (Of course it's also possible to use any illness or disorder as a crutch, but this happens less often than people think.)
-
I have had same problems being diagnosed with lots of disorders.......latest being ADHD cos they think I got an attention problem. I know for sure that depression causes problems in paying attention to things and you feel less motivated in doing things or have any interest. Quote:Writing things down is a very good idea. Not only can it make it easier to say things, but you can also use it to make sure you don't forget things.....I do this a lot......I have 2 journals one of my own (has all my stupid thoughts and ramblings) and the other for my doc (has notes on what I need to tell the doc and my progress/how I am feeling). Quote:Mental disorders are very real, but people who don't have them often don't understand how disabling they can be. Pete you are so right.
-
Originally Posted By: IneligibleHow long have you been on the meds?My psychiatrist said it would only take two weeks. And I've been on them for about 3 weeks now.I also don't feel motivated to write in a journal or keep coming to this forum even though I know it might help. I feel like I have been living with something for so long that it is hard to keep myself motivated. I'm starting to lose faith in psychology and psychiatry.
-
I had to undergo treatments and continue meds for 5 yrs.........I lost hope too I found that talking to some people actually helped me.......and a bit of counseling as well. You could try it too
-
I'm going to ask my psychologist if there is any social support groups or anything around here. I'm seriously considering throwing myself in a mental health hospital, just to see if it will help. My mom told me that they will pump me full of drugs. I don't know how true that is, but it is scary.I've watched a number of videos via Google or YouTube that present theories that state that mental illnesses and mental disorders are just invented. It benefits the psychologist and psychiatrist to do this because of $. I don't know what to believe.Here are some of the videos I have watched.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIydrSMyNq0http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=...lient=firefox-ahttp://crackle.com/c/Blogs_and_Podcasts/The_DSM_Inventing_Mental_Illness/2229520
-
To try to avoid using mental health labels arbitrarily, and in particular against people who are just different, there is a general principle that people should not be considered as suffering a disorder unless it causes them distress or disablement. However, while the question of distress is one that only the subject of the possible disorder has the final say on, there are disorders where the subject is obviously disabled but doesn't recognise this. An example is mania, where people feel empowered, but what they are actually doing is spending money and making similar decisions recklessly in ways that will compromise their future. Or in paranoid schizophrenia, since the sufferer really may believe the people next door are reading his mind with special machinery, he doesn't feel disabled in believing this, even if it makes him constantly move his family around. So the question of disablement may need to be decided by others.However there are many mental disorders - for example, major depression, agoraphobia, panic disorder, OCD, PTS - where the sufferer is quite clear that he is suffering from a disability that he wants cured. The assumption that such people aren't ill at all seems to me ludicrous, and insulting to its sufferers. Just because there is no biochemical test available - or even, in some cases (e.g. autism) no cure - does not mean the condition doesn't exist.
-
That is quite interesting Ineligible. I want to do more research on my disorders. What do you suggest I do? Should I google, watch videos, read books, what? BTW, reading books is very hard because I can't seem to pay attention to them even when I want to. It's weird.
-
Googling is good. For most disorders there are support groups people have set up, with pages about the condition.