Aa
Getting it under control
I have finally done something that I should have done five years ago. I've scheduled an appointment with a professional. I've been taking Xanex as prescribed by my GP for five years now, but never dealt with the underlying issues that are the root of my anxiety problems.
I am going to see a psychiatrist as opposed to a psychologist, because I am aware I am going to need medication management as well as therapy...and one-stop shopping makes sense to me.
I think this past long weekend, with my husband half-way around the world gave me the time to really think about what I need to do. I have to get this under control, not only because I am tired of feeling this way and the unpredicability of anxiety attacks...(I do like to consistently be productive and keep an organized schedule and this sure gets in the way), but because I am going to destroy my marriage if I don't do something and get my emotions and psche under control.
My husband is paying the price for what I went through in my previous marriage, which to describe it without going into the grisly details...worse than hell! At the time, I saw my regular doctor who prescribed the Xanax for me, but I think it was like slapping a band-aid on an amputation. I realize I need therapy to deal with the past, and then put it where it belongs. It is not part of my life anymore anywhere but in my head, and to subject my husband to the roller-coaster ride I have is very unfair. I've reread some of the emails I sent him the past 10 days while he was in South Korea...even I think I sound unstable. It's time to get a professional!
I am going to see a psychiatrist as opposed to a psychologist, because I am aware I am going to need medication management as well as therapy...and one-stop shopping makes sense to me.
I think this past long weekend, with my husband half-way around the world gave me the time to really think about what I need to do. I have to get this under control, not only because I am tired of feeling this way and the unpredicability of anxiety attacks...(I do like to consistently be productive and keep an organized schedule and this sure gets in the way), but because I am going to destroy my marriage if I don't do something and get my emotions and psche under control.
My husband is paying the price for what I went through in my previous marriage, which to describe it without going into the grisly details...worse than hell! At the time, I saw my regular doctor who prescribed the Xanax for me, but I think it was like slapping a band-aid on an amputation. I realize I need therapy to deal with the past, and then put it where it belongs. It is not part of my life anymore anywhere but in my head, and to subject my husband to the roller-coaster ride I have is very unfair. I've reread some of the emails I sent him the past 10 days while he was in South Korea...even I think I sound unstable. It's time to get a professional!
Well, what with over 20 responses and a thundering acclamation of enthusiastic support, you'd BETTER do what you say or we will come and drag you, kicking and screaming, to do all that stuff.
Barfer's got it with the difference between cologists and chiatrists. Basically, the shrink is trained to be an MD, and then specializes as a psychiatrist; ergo, can write script. The psychologist is usually trained from the ground up as such. He/she is no doctor, so no meds. You WANT someone who can do the meds AND the therapy.
OK to the psychologist for now, but get with the shrink as soon as you can. The psych may even be able to fit you in with one who is nearby; these folks often got to the same bars and keep in touch.
Very exciting, all this. Just think -you're going to get better!
Barfer's got it with the difference between cologists and chiatrists. Basically, the shrink is trained to be an MD, and then specializes as a psychiatrist; ergo, can write script. The psychologist is usually trained from the ground up as such. He/she is no doctor, so no meds. You WANT someone who can do the meds AND the therapy.
OK to the psychologist for now, but get with the shrink as soon as you can. The psych may even be able to fit you in with one who is nearby; these folks often got to the same bars and keep in touch.
Very exciting, all this. Just think -you're going to get better!
I can tell you one thing for sure if you are Canadian, a psychiatrist is covered by provincial health insurance, so therefore is free. A psychologist isn't and that means you have to pay for their services out of your own pocket. Doesn't that sound a little backwards, but Hey, this is Canada...we do things a little differently up here.
On a more serious note, the difference between the two generally is one sits back and lets you talk and get things off you chest that may have been bothering you for a long time and you didn't even know it; PLUS and this is a big thing, he can prescribe drugs. He's the one who will produce the biggest bill. That is a psychiatrist.
A psychologist generally sits back and lets you talk and may throw in the odd suggestion but will often suggest or do cognitive behavioural therapy with you. He does not prescribe drugs but may suggest which drugs you should be on if he thinks you need them at all. His bill is not as high but still, he does need to make a living.
I was really lucky, my psychiatrist didn't cost me anything and he did CBT. I was one lucky girl. Sometimes it's great to be Canadian.
On a more serious note, the difference between the two generally is one sits back and lets you talk and get things off you chest that may have been bothering you for a long time and you didn't even know it; PLUS and this is a big thing, he can prescribe drugs. He's the one who will produce the biggest bill. That is a psychiatrist.
A psychologist generally sits back and lets you talk and may throw in the odd suggestion but will often suggest or do cognitive behavioural therapy with you. He does not prescribe drugs but may suggest which drugs you should be on if he thinks you need them at all. His bill is not as high but still, he does need to make a living.
I was really lucky, my psychiatrist didn't cost me anything and he did CBT. I was one lucky girl. Sometimes it's great to be Canadian.
Thank you all for your positive, encouraging posts...for those of you that have been in therapy, I have a question. I know the difference between a psychiatrist and a psychologist is that the psychiatrist is an MD...what are the other material differences, if any? I could not get an appt with a psychiatrist anywhere near where I live, anytime in the foreseeable future, so I am going to see a psychologist. Is there a big difference in the quality or type of therapy I am going to get between the two?
Am I better off waiting to see a psychiatrist versus a psychologist, or can the end result eventually be the same, it only depends on the quality and professionalism of either one?Having never done this before it's pretty experimental for me, so I really have no idea.
Suzy
Am I better off waiting to see a psychiatrist versus a psychologist, or can the end result eventually be the same, it only depends on the quality and professionalism of either one?Having never done this before it's pretty experimental for me, so I really have no idea.
Suzy
Hi Suzy1,
gosh you have made an awesome step. I have been stugling also and rereading my messages, I do believe that now my anxiety and IBS..have actually went a little deeper. Missing my family and the lonliness. The posts here have been very eye opening also.
I have been trying to get ahold of my doctor for the last 2 days. I dfinately need a change in my course of action for me1. I started counseling again about 2 weeks ago. I found myself when i walked in a little scared, but when i came out i was refreshed!. a load of my mind for sure.
I am still missing my Son in the military and missing my family. My husband is hard at work, which leaves alot of time on m hands figuring out me lol. well that goes well for a day or 2 then boom i am right back where i started.
Time for reevaluation for me
Best to you and keep pluggin away,
Snooze
gosh you have made an awesome step. I have been stugling also and rereading my messages, I do believe that now my anxiety and IBS..have actually went a little deeper. Missing my family and the lonliness. The posts here have been very eye opening also.
I have been trying to get ahold of my doctor for the last 2 days. I dfinately need a change in my course of action for me1. I started counseling again about 2 weeks ago. I found myself when i walked in a little scared, but when i came out i was refreshed!. a load of my mind for sure.
I am still missing my Son in the military and missing my family. My husband is hard at work, which leaves alot of time on m hands figuring out me lol. well that goes well for a day or 2 then boom i am right back where i started.
Time for reevaluation for me
Best to you and keep pluggin away,
Snooze
Hi,
Just wanted to congratulate you on your great decision to seek help. Its the first and biggest step along the way to gaining some control back in your life which anxiety seems to take away.
I started therapy 2 weeks ago, and am amazed to have clicked with the lady I've chosen straight away. No problems opening up, and she is getting a hell of a lot of deep routed memories out of me that feel like a weight lifted off. Don't get me wrong, when the session goes really well and we get alot of stuff out on the table, I usually spend the rest of the day on the couch - exhausted!! But she said not to feel bad about that - allow it as recovery time, and then pick up again the next day. It can feel as though you are going backwards a little, and as you say alot of your problems are in your past and to address them, you may need to bring them into the room, so to speak, to dismiss them. Hope that makes sense?
Anyway, all the very best, I'm thinking of you, and hoping only good things will come from this.
Loueelamb
Just wanted to congratulate you on your great decision to seek help. Its the first and biggest step along the way to gaining some control back in your life which anxiety seems to take away.
I started therapy 2 weeks ago, and am amazed to have clicked with the lady I've chosen straight away. No problems opening up, and she is getting a hell of a lot of deep routed memories out of me that feel like a weight lifted off. Don't get me wrong, when the session goes really well and we get alot of stuff out on the table, I usually spend the rest of the day on the couch - exhausted!! But she said not to feel bad about that - allow it as recovery time, and then pick up again the next day. It can feel as though you are going backwards a little, and as you say alot of your problems are in your past and to address them, you may need to bring them into the room, so to speak, to dismiss them. Hope that makes sense?
Anyway, all the very best, I'm thinking of you, and hoping only good things will come from this.
Loueelamb
Now you've GOT something. Your expectation of the process is pretty accurate -establish the relationship, then start the talking. There may or may not be a couch. The "couch" is a throw-back to the early days of psychiatry, when the patient reclined and just began to spew out whatever thoughts came into their heads, while the psychiatrist quietly took notes. That was called "analysis." But today, the skilled psychiatrist can fairly quickly figure out how your experiences and feelings fit into various patterns and suggest appropriate subject matter for discussion, new ways to look atbold material, etc.
At its best, having a psychiatrist is like having an excellent guide in the wilderness. The guide doesn't know where the "bear" is, but knows how to detect the tracks, the short-cuts, the best approach. In the end, it is YOU who does the work, which is WHY it works -you did it, and in the doing of it, you learn that you CAN adapt, change -be happy, even! And it is entirely reasonable that some portion of your trek will be through previous experiences -back into childhood.
Following is a partial list of my Journal entries which are the result of the new self-understanding I acquired from my time in psychiatry. These are not meant to be a template of what YOU will discover, but rather, an example of how thinking and understanding change. I hope you like them.
Copy and paste them (one at a time) into your browser address box, or just click my name to go to my profile page and find them there:
The Stain on the The Stain on the Floor -an Anxiety Story www.medhelp.org/user_journals/list/366811
Where is it Coming From? www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/9206
Meet the Panic Family www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/7843
Is it possible? Could it be? (Symptoms) www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/7377
All in the Head www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/7293
Smoking Guns and Puzzles. www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/6075
Anxiety -and EVERYTHING else www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/14907
The Last Good Thing www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/12845
You're on your way, Suzy. Nice work!
-S
At its best, having a psychiatrist is like having an excellent guide in the wilderness. The guide doesn't know where the "bear" is, but knows how to detect the tracks, the short-cuts, the best approach. In the end, it is YOU who does the work, which is WHY it works -you did it, and in the doing of it, you learn that you CAN adapt, change -be happy, even! And it is entirely reasonable that some portion of your trek will be through previous experiences -back into childhood.
Following is a partial list of my Journal entries which are the result of the new self-understanding I acquired from my time in psychiatry. These are not meant to be a template of what YOU will discover, but rather, an example of how thinking and understanding change. I hope you like them.
Copy and paste them (one at a time) into your browser address box, or just click my name to go to my profile page and find them there:
The Stain on the The Stain on the Floor -an Anxiety Story www.medhelp.org/user_journals/list/366811
Where is it Coming From? www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/9206
Meet the Panic Family www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/7843
Is it possible? Could it be? (Symptoms) www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/7377
All in the Head www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/7293
Smoking Guns and Puzzles. www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/6075
Anxiety -and EVERYTHING else www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/14907
The Last Good Thing www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/12845
You're on your way, Suzy. Nice work!
-S
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