Prescribed antidepressant after just one session

[rabbitpeter]

Hello all,

This is my first post. I have experienced some variety of anxiety and depression, along with some kind of eating disorder (restrictive type) and a slough of other symptoms-- panic attacks, dissociation, derealization/depersonalization, self-harm etc.--  for several years now. I attended sessions with a school therapist while I was in college, but as I had to drop out in December, I had to stop those. I looked for a psychologist who was taking new patients in my area for a long time, but to no avail, so I finally just scheduled an appointment with a medical doctor to see if she could get me some kind of referral to a mental health clinician or psychologist/psychiatrist, based on what she thought I would need. I have never had a professional diagnosis.

I had my first appointment with my new doctor today, and after a little while of talking about my more general symptoms-- she didn't really dig deep-- she prescribed me Zoloft and recommended me to the hospital's mental health section, where they would help me find someone to suit my needs.

Isn't it a little strange that she prescribed Zoloft right off the bat? Should I really take it after just one 30-minute session wherein we talked and she handed me two checklists to fill out and then I left? Maybe I'm just obsessing over this, but it seems a little weird. I still am not sure if I've been diagnosed with something, or if my doctor was just going by my apparent symptoms.

Advice?

[hermitess]

A Psychiatrist will also talk to you for 30-45 minutes and hand you a Rx. That's all they do. Though, they may know which meds are better than other meds for your specific case. When I took Zoloft back in college all it did was make me cry all day and night.

[Paxiled]

Oh, and if you do ever get to the point where medication is a consideration, see a psychiatrist, not a general doc -- they're not necessarily any better but if you find a good one they specialize in these meds and can handle their complications better.

[Paxiled]

No, you shouldn't take it, in my opinion.  Smart of you to notice that doctors aren't the best people to see for these problems -- drug prescribing is all they know how to do and they don't understand the complications of drugs very well.  Seeing a psychologist is your best step, as you thought.  You might have to work to find that person, but that's where you should go first.  Now, if you should become so disable by your problems and therapy doesn't work, that's the time to consider medication.  But not now.  Good luck.