Would i be better off seeing a phychiatrist or a psychologist or someone else?

[blman1013]

Hello, I've been thinking over and over about this and cannot decide who to see in order to feel better. A little background on me is that I'm male, in my 20s and believe I may have some anxiety, stress, possible ADHD issues that have never been diagnosed with my primary doctor. I've felt all my life I've had these issues, but thought nothing of them because I thought they would pass with time and eventually get a little better. Well, they didn't. I still get extremely anxious in social situations at times just like I did in my teens. Sometimes I'm fine, other times it is near terrible. I have had a pretty good life, not the best but in no way the worst. I grew up with a few close friends that I am still acquainted to but don't really see them as often as my problems prevent me from doing so at times. I sometimes feel like I'm just a "blah" person but I feel like there is more to me that is not showing because of my constant anxiety panic like feeling that bother me so. Even around family I feel this way which is extremely mind boggling to me. Why can't I just be normal around my family even? I would just like to get rid of this anxiety and get back to being a normal happy social person. My doctor is a bitch and says "oh try this yoga, physical therapy" and all this other shit. Well fuck that , plus she tried to put me on Zoloft and I tried it for 3 weeks and I felt like a damn zombie the whole time. She doesn't want to resort to "medication" but I think the right one would really help. Yes I know it is bad to have to depend on meds for in order to feel normal but it is my last resort, if anyone has taken their time to read this and wants to help me out I VERY much appreciate it

 

[RobotRipping]

meds aren't your last resort. I don't suppose you've tried therapy? mindfulness? different types of therapy like CBT? There's a reason you feel anxious or panic and if you figure it out you can pretty much get rid of it without any medication. Though i found medication during the actual sessions to be useful.

well i self medicate now so i'm not a great example but therapy helped me a shit load.

 

[mrflowers00]

you should probably see a psychiatrist and psychologist

 

[spork]

^This.

Also, just wondering if your doctor has ever done bloodwork on you to test your thyroid? If I were in your shoes I would go back to your doctor and ask that she test your thyroid if she hasn't already and also ask her for a referral to a psychiatrist and psychologist. A psychiatrist will be more apt at prescribing medications that are right for you and will be able to work closely with you to make sure that the meds are acting as they should. Please do keep in mind that it often takes a lot of trial and error to find the right med/med combo for an individual though. A psychologist will be someone who you can just talk it out with. They should be able to give you some strategies that work for you as well as referring you to things such as CBT, mindfulness, etc.

I know that for me, my psychologist and psychiatrist work together (in the same office). I don't see them at the same time or anything, but they do collaborate to figure out what is the best direction for me to head in regards to meds and diagnosis.

Biting the bullet and asking for help was extremely difficult for me, but it did work out for the best in the long term and I hope it works for you as well and you're able to find some peace within yourself.

 

[Sepher]

Yep, CBT is often more effective for depressive / anxiety disorders than medication long term for lots of people, if not most. Much of the problem is often to do with learned behaviours that need to be unlearned, putting in place a new set of more effective, positive learned behaviours and coping strategies, way more than it is anything to do with brain chemistry and an imbalance that meds could address. We're very, very good at talking ourselves down and beating ourselves up about how worthless and useless we are, how we'll never amount to anything and how our lives are not worth living, yadda, yadda, ya. New ways of talking to ourselves are what is really needed here. Meds can be useful far as keeping an even keel long enough to get the CBT / counselling / whatever done is concerned but typically they're not anything like a long term solution. All anti-ds seem to have very finitie lifetimes even if you find one that works for you, they stop working in the end and you're gonna need those coping strategies in place for when they do.