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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Gee on October 28, 2005, at 18:49:35
Okay, I'm fairly new here. I've been reading posts for the past little while desciding if I wanted to post or not. But then today... it just wasn't good. I have been diagnosed with clinical depression and I've been on Effexor for over a year now. It helps a lot... I think. Up until this year, I'd seen the same T for 3 years on and off. I still talk with her, but we're more friends than anything else. I know it may seem weird, but it's not. I left my home for a uni 10 hours away this past September, and everything was going great. Then I got stressed with school and that fun stuff, and the depression started to come back hardkore. Today I had my first appointment with a T here at the uni. She says she can only do about 5 sessions, and if I want any more then I have to find someone out in the community. I don't want longterm counseling, I can deal with what I have. I've had to deal with it for the past.. what 3 - 4 years? It's not likely that she can fix anything in 5 sessions. My other T tried and tried, but her biggest success with me she says was getting me to open up. She's was a mental health worker who came in to the highschools in the area. Wow, I'm just rambling on. But, I came out of the session feeling worse than when I went in. I went in feeling okay, and came out wanting to cry, and missing my family more than anything. Things back home have been a little rocky and I just want to be back there with my family telling them everything will be okay. But, I'm stuck here.
Posted by Tamar on October 28, 2005, at 19:35:45
In reply to New everywhere, posted by Gee on October 28, 2005, at 18:49:35
Hello, and welcome to Babble!
I can see why you say you’re new everywhere. New T, new place, new school… It’s a lot to deal with!
Five sessions isn’t much from a Uni T. Especially if you’ve been working in therapy for three years – even on and off. Of course I know nothing about your circumstances, but it does sound as if things are pretty rough, and perhaps the Effexor isn’t helping as much as it might. Can you see a p-doc? And I know you’re not interested in long term therapy, but maybe you shouldn’t rule it out altogether…
Starting Uni is really hard. Everyone talks about how much fun it will be and how exciting it is, but often the first semester is all about getting used to the new culture and people. It’s hard enough for students without mental health problems, but it’s especially hard for people whose health is already somewhat compromised.
I noticed that you said you wanted to tell your family that everything will be OK, and I wonder whether in fact you need *them* to tell *you* that everything will be OK. If things are rocky at home you probably feel a sense of responsibility to them. But at the same time you need support and perhaps it’s hard for you to be offering support when you need it yourself.I remember that six weeks after I started Uni (also about 10 hours from home) my mother was hospitalised with severe depression and my father was working abroad at the time, leaving my younger brother to fend for himself. I felt very conflicted, and I didn’t have any mental health problems myself at the time. But I remember how helpless I felt.
I imagine you’re at a crossroads now between your family role and your new adult role. It’s a complicated place to be, and it takes a few years to get used to it. Making decisions is inevitably difficult. But I would suggest that the best thing for you might be to focus about your own life and health, and offer your family some love from a distance.
However, I know nothing about the situation, so please don’t take anything I say too seriously. But do take your own health seriously! And if you want to talk about the session with your new T we’re here to listen.
I hope you manage to work it out in a way that you feel comfortable with.
Tamar
Posted by Susan47 on October 28, 2005, at 19:36:11
In reply to New everywhere, posted by Gee on October 28, 2005, at 18:49:35
What's happening back home that's making it rocky? Are you able to help them from where you are? Ten hours is a long time away, is that flying or driving? I feel sad that you're sad and lonely, so welcome very much to Babble, and tell us everything!
Posted by Gee on October 29, 2005, at 2:14:25
In reply to Re: New everywhere » Gee, posted by Susan47 on October 28, 2005, at 19:36:11
Thanks guys,
My mom is having a really tough time at work, and in the community. Her boss is bullying her, and her so called "friends" aren't helping much. She doesn't stand up for herself, and right now I'm just waiting for the breakdown. And my sister, whom I was really close with, has changed tons in the past month. Trying to fit in with a new group of friends, and for the first time, it's involving alcohol. I'm not against it, it's just in the situation... I don't trust her "friends", and I don't like that she doesn't tell my parents what exactly she's doing.
School is tough, but luckily I've already got one year under my belt, so I know how to study it's just the concentration thing and the recall when it comes to tests. Sometimes I'm great, others, it's horrible.
The session today with the T wasn't good. She wanted to know all about my family and a lot of it hard to explain even to the people I know really well. She wanted to know everything, and I started crying (which I don't do), and maybe it's just too hard to do this for such a short while. It made me miss my support network back home. I didn't realize how much I counted on the familiar smiling faces of everyone I know. I'm really tempted to cancel my next appointment because I don't see the point of sittingn there for like 40 minutes while she tells me things I already know.
I have a P-doc back home, but that's 10 hours by car, and like 14 by bus. So, it's not a trip that I make often. Maybe I can get in to see him at Christmas or something if things still aren't going well. I don't know. To tell you the trueth, he didn't really do a ton for me anyways.
I guess all it comes down to is waiting. Waiting to see what tomorrow brings
This is the end of the thread.
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