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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 Selkhet on January 14, 2004, at 23:34:05
Hi everybody, I'm new to the online community here, but hopefully I've spent enough time wandering around previous posts to be sort of up to speed on how things work. It seems like a really supportive group, and I'm hoping maybe some people could offer a newbie some pointers...
After many years of feeling mildly depressed, and lately suffering from increasingly severe anxiety--obsessively worrying about things, to the point that the worrying was actually causing me to fail at them, going through endless recriminations for mistakes I've made, especially expensive ones, being constantly uncertain of myself and on edge in social situations, not trusting any of my emotions or interactions with people around me, etc--I finally decided to get myself into therapy. I didn't go before now because I never felt like I was doing "badly enough" to warrant it, but the last few months were pretty hard and finally provided the incentive to go. Also, I'm just tired of feeling bad.
So, this is a positive development, but I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed. I had my second session with my therapist today, and I met with a pdoc (if I'm using the term right) to talk about meds. She thinks I'd be a good candidate for SSRIs and recommended Lexapro for mild depression and GAD. I've overcome what used to be a very strong aversion to the idea of medication, but I'm still not sure I want to leap into it so quickly. On the other hand, I really want to stop worrying so much!!
Any suggestions? Have people here had much success with just therapy, or is it a good idea to do meds, too? Any suggestions for therapy sessions? I lucked out with therapists--got one I like and trust first try--but I don't have anything to compare it to. And I'm worried she thinks there's no reason for me to be there. I'm very good at giving people around me that I'm in total control of my life and have it all together, and I think I'm doing the same thing with her. How do I open up??
Thanks
Posted by Racer on January 15, 2004, at 0:05:07
In reply to Therapy, Meds and Babble, oh my!, posted by Selkhet on January 14, 2004, at 23:34:05
Just my thoughts, for whatever they're worth:
1. Therapy can help people improve their lives, even without any sort of depression. Just wanting to learn more about yourself is reason enough to be there, so don't worry that you're not *sick enough* to need it. So, it's a journey of self-discovery, rather than fixing a problem.
2. Whether or not to try meds is for your to discuss and decide with your doctor, but for me both were necessary. The meds helped the depression enough I didn't feel as if I'd drown in the despair the therapy brought up for me. Whether that's true for you is something only you and your doctor can decide.
3. Don't worry that you're not opening up to your therapist too much, because a good therapist is there partly to help you learn to open up. If you've got someone you trust, that's the first step, and he/she will help you learn to dig down deep, when you're ready for it.
Good luck, and welcome.
Posted by holymama on January 15, 2004, at 10:12:30
In reply to Re: Therapy, Meds and Babble, oh my!, posted by Racer on January 15, 2004, at 0:05:07
Hi, I can perfectly relate to your thoughts. I was going through the same thought process when I started seeing a therapist for the first time in my life about a year ago. I went in for what I thought were 'anger management' problems or manybe just being a bad mother. I was hating motherhood and my life in general, getting very angry at everyone, overwhelmed by everything,just having a hard time and sick of it. Right away my therapist suggested that I probably had a mood disorder and suggested trying an antidepressant. I resisted for many months, seeing a naturopathic doctor, trying supplements, herbs, diet changes, exercise, contmplating the 'real' reasons for my unhappiness -- maybe I wasn't satisfied with being a 'housewife', maybe I was around my children too much, maybe I needed some spirituality...I took a class, got a babysitter more often, started a bible study. Basically, I tried everything I could think of or anything anyone recommended. It didn't do me any good. I got worse and worse, and as summer started (when I knew I should be feeling better), I started feeling like my life was not worth living...I finally gave in and tried the drugs. WHOA!!! Within 2 days my negative thoughts started to stop spinning around in my head. The tension in my shoulders disappeared. I started to relax and I felt CALM. My kids didn't seem as annoying. I stopped feeling angry at my husband. And after a few weeks I started feeling something called JOY! I had forgotten what it felt like. I felt like hugging and kissing my therapist, who had very patiently and persistently suggested medication every time that I saw her. My advice has been to anyone considering antidepressants since then: TRY IT. You can always go off if you don't like it. But a subtle change in brain chenistry can change your life and let you enjoy it again. Or maybe it won't, but you will never know until you try it. If everyone with depression symptoms could see what it felt like on an antidepressant for just two weeks, they could see what it feels like to seperate their personality from the depression -- to see what is the person underneath the 'illness'. All of your problems won't go away, but it makes it much clearer to see what problems you can work on and what problems went away with a change in brain chenistry.
Good luck to you...
Posted by Poet on January 15, 2004, at 13:02:32
In reply to Therapy, Meds and Babble, oh my!, posted by Selkhet on January 14, 2004, at 23:34:05
Hi Selkhet,
I've been posting since September and the support I've gotten has been great.
My history: bulimia, depression and social anxiety. I avoided therapy for years (actually decades.) I've been in it since August of 2002.
Opening up is still very hard for me. I need to go slow and she understands that, she doesn't push me to spill my guts. I tend to start out with current things: work, family and she manages to lead it to what I need to talk about.
I've never met with a pdoc (you're right, it's psychiatrist) I see a family medicine doc for meds. I hate being what I call chemically controlled, but Paxil has helped me with both depression and social anxiety.
I would think that if your therapist thinks you don't really need to see her, she'd say so. My therapist told me thatif my bulimia gets seriously out of control, she'll have to refer me to someone with more expertise.
I'm glad you (and I) seemed to have lucked out and found a good therapist on the first try.
Poet
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