How do you get the right help, realistically?!
Question: Sorry for the long read :P
Alright folks, I know I'm depressed and I have some crazy panic attacks. To keep it honest, I smoke lots of pot to chillax and when I'm out I get cranky. It's been going on for about 2 years now, it started from a bad co-dependent type break up. I no longer feel the pain I felt from that break up but the lingering confusion and anxiety seems to have seriously effected my well being. It's a friday night and I'm home alone wondering what could be, something that's become way too comfortable for me. I want to talk to a professional and I have insurance at work but I just feel so overwhelmed and *embarrasingly* helpless to act.
So to help me kick it into gear, can anyone tell me what exact steps should be taken to find a proper mental health pro? I'm not sure what to look for or what to ask to start my healing...
Answers: Sorry for the long read :P
Alright folks, I know I'm depressed and I have some crazy panic attacks. To keep it honest, I smoke lots of pot to chillax and when I'm out I get cranky. It's been going on for about 2 years now, it started from a bad co-dependent type break up. I no longer feel the pain I felt from that break up but the lingering confusion and anxiety seems to have seriously effected my well being. It's a friday night and I'm home alone wondering what could be, something that's become way too comfortable for me. I want to talk to a professional and I have insurance at work but I just feel so overwhelmed and *embarrasingly* helpless to act.
So to help me kick it into gear, can anyone tell me what exact steps should be taken to find a proper mental health pro? I'm not sure what to look for or what to ask to start my healing...
You can get information on mental health through NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill) www.nami.org or 1-888-999-6264 or National Mental Health Association www.nmha.org, 1-800-969-6642 - You should have a state affiliate which would be www.nami(your two initial state).org, then it goes down to your region and your county. There is a wonderful thing called Peer-to-Peer support that you can get hooked into. If you can find out your local Mental Health Association Director, have that person give you assistance. The above information can get you there. Then there are many private Psychiatrists and psychotherapists available. Don't be afraid if medication is suggested, there has been remarkable research done these days and the more people learn and open up to this subject the better everyone will be. Good Luck!
Realistically, there is no one that can help you. Sure, you can see doctors, social workers, psychiatrists and psychologists, but most of them will just make things worse for you either because of ineffective treatments slowly allowing you to lose hope or adverse reactions to medication and they can and do happen, apparently rare, but statistics mean nothing when it's happening to you. Give up now and accept the fact that your life is hell. That's realistic.
Just go to your normal doctor, tell him/her what's going on and they can suggest a specific professional.
If you call your insurance company, they may have a special mental health person who will help you get an appointment with a provider in their network. That is how I found my wonderful psychiatrist.
You can ask your family doctor for a referral.
I definitely would see a psychiatrist rather than your regular doc unless you need a referral from your primary doc for your insurance.
Just do it. Take the first step then the next ones, step by step. Take a step, take a breath, take a step. It's so worth it to get help with something that is troublesome. Way worth the trouble and courage it takes to start the process.
You are very aware of your problem. I don't think you need any help although everybody will direct you to it. I truly believe you are the only person who can control how you feel. You are the only one who can steer your own path to a better future. Keep motivated and determined. Create a goal for your future and take little steps to accomplish it. Once you have a goal that you're working on, you won't even think of "what's her name?".
The laws of attraction are simple. When you are negative, you attract the negative, and negative things will happen to you. But when you are positive, it's the same effect, except for that you will attract the positive, and positive things will happen in your life.
Also to help you, spend time with friends and family. But ultimately, I believe only you have the power to fix the present problems in your life.
So believe in yourself and look within, you'll be surprised how strong you really are.
sounds like you have two problems to deal with "Co-occurring disorder". Even if you are self medicating you have been doing it for awhile so you will need to address both your chemical dependence and your depression/anxiety. You could start with your primary care doctor - If you have not been diagnosed with depression and have not been treated your primary care doctor can prescribe you medication that can help you fight the depression and anxiety - no psychiatrist needed. This might help you reduce your need for the pot but you will still need to address the addiction. NA may be useful...or depending on your dependence you might be able to kick the habit on your own. In any case start with your primary physician. He/ She may even refer you to a psychiatrist/ counselor/ or psychologist.
Some insurances only pay for limited psychiatric services, so you may want to research your policy to find out what services or professionals are covered.
There's two different kinds of help really ; you can see a psychiatrist for drugs and/or you can see a therapist for talk therapy. If you think it started b/c of the breakup, I would go with the latter. If you think the anxiety developed independantly (can you remember having it before that relationship?) then you might need some meds. Zoloft helps me tons with anxiety. But a doc will make you go off the dope to see if the meds help on their own.
I would call your health insurance company or go on their website and do a physican search to find one near your home that is covered by your policy.
you can only start to heal after you admit you have something to heal from.
find a support group...N/A is a good place to start, even though pot is not a narcotic
while you are there, ask them what the steps would be to getting some kind of professional help...but, i don't see how much more 'professional' you can get than help from someone who has been there.
Stay or go? Accept or object? Believe or mistrust? Go wild or play safe? All plans and policies are flawed. All have repercussions and implications. We can sit and think about these forever, but should we think or should we act? Right now, you are beginning to feel a little overwhelmed. You feel that you have to make a difficult choice. But actually, you don't. The choice is due to be made for you by various factors beyond your control. You'll feel a whole lot better once this happens.
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