Psychiatrists provide medications and sometimes psychotherapy for mental illness. It is rare now that they do psychotherapy practices. The cost depends on the country, region, insurance of the patient, and other factors.
They CAN help. But it's important to remember that they will simply help YOU overcome the anxiety. They can't do the heavy lifting. Lex
Hey Ethan, If you go to your GP then they will organize for you to see a counsellor, which in the UK is usually the first stop for things like anxiety. If that doesn't help you, then you can go back to your doctor and they might refer you on to a psychiatrist, who will assess whether it is necessary for you to take any drugs to help, or another specialist who might have other things to offer, depending on your situation. That's how it works in the UK I think. =) First stop = GP, and they'll explain what will happen from there.
Thats the thing, our GPs aren't really the caring type I don't think, they're more like.. " YEs.. mmhm, yes... yes... [ Typing on computer ] here you go, take these twice a day and you'll be fine ]" Or maybe I'm overthinking :O
Haha well in that case, this time they'll go: "Yes... mhmm, yes... yes... [typing on computer] I think it will be beneficial for you to use this counseling service; I'll refer you to one and if it doesn't work out, then come again and we'll talk about it." Caring or not caring, they have a job to do when you go there to find out what's wrong and to get you better, and it's in everyone's best interest that they do that job.
Yes - you're overthinking. Because you've already assumed how the conversation will go and what kind of answers you'll get. And you've assumed the worst instead of the best. So run it through again in your head, but with a more positive outcome. Then book the appointment and go. Tell your doctor right up front what you want. Don't make them guess. They'll agree or they wont. And if they don't, you can always ask for a second opinion.
It's really important to make the distinction between psychiatrists and counselors or psychotherapists. Psychiatrists prescribe drugs and very little else. Because of their training, they tend to find a need to prescribe drugs where none exists, so if you go to one you will likely come away with a prescription that, unless you have a serious problem, you may not need. Counselors and psychologists help you understand why you feel the way you do and help you develop strategies and new ways of thinking to resolve the issues you're facing. In general, counseling and therapy is often a permanent, drug-free way to resolve your issues while psychiatric therapy is limited to giving you medications to mitigate the symptoms and feelings.
If you don't go you'll never know. Sure, it can be really helpful or not at all, but you'll have to take the risk to find out. It took me more than a year to get the courage to go to one which turned up to be unhelpful, but then I changed to one I liked better. I wouldn't say that therapy helped me a lot but it did give me some strength to face situations I thought I wasn't capable of undergoing. And it finally dawned on me that I'd have to make an effort to improve my life, that things don't get solved by themselves. Otherwise, I'd still be that boy weeping at night hoping that in the future everything would magically get better.
Yeah I get what you mean being the weeping boy.. I am acutaully doing something about it after a few years of doing nothing. I think I need additional help.
