I appreciate that medicine to treat mental health issues is not for everyone, but how do I know if it would help me. I've had counselling, and before that, the doctor suggested systematic desensitisation, which I did try to do but because my anxiety is mostly related to being social it's kind of hard. I think i would be happy if I had a way of dampening down the anxiety, or at least I would not be constantly miserable and scared and pathetic all of the time. How do I go about getting prescribed medicine /drugs And which particular drugs would you suggest?
Would they help? - maybe Mental drugs are always debated, but I found that when I simply couldn't do anything to help myself. If you're really struggling with it, it's probably worth a shot. Where to get prescriptions? - a clinical psychologist It can be hard to get an appointment a new patient, particularly with a good one. Which drugs to try? - I really don't want to mess with that. The thing with mental drugs is that it's almost entirely guesswork. Doctors tend to "get a feel" for what might work for particular people, but some studies still suggest that it's simple luck. People are just too different and complicated to predict reactions, so I don't think I'll be helpful if I steer you towards the ones that worked for me. Be patient. Most pills take about 2 weeks before they even take effect, and often need to be reduced slowly if they aren't effective. I wish you the best of luck.
I'm currently on Klonopin for anxiety, it's a pretty effective pill. I used to take Xanax, and Klonopin is like a step up from that due to its extended release nature. But Xanax is as addictive as it is effective to be prepared to be on it for a few years before you can get the treatment to taper off of it. Of course I suffer from extremely aggressive anxiety so it's hard to say in your case what to do. In my case my anxiety interferes with my day-to-day life to the point that without my medication I'll fall to the floor sobbing. I just come apart without any medication. I can't tell how bad your anxiety is, if I could I'd refer you to what steps you should take, but if it's manageable without medication it's probably for the best to not take medication at all. But if it's making you unable to do anything, by all means get medication.
Klonopin is addictive too. Any benzo is, your body becomes dependent on them. I used to be on Klonopin too. Anyway to answer your question about medication ... that shouldn't be your initial question. First things first is you should seek out a doctor and address your concerns to them about the way your feeling and go from there. They'll likely suggest cognitive therapy and possibly the addition of a medication if both you and your doctor feel that direction is the way to go and there are a lot of choose from. Anything from certain antidepressants to benzodiazepines to even blood pressure medication.
I went to see my psychologist before gettin prescribed meds from my doctor (Zoloft). I was on it for 1.5 years until I decided to slowly drop my doses, and now I'm no longer on meds. I've definitely been able to control my anxiety which is why I wanted to get off the meds in the first place, but there's been times when the gloomy weather will make me depressed. Therefore, I would suggest seeking professional assistance before going on meds, they'll know what's best for you. If you can't function day to day because of anxiety, you should definitely speak to a doctor about it. I've been in that period where I can't do anything because my mind was racing.
Thank you for All your replies. From reading them, I don't think my anxiety is bad enough to take medicine for it, and of course it fluctuates to being very bad but I probably will try and seek cognitive therapy for it instead of medicine. Thanks
I'm not an expert but I would say, visit a doctor (you can do so without your parents; maybe ask a friend to come with you? I'm sure they would) and the doctor could probably advise you whether meds would be a good idea, and if not provide you with counseling? Also, if you feel comfortable, try speaking to your friends about what they can do to make it easier for you to deal with your anxiety? If it were to be more comfortable for you, maybe you and a friend with another mental condition, if you have any, could discuss them together and tell eachother how to help xxx
From what you're describing it does not sound like anxiety meds are really necessary in your case, but that's something best discussed with your therapist. Here's the problem: If you go to a psychiatrist, they are in the business of prescribing medications. When you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail. So if you walk in asking about a medication, you'll likely walk out with a prescription. Now... this isn't an absolute and I don't want to slam all psychiatrists, but this does tend to happen a lot more than it should. And the problem is, once you get on the medication train for a chronic anxiety (as opposed to an acute, short-term episode), it can be hard to get off. All of the benzos are highly addictive. So I don't recommend them unless your life is really difficult and your day-to-day functioning is significantly impaired. I think if you do the desensitization and some of the other brain-rewiring exercises, you'll find that you are able to better deal with the anxiety, and if you continue practicing the various techniques, eventually, your brain will rewire itself so the anxiety (along with the need for medication) will go away. That's a lot harder to do if you are on medication.
That's totally untrue and unfair to tell somebody and can do a lot of harm in saying that. Going into a psychiatrist and immediately asking for medication is seen as drug seeking behaviour and will more than likely actually result in NOT getting any medication, period. The patient will more than likely only receive cognitive therapy. Or a referral for group.
Unfortunately, it's not untrue. Certainly there are psychiatrists who don't act that way, but the nature of psychiatry, at least as it is practiced in managed-care dominated America, is that an overwhelming number of people who either self-refer or are referred by a therapist are given a prescription with a perfunctory evaluation. For those lucky enough to get the excellent, dedicated psychiatrists that do a thorough intake and workup, of course this isn't true... but particularly in managed care settings, the insurance company isn't really interested in paying for long-term psychotherapy and would much rather treat with drugs, which are seen as cheaper. It's really messed up, but that's the reality. Additionally, for what it's worth, the issue isn't nonexistent in Canada, either. One of my friends who is a therapist in Canada had a new client that he had to send for an independent evaluation because in his opinion, the client was grossly overmedicated. The consulting psychiatrist agreed, the client was weaned off of all medications, and finally started to get better. The consulting psychiatrist was so appalled that he filed a formal complaint against the original psychiatrist, who was found to have been grossly overprescribing to most of his patients... and subsequently had his license suspended and required to go through remedial training. My friend says this problem (though not so blatant as in this case) is common in his caseload. I wish that were true, but, sadly, it isn't. Even worse, many general practitioners are prescribing benzos and antidepressants to their clients (including many teens) without any appropriate workup. The incidence of gross overprescription of anti-anxiety meds and ADHD meds is very well documented in the medical literature. It is at its worst in the US, but the problem is extending to many other countries as well. Additionally, since very few psychiatrists practice any form of psychotherapy (again, at least in part, an insurance issue), and many also have minimal to nonexistent skills in good psychotherapy, the typical psychiatrist is more inclined to prescribe based on what he or she knows. Now... to be fair, there are plenty of people who genuinely do need medication to manage mental health issues, and for those people, the psychiatry profession is a lifesaver. As I indicated in my original post, for someone who is generally unable to function well in their daily life due to anxiety, OCD, severe depression, schizophrenia, or any of a dozen other mental health disorders, medication is a lifesaver. Unfortunately, we've moved over the past 20 years from a mild overprescription problem to one that is at epidemic proportions. Sadly, many people who are in need of good mental health care simply aren't getting it because (1) there are a bunch of really crappy therapists out there who aren't helping; (2) the managed care system makes it really difficult for the competent psychiatrists who want to do proper intakes and work-ups to do so; and (3) insurance companies are extremely resistant to paying for quality mental health care. The warning I made is unfortunately one that needs to be considered when going to see any mental health professional, but particularly for a psychiatrist.
I'm well aware of that, I am one of those people who genuinely do need medication, I'm bipolar type 2. I have a lot of experience with this. If you'll have read my initial response to the inquiry, you'd see I said "... to answer your question about medication ... that shouldn't be your initial question. First things first is you should seek out a doctor and address your concerns to them about the way your feeling and go from there. They'll likely suggest cognitive therapy and possibly the addition of a medication if both you and your doctor feel that direction is the way to go and there are a lot of choose from." And by doctor I mean psychiatrist not psychologist. :bang: Also, no patient should just take any pill that is/if it is handed to them. It should be researched and questioned by the patient and discussed with the pharmacist to see if that medication is right for that person.
