First steps to getting help

[Scottish_Player]

I know i have asked this several times on here and iam sorry if i bore anyone with it,but i realy need to and realy want to get help but i just dont know how to face the doctor.

My real problem is how do i start it all off,what do i say what do i tell him?
My real fear is that he will say i have nothing wrong with me and just send me on my way with some leaflets :roll: then what would i do?


My question is this,for the people who have seeked help what was the first thing you said to the doctor to get it all started? did he sympathise with you or understand you? and did you get the answers you where looking for?

 

[Danfalc]

Hey Scottish player, okay before i say anything, i want to say i fall to bits in any given social situation whatsoever, so like yourself i was really worried about going to see a doctor, but for me personaly i find it easy to speak to doctors more than anyone else as i dont feel like there judging me as they are there to help.I didnt actualy know i had sp/sa when i first went, i just knew there was somthing wrong, i told him about feeling depressed and anxious, and i told him a little more with each visit.He didnt know i had sp/sa, but as nothing he did worked he refered me to a shrink where i got diagnosed with sp.Anyways i would suggest going and saying you have severe anxiety and let them ask the questions, or maybe just hit them with "i have social anxiety" and see what happens.
And doctors are just people to, so your gonna get the occasanal dick head who might turn round and say theres nothing up with you,but you know better so if this happens just try a different doctor.Hope ive helped a little and good luck if you go for it.

 

[Scottish_Player]

He didnt know i had sp/sa, but as nothing he did worked

Hi Dan thanks for the relpy, when you say nothing he did for you worked,what do you mean by this,do you mean he tried you on meds and stuff,sorry if its personal and you dont wanna answer but i dont have much experience with docs

 

[avid_merrion]

Hi mate what you need to do is to make the appointment ok then go, then just tell him/her how you feel and how you have been feeling, let him/her know what in your life your not happy about, tell them about your social life and how it makes you feel when you go out and tell them what a normal day is for you then the GP will then take it from there it will take a bit of time as the root of the problem must be sought. But do not be afraid your GP will be more than happy to listen but you must make that first move, you obviously want to fight this and just need a lil push so just go for it you have nothing to fear.

Good Luck mate

 

[Danfalc]

*points above his post* what avid said is right mate, the more time you sit and think about doing it the harder it will get, this might sound harsh but you do just need to get on with it, and just tell him/her how you feel and your symptoms.

And what i ment by nothing he did helped me is, that yeah none of the meds he gave me had any effect, and thats not suprising really considering he was just a gp and its social phobia were talking about,but he did help me alot by refering me to a shrink

 

[Scrabbl]

He didnt know i had sp/sa, but as nothing he did worked

Hi Dan thanks for the relpy, when you say nothing he did for you worked,what do you mean by this,do you mean he tried you on meds and stuff,sorry if its personal and you dont wanna answer but i dont have much experience with docs

I had a psych for about 4 months, 1 year ago. My sp got better since then. but my sp is still there, and depression is getting worse. I thnk the reason is that he underestimated my sp. He told me all those things that I could do in school. But I just don't have the guts to do them. And slowly I just got more and more depressed. I didn't try to get meds, instead I told the psych that I don't need help any more. That bad experience prevented me from getting another psych.

Wait are you talking about seeing a doctor/general practitioner from a local clinic about sp? If that's the case then what you should tell her/him is something to this effect: I think I have SA and where I can get help?

 

[emmie]

getting help

ive been to my doctor a few times. i always feel a lot better once ive talked about my problem, its like a weight has been lifted. he might refer u 2 a counciler etc. i dont think its good 4 anyone 2 keep ur problems 2 urself its a loteasier talking 2 sumone u dnt no good luck

 

[GettingThere]

Doctors are there to help us and they see all sorts of stuff. Being professionals you really don't have anything to be embarassed about when talking to them.

My suggestion would be to simply start by telling your Doctor that you have a bit of a problem with anxiety. The Doctor will then ask you questions and you can take it further from there including telling them that you believe that you suffer from SAD. Its no big deal when you think about it. 3 percent of the population has SAD so when you do the maths you will relaise that that is an awful lot of people. On top of that, one in every five persons will suffer from clinical depression in their lifetimes.

I have read that a very high percentage of SAD sufferers never seek medical attention. Thats a shame. Be brave, do something positive for yourself. You deserve it, we all deserve it.

 

[yodarita]

hey scotish player! also like danfalc i also didnt know i had sp when i first went to the docs, i was having problems with my fb so i did kinda feel a bit uncomfortable cos i didnt know what to say and neither did he really as i dont think he realy knew about sp, so you do kinda have an advantage as you know you have it, so if i was in your shoes now i would say 'i realy need help i know i have sp and can you refer me to a shrink' then things can be sorted out more quickly hopefully. its gonna be scarey im not gonna lie and the worst thing for me actually was waiting in the waiting room, but what you need to keep teling your self is this is the only way you'll ever sort things out and look at going to your gp as a positive thing, i hope you do it as you will be glad you did as many of us r, so make the first step and make an appointment to see the gp for asap, good luck!

 

[Scottish_Player]

'i realy need help i know i have sp and can you refer me to a shrink'

do you think it would be ok to say this,i mean i dont want to sound to upfront when i go see him like iam telling him his job as i dont think he would like that or do you think he would appriciate that i have took an intrest in it and trying to help myself. :roll:

 

[yodarita]

do you think it would be ok to say this,i mean i dont want to sound to upfront when i go see him like iam telling him his job as i dont think he would like that or do you think he would appriciate that i have took an intrest in it and trying to help myself. :roll:[/quote]

na, doctors probably get loads of people who know what the matter with them is and just need their help with it, think he would realise that you really do need help if you've been spending a lot of time on the net resurching it and trying to help it, i think he would definately apriciate it, also as i said it saves a lot of time and less visits for you to see him if you tell him straight as you do already know what is wrong, i hope this has helped

 

[Scottish_Player]

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[GettingThere]

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You make a good point.

 

[Danfalc]

Hey scotish player, sorry if im being a little direct mate, but have you done it yet :?:

 

[Scottish_Player]

Nah not yet,i first off have to ask my dad to make the appointment for me and he will be asking whats up so i will have to lie to him,its like i feel ok just now because i have been keeping myself safe by staying in my comfort zones so i know iam fooling myself into thinking everything is ok but i know now that its the weekend coming iam going to feel like shit spending the biggest part of it in doors :roll:

I realy do want to do it but theres just this little something holding me back,as there is no one who can realy see my problem to tell me to go to the doctor i start to say to myself well maybe its all just in my head and iam being stupid.I also have so much in my head i would like to say,its just the getting started in the docotrs that scares me like what do i say "i think i have an anxiety problem" or "i think i have social anxiety" and so on.From what u have read on here do you think i have real reason to go,i just need someone else other than myself to tell me something is wrong.

The only way i can describe it is like when you are a kid and you build yourself up to take a run to jump of a high wall and then just stop right at the edge out of fear well that like me with the doc's just now i get my self upto a point and then just stop.

Sorry for the long post :?

 

[Danfalc]

Hey scottish_player, I completley understand where your coming from mate, But you know pretty much 100% that you have sp right?You need to go in the doctors and arrange a appoitment, When you get in there, If you find it hard to come out with "ive got social phobia", say you just have severe problems with anxiety and let him/her ask questions, If you cant do that, say "Im not sure what is going on with me and im quite worried as i think its serious"then go on to list some of the symtoms of sa/sp for example "I feel intensley nervous around people for no good reason" and things like that. If you cant manage do that, maybe you could send a letter in to the doctors first? so they are gonna know a little about you before you actualy meet the doctor

 

[Danfalc]

And yeah i do think you need to go, Im not saying your not dealing with it or anything and you need help urgently, but you do have sp/sa and its a hard thing to overcome, so any help you can get you should grab it with both hands

 

[Scottish_Player]

Ta for the replies Dan ,iam going to see how the next week goes as things arent as bad for me just now as they have been although they are still not good,i have times that are so bad that if i could go to a doctor there and then,then i would but then the time passes and i tell myself its ok now.Iam also scared that the day i go to an appointment will be a good day for me and i wont beable to describe myself acuratley.I have been to the docs twice in about the past 10 years the last time was about a year ago now,i was going because i wanted to talk about SA i was hoping he would notice somthing wrong with me but now i know docs are phycics :lol: and i just sat down and started talking about how iam worried about my weight as iam underweight.

I think about it everyday and what iam going to say,so far ive got "Iam here as my weight is very low and i think it is my anxiety problem that is stopping me eating and putting weight on" and then hopefully he could then take it from there

Its does hold me back so much in life and talking about it on here just reminds me of how much i cant do because of it :roll:

Thanks again for the replies and i will let u know as soon as i make an appointment

 

[Danfalc]

Well good luck with it mate, and if you need any more advice about what to say nearer the time feel free to send me a private message okay cos ill be happy to try and help you

 

[Scottish_Player]

Finalay made a doc's appointment today,its for the 13th of next month which is over 2 weeks away :? i had a realy bad day today and its just pushed me to the limit of how much i can take.I had a confrontational situation this morning at work and i havent eaten since as i feel realy bad.When ever i get realy anxious i just cant eat and feel terrible.

Anyway just thought i would post it here :roll: