Discussion Your experience with psychiatrists

[favourite]

Sometimes I think that finding genuinely good person among psychiatrists is like finding a diamond in the mud. Over a 2 year period I had the appointments with 6 different shrinks and only one was worth a shot.

First one was some patronizing middle aged woman who came off as a bit homophobic (she didn't say anything about it, but made a weird face when I mentioned my breakup with a girl) and behaved like she had to mercifully stoop to talking to my sorry ass. Like, I went to appointment and was punctual as usual and she was standing in the doorway, frowning, saying "I WAS JUST ABOUT TO GO ON A BREAK, BUT OKAY, LET'S DO IT". I got enough after 3 visits.

Second one was a woman who was very persistent about me having eating disorders and wanted to send me to the asylum on the very first appointment. Guess I don't have to mention that second visit never took place.

Third one was a man in his 30s. I still miss him sometimes. He was a bit awkward, but came of as honestly warm and caring guy. I wasn't ashamed to talk to him, he wasn't patronizing. When I got my M.A. degree, this dude seemed to be really happy about it. He even took less money when I was jobless. If I hadn't moved out, I'd still be seeing him.

Fourth one was young guy who didn't know how to talk to me, so we mostly sat in silence or had awkward conversations during my visits. He considered me xanax addict (which wasn't far from truth, but he apparently thought that I visited him only to bum out xanax prescription) and was very convinced that I don't have depression, but unspecified 'disorders'. When I asked what disorders, he answered 'I don't know'. Lol.

Fifth one was a young preppy dude, the kind with smoothly combed hair, expensive designer specs, spotlessly shaved face, carefully ironed suit, etc. He was patronizing and rude as fuck. He asked if I self-harmed. I said yes. He said OK. He also thought of me as a xanax addict, but he clearly didn't want to talk to me at all, he didn't even show any signs of compassion, empathy, nothing.

Sixth one was like the fifth, only a bit kinder.

What are your experiences with our beloved mind-meddling doctors?

 

[CFLoser]

Mine is cool. Her office is really confusing tho, it's like a big maze, u will walk up one set of stairs and then you get lost.

Kinda like a horror-movie house except everything feels scaled down. It's weird, i kinda like it tho.

She is okay too, idk she seemed eager to up my dosage of prozac which is kinda stupid and silly but i wouldnt know.

 

[FTL.Wanderer]

My exercise in verbal conservation for today is to sum up my experience with psychiatrists this way: dangerous and unhelpful.

 

[ForestLove]

Mine is an old guy who always ask the same qns and forgets what I told him. He looks cold, unempathetic with dead eyes. I couldn't connect with him. To him, I am just his another "crazy" patient.

 

[meaningisgone]

Almost every psychiatrist I've ever seen seems like they're in a hurry. They probably are. From what I understand, there aren't very many psychiatrists in my area, at least compared to demand. Still, other than initial consultations sometimes lasting longer, most of my sessions have been 10-20 minutes. That isn't enough. They shoot in the dark, doing foggy guesswork. They don't strive to understand my experience or the root of my problems. They just throw pills at me. I've tried over a dozen prescription medications over these past six or so years. There doesn't seem to be any precision to their methods, and I've never truly received psychiatric help that made a positive difference in my life.

I would LOVE to be proven wrong, but with the way things stand, I have no trust in psychiatry. I've known some people who claim to have had their lives dramatically changed by coming up with the right "cocktail." I guess ultimately, I think that depression is not a random chemical affliction, that it's the result of chemical reactions to specific patterns related to an immense variety of factors (thoughts, self-talk, beliefs, behavior, environment, nutrition, and more). I think a lot of times depression comes from not being able to live in harmony with what would be considered authentic and true for ourselves. And yes, there are genetic components as well. It has often seemed to me like relying on medication to improve symptoms without addressing the root causes is like sweeping dirt under a rug.

Then again, sometimes depression becomes so arduous that we lack the clarity, energy, or motivation to understand and change those root issues. Meds would probably be most effective there as a temporary measure. Unfortunately in my own personal case, prescription anti-depressants have never, ever had their desired effect. Why? No idea. Sucks to be me.

Of course even though I spew all this rhetoric, I am a deeply depressed person and therefore my opinion on these things should probably be taken with a hefty grain of salt.

 

[Sixfeetunder]

Yes, it is hard to find a good one. I've met some that have their heart in the right place and just don't know how to go about it. I've really only met one that not only has good intentions, but carries them out well. He also don't think medications are the cure to everything and is willing to explore other options. He also listens to our concerns, takes us seriously, treats us like a human being, isn't condescending, spends an appropriate amount of time with us, is nonjudgmental, etc. He is truly one in a million. Other psychiatrists I've seen turn to medications for everything, and if you're having side effects, here are more medications to treat your side effects! I also had one who thought if I would just become Christian and go to church, I would be cured.

 

[meaningisgone]

I once had a psychiatrist that was at least interesting, in that he seemed well-cultured in psychedelia. He seemed to admire the way I think, and recommended books by Carlos Castaneda. I sorta liked that guy. He was still a pill-pusher though.

As for the whole Christian and church thing, ha. I don't know about your background, but I was raised Baptist. My mom thinks going back to Christianity is what I need. Meanwhile, she's the most miserable coot I know. Why would I take her advice on finding inner peace and balance? But in all seriousness, even if I WANTED to go back to Christianity, I just can't. Not after everything I've experienced in life. I can't just undo my footsteps and erase my hard-sought conclusions so easily.

 

[favourite]

Yes, it is hard to find a good one. I've met some that have their heart in the right place and just don't know how to go about it. I've really only met one that not only has good intentions, but carries them out well. He also don't think medications are the cure to everything and is willing to explore other options. He also listens to our concerns, takes us seriously, treats us like a human being, isn't condescending, spends an appropriate amount of time with us, is nonjudgmental, etc. He is truly one in a million. Other psychiatrists I've seen turn to medications for everything, and if you're having side effects, here are more medications to treat your side effects! I also had one who thought if I would just become Christian and go to church, I would be cured.

Any doctor who mentions any sort of religion in terms of a cure should have their license revoked immidiately.

 

[meaningisgone]

Any doctor who mentions any sort of religion in terms of a cure should have their license revoked immidiately.

Amen.

Ha, poor choice of word.

 

[Norest4thewicked]

I must have a rare one! She's pretty good, never brings religion into it. After years of bored, uninterested pill pushers I got lucky.

 

[meaningisgone]

I must have a rare one! She's pretty good, never brings religion into it. After years of bored, uninterested pill pushers I got lucky.

I guess the only way to find one is to keep trying. But ugh. I don't wanna.

 

[favourite]

I must have a rare one! She's pretty good, never brings religion into it. After years of bored, uninterested pill pushers I got lucky.

My third guy gave me various meds, because I was strongly opposed to the therapy (I still am), but he wanted and always tried to talk me into visiting therapist. Besides, I still believed then that pills could fix everything in my life.
Now I know that nothing can save me, pills can just make me feel indifferent or careless.

 

[meaningisgone]

Feeling numb and lifeless is no way to live. The medical profession needs to get that through their skull, because there are actually substances out there that would be way more effective for therapeutic use than freaking pharmaceuticals. In the USA, MDMA may be legal in a controlled therapeutic environment as early as 2022. I have also had experiences on psychedelics and dissociatives that convinced me that those drugs can be used responsibly to the end of improving mental health, and it gets down to the core issues, deep inside of people in the hard-to-reach places. But of course things will stay the way they are in some ways because of a deeply-ingrained societal stigma, and how much money is currently propelling Big Pharma. I effing hate living in a world where money is more important than innovation, societal improvement, and individual well being. That's part of the stick up my ass that causes me to be so depressed and suicidal (one stick of many).

 

[favourite]

I guess the only way to find one is to keep trying. But ugh. I don't wanna.

The rational part of me tells me I should be trying to find another one too, because all these suicidal urges are unhealthy. My other part says it's pointless, 'cause no man in the world could fix my broken life, bad decisions, deadend job etc.

 

[favourite]

Feeling numb and lifeless is no way to live. The medical profession needs to get that through their skull, because there are actually substances out there that would be way more effective for therapeutic use than freaking pharmaceuticals. In the USA, MDMA may be legal in a controlled therapeutic environment as early as 2022. I have also had experiences on psychedelics and dissociatives that convinced me that those drugs can be used responsibly to the end of improving mental health, and it gets down to the core issues, deep inside of people in the hard-to-reach places. But of course things will stay the way they are in some ways because of a deeply-ingrained societal stigma, and how much money is currently propelling Big Pharma. I effing hate living in a world where money is more important than innovation, societal improvement, and individual well being. That's part of the stick up my ass that causes me to be so depressed and suicidal (one stick of many).

We literally bond here over our desire to die and nothing changes in the world, maybe only for worse. It's not the world to live in.

 

[meaningisgone]

The rational part of me tells me I should be trying to find another one too, because all these suicidal urges are unhealthy. My other part says it's pointless, 'cause no man in the world could fix my broken life, bad decisions, deadend job etc.

I feel ya. I don't know how old you are, but at nearly 40, when I look back on my whole life of poor choices, I see patterns that I feel no hope of changing. Again and again and again. Intentions be damned. I always mess it up, and have no trust in my ability to get it right anymore. After a long time of optimistically getting back up after falling, I just don't have it in me anymore. And it's incredibly unlikely that a therapist is going to get to the heart of my problem. It's a needle in the haystack, to find the right question to ask to dig into the core of the problem. And no prescription med is going to magically make me want to live or help me find a way to be ok with MY broken life, bad decisions, and... well, you have a deadend job, that sucks but it's something, I've given up on working due to depression and consider myself unemployable. No therapist or pill can get to the root of that self-loathing, unless we're talking pills that Big Pharma doesn't have the balls to peddle, and an old school psychotherapist who actually cares, takes their time, and treats individual cases as unique and new rather than using the same generic approaches for everyone, and failing to even try to look like they care.

Wow, sorry for the rant. I've been doing some soul-searching tonight but it made me talkative.

 

[sólstafir]

here is just a 9 minute course on how to be a psychiatrist, the guy is just telling the truth through humor. painful truth.

 

[meaningisgone]

I was particularly unimpressed when I overheard two therapists talking while I was in group therapy, about how some rep from a pharmaceutical company had bought the staff lunch and he'd be marketing a new antidepressant. Hm, wonder which random pill they'll throw at depression today.

 

[favourite]

I was particularly unimpressed when I overheard two therapists talking while I was in group therapy, about how some rep from a pharmaceutical company had bought the staff lunch and he'd be marketing a new antidepressant. Hm, wonder which random pill they'll throw at depression today.

Haha, right. With my first two women I also got whatever logo they had at their calendars and pens, lol.

 

[meaningisgone]

Haha, right. With my first two women I also got whatever logo they had at their calendars and pens, lol.

Haha, my mom used to work at a corner drug store, we had those drug pens everywhere.

 

[waived]

I feel like I've transcended what most of them offer.

 

[JustLosingMyself]

The locum I had during my last hospital stay seemed competent and willing to try therapy.
The one I'm assigned is a quack whose idea of help is a slightly 10 mins appointment to renew a prescription for pills I refuse to swallow.
At this point I equate psychiatrists with charlatans

 

[Final Escape]

here is just a 9 minute course on how to be a psychiatrist, the guy is just telling the truth through humor. painful truth.

Lol! That's about right

 

[Final Escape]

Any doctor who mentions any sort of religion in terms of a cure should have their license revoked immidiately.

Religion can actually have a place in the healing process, I should say the moral education. Goin to church didn't help me at all but listening to Jordan Peterson lectures really cleared things up.

 

[meaningisgone]

To be honest, a lot of the stuff that are considered symptoms of like mania, bi-polar, and schizoaffective disorder, and more victimizing labels for things, I think are signs of humans striving for their authentic potential. You could see it as a shamanic journey, and in the right setting and with a whole understanding these "disorders" could be growth-inducing and healing. But instead, society rejects and stigmatizes these "disorders" and when that happens, the negative symptoms grow in intensity and duration for form in many cases, life-long patterns. They try to fix the problems by throwing medication at it, and sometimes that can equalize some people enough to at least function in society, so they think their treatment is working because they set the bar for success as "getting by in society and adulting" rather than "being a creative, authentic, boundary-defying human being full of life, ideas and dreams, and the powerful capacity to make those dreams real."

Due to the stigma and incomplete treatment, the symptoms of many conditions become out of control, which further contributes to the stigma and doesn't help anyone understand what's really going on here.

Look. Maybe don't listen to me. I am stuck in a pit of stagnation and feeling super close to ending my life. So, I am not sure if that means what I say on these topics has any merit or not. If I really had this junk figured out, I probably wouldn't be on the suicide forums, eh? But what I am expressing is just my attempt to think about mental health in a way that just might eventually (if people in professional and scientific roles happen to come to similar conclusions) improve the efficacy of mental health treatment in the US. I don't know how different it is in other countries, but here, in my experience anyway, mental health treatment SUCKS A BIG ONE and is in desperate need of new paradigms to guide its practices.

 

[meaningisgone]

Religion can actually have a place in the healing process, I should say the moral education. Goin to church didn't help me at all but listening to Jordan Peterson lectures really cleared things up.

Religion has useful features, like helping humans get out of their ego's way and walking in humility and gratitude. Most religions provide a basic template for that. It just comes with a lot or archaic, societally-divisive clutter too (and furthermore, people suck at living by that template). But as for church, I also think the sense of community and belonging contributes to their religions being effective for them.

Jordan Peterson is a good, rational (for the most part) thinker, and I can definitely understand how his work with resonate with you on a spiritual level. Actually he's helped me in ways too.

 

[Broken]

Religion has useful features, like helping humans get out of their ego's way and walking in humility and gratitude. Most religions provide a basic template for that. It just comes with a lot or archaic, societally-divisive clutter too (and furthermore, people suck at living by that template). But as for church, I also think the sense of community and belonging contributes to their religions being effective for them.

Jordan Peterson is a good, rational (for the most part) thinker, and I can definitely understand how his work with resonate with you on a spiritual level. Actually he's helped me in ways too.

I've watched jordan petersons YouTube videos. He does a good one about what happens when you tell lies. I learnt a lot from that

 

[Wolfjob_dayjob]

I'm so scared of being called an addict. I can barely get medical doctors to acknowledge my pain until it hits a breaking point... Is it stupid to fear for your 'ADULT PERMANENT RECORD'. Nightmares about being taken to court for some shit I didn't do or Baker acted and my scars and 'ADULT PERMANENT RECORD' being used against me. Do psychs even know what they're doing when the scrawl down "Xanax addict", how that hurts you? :(

 

[Going Home]

My experience with psychiatrists has been negative. From convincing me my daughter needed medications at a young age, which hurt her and as an adult she blames me for not being able to have kids, to convincing me to take meds off a misdiagnosis. Most of them don't care how the meds affect people in the long run. They are good at convincing people of shit.

 

[Soon4me]

I've tried a lot of different therapy
This is the one that i found the most helpful (What works for one person might not work for someone else)
So you might have to try a lot of different thearpy before you find what works for you.

It's for adults too not just children or teens.