Posted by Alara on October 11, 2002, at 10:14:29
In reply to Anxiety Disorder -- Advise please, posted by MJC on October 5, 2002, at 21:16:32
MJC, I hear you, believe me. In fact, a lot of people in this forum would be sure to relate. There are few things in this world that are more anxiety-provoking than to be going through the psychiatric-diagnosis process.
I remember the first time that I saw a psychiatrist. Did I have GAD? OCD? Was I manic-depressive? Did I have Borderline Personality Disorder or Schizophrenia? The more that I thought about my possible psychiatric label, the more my anxiety grew. I believed that I was destined for the back wards of the world’s most notorious psychiatric institutions. That’s what you call panic.
Of course, both my psychiatrist and psychotherapist at the time knew better than to put a label on me. They understood that I was a complex case, a sensitive person who needed more than anything else to be validated, to be understood. They knew that labelling a person who was fixated upon `what was wrong with her’ could be disastrous. Thank God they was so wise.
MJC, I can really understand your need for a label. After all, if you know what is wrong, you can fix it. Right?
Well, that’s not the entire truth. Sometimes we can focus too much upon the things that are wrong. If you begin to accept some of your flaws and at the same time develop enough confidence in your own ability to survive, the potential labels will become less threatening and I suspect that your anxiety levels will also plummet! Of course, this takes a lot of hard work
There’s another issue: You want to treat your `problem’ with appropriate medications and you can’t do that without a diagnosis. Right?
Well, that’s not entirely true either. Mental health professionals will usually have a gut instinct regarding the most appropriate drugs for you based upon their previous experience with patients. It’s not really so much about labels. (Dr Bob, please forgive me if I’m wrong.) In fact, it is often a trial and error process, but you sound as though you have some very supportive people behind you. I suspect that you’ll be fine.
Remember that your eventual goal will be to maintain a healthy, normal life without the need for pdocs or medication (just as a child aims to individuate from his/her parents and support him/her self in the end). My belief is that a firm label won’t help you to do this in the long run.
In the interim, I’d suggest that you take the suggested medications and work on understanding yourself. Chances are that, if you persist, you’ll be fine. Most of us have the ability to surface in the end. J
poster:Alara
thread:122475
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20021006/msgs/123221.html