Got an appointment this Friday and its a first.

I have realised I need help, physciatric help. I dont have serious issues, not at all. But for various reasons mostly due to a series of major work problems I have come to realise that I am not functioning correctly. Outwardly I am fine socially, but professionally I am afraid its not happening big time. Lack of concentration, unable to handle pressure, low performance, low self esteem, the whole works.

Anyone here willing to offer advice on how to make the first discussion a productive one with the GP. I had an initial visit about 6 months ago when I had blown a fuse at work (stopped functioning completely after a very bad meeting) but the GP I saw assured me it was exhaustion. I am seeing a different GP I respect this week but I need to impress on him that I want some sort of help and not just some pills.

You’ve just said it!

What about work? Is there any type of occ health department?

The truth, no matter how you feel, tell the truth so they can help you fully. Best of luck…

Focus on the work issues. Can you change jobs?

Oddly I am going into work late today as I have an appointmet with my GP to discuss depression… Unlike you for me this is not a first – I have been on medication before.. Mine is not caused by stress at work, but my depression causes me to feel the pressures of work more. When I go on to anti depressants (sp) it enables me to deal much better, I get through the “sticky patch” and then after a while I come off the pills and am OK.

Why look at the drastic step of changing job for what may be a short term issue? Pills to not turn you into the mindless unfeeling zombie that some people seem to think they do … I find a closer description is that it feels more like late spring rather than winter…because you feel less opressed you feel better able to cope and more inclined to do things.

All the best

The attitude with GP’s seems to be changing, thankfully. So it does smme to becoming a bit more enlightened

They aren’t automatically reaching for the happy pills. There are now a lot more counseling services available. So if I were you I’d ask specifically about these as they can be helpful. If nothing else it might help to crystallise what the specific problems are you need to sort.

Never underestimate the regenerative power of getting out on your bike with your mates for some fresh air

Best of luck

Take some time and write it all down before you go in – then take that in with you so you don’t forget anything.

Unfortunately GPs tend to use fairly short appointments so you will not have time to go into a great deal of detail there and then. If you want to know more about treatment options ask for a referral to the cpn – community psychiatric nurse who should be able to give you a bit more time to discuss options.

Anti depressants have a place = they are a treatment not a cure but can be very useful in creating some breathing space for you and reminding you what it is like to be less troubled.

Talking therapies are effective, Different therapies suit different people as they have different approaches. They can be prescriptive ” do this” to exploratory – ” why do yo think you feel like that” Which is most suitable depends on your character as well as your illness and how deep seated your troubles are

CBT is the most commonly offered on the NHS However be prepared to go private if you want a particular therapy and / or want it quickly. I personally am a big fan of person centred counselling.

Good luck. Email me if there are any other questions I might be able to answer. I have a basic professional knowledge of this sort of stuff but it is not my spciality

I saw my GP with exactly the same symtoms about two months ago.
All started with my whole body letting go through stress and exhaustion, this I now know brought on depression.
The first consultation was discussing my physical and mental symtoms. I was not given any medication at this point but I did go and have my bloods tested to rule out anything else. On the second visit a couple of weeks later after the test came back negative we talked in great depth about my mental state. He suggested that I try Fluoxitine(AD)for about six months to see how I react and the go from there.
At the moment I’m starting to feel better within myself but I’m a long way from being right. Work is still getting to me but I can now cope with it and forget about it when I leave the building at 5pm.
What also helped for me though was being signed off work for a few weeks. This really helped me relax and rest enough before the medication kicked in (about two weeks)
Good luck, there’s a lot of people on here who know exactly what you’re going through.

Don’t just walk away from the job – as Eyepic says, just because you’re noticing at work that doesn’t mean work is the problem. I thought I was feeling a certain way because of my job so got a new one, and while it felt better for 6 months it didn’t solve anything and those feelings came back. So I walked away from the next one, and the one after that… I’m now in a better place personally, but my CV’s a disaster!

+1 thepurist.

I’m in the same place as you right now. Several jobs in the last four years does not a good CV make.

I’ve had medication in the past (Citalopram helped quite a bit) but not for about 5 years. I’m about to go back to the GP and try again as I’ve started with exactly the same symptons as albacore. Apathy, lethargy, inability to concentrate – it’s like someone has just turned my brain off!

Good luck Albacore, you aren’t alone and there is help available.

“I think I’m a pair of curtains!”
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He’ll say …. pull your self together !

IGMC

The first GP I went to see said axactly that – ‘just MTFU’. 😕

i knew i’d find it very difficult to tell my doctor what i was feeling, face to face. the night before my first appointment myself and a very close friend sat down and wrote a list of all the things i was feeling. when i saw the doctor, i said i was feeling low, and basically gave him the list to read. that way he got everything, i didn’t need to remember details and he could take it in without me blurting everything out all at once. he was very understanding about it all, i got a lot out of my appointment with him because of that.

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Depression/Pages/Treatment.aspx

Thanks for the support folks.

Re the comments about work, I am now out of work which is not helping. Its a long political story but after a very tough time at work (a highly technological business that had hit major production problems) the company decided to fire the senior management, one of which was me. I have to say I am not sorry to be out of that situation, but the communication post the dismissal from the company to my solicitor has been very aggressive to say the least.

This has triggered the current situation, its a dark place to be in and one I have not suffered from before.

A book that exactly describes the symptoms is one I heard about on radio 2 “Depressive Illness – the urse of the strong” by Dr Tim Cantopher.

My plan is to see the GP, and we have a family friend who is some sort of physciatric professional, I hope she can recommend someone.

Anyway I will see what tomorrow brings.

ps One thing I have found works really well is long walks with the dog!??

They aren’t automatically reaching for the happy pills. There are now a lot more counseling services available. So if I were you I’d ask specifically about these as they can be helpful. If nothing else it might help to crystallise what the specific problems are you need to sort.

i hope this is true, our GP hands out ‘happy pills’ like smarties, im not for one minute saying you are a fake not at all, but ive seen people who just need a good kick up the arse go to the local doc and come out with bags of pills.

a few weeks later they are fine again having talked to friends, got stuff out in the open, got fit and healthy they didnt even taken the pills…

just be careful.

Lots of good advice up there.
Especially the one about sitting down before the appointment and writing down all the things that are bothering you. I did that (and to be honest, it was a good job because as soon as the doc asked how she could help me I just burst into tears. Ooops.)

It’s horrible feeling how you do but by recognising it and making the move to go see your GP you are already getting a handle on it – I hope they can help you feel better soon.
Don’t dismiss medication if offered it – in conjunction with counselling/CBT it can really help you ‘just handle stuff’ until the things you learn/are taught by a counsellor start to help too.

Good luck to you.

(If you fancy some interesting and, I think useful reading, I can recommend Overcoming Depression by Paul Gilbert. It’s a ‘self-help’ CBT book but not nearly as bad as it sounds.)

I was in a very similar situation having been out of work for 6 months, nothing on the horizon. I was getting stressed and tetchy very quickly, was not communicating well and had lost my sense of fun and self worth. Not seriously depressed, but well below normal levels.

My GP asked a few questions and accepted that I was “borderline depressed” and referred me to a psychiatric person who practiced a couple of days a week from the surgery as they prefer to go that route rather than diving straight into the pills. Huge help, and was back on my feet after 3-4 visits, and the renewed confidence definitely helped with getting a job. Insist on getting a referral rather than pills

Wife went to see GP in October, she’d been to see one of the others in the practice earlier in the year and she’d been referred for some counselling & GP wrote to her employer’s occy health department stating that they needed to provide CBT. Sadly the counselling & CBT didn’t quite have the desired effect so second review by GP led to prescription of anti-depressants & also a course of sleeping tablets. She’s been on anti-D’s before (post nataly?sp) and doesn’t like the feeling of being on them, but found the ones prescribed really didn’t suit her – so she took only a couple of days and found that the negative impact on her day to day living (like getting out of bed) was so bad that she stopped them and decided to just WTFU. Didn’t take the sleepers at all. Been Okay since, just a ratty biatch when she gets in from work due to work related stresses.

Not wishing to devalue your problems, but if you have to create a different login / online persona to be able to discuss your problems, are you actually really ready to admit you have problems in the first place?

Not wishing to devalue your problems, but if you have to create a different login / online persona to be able to discuss your problems, are you actually really ready to admit you have problems in the first place?

Well its a start.

Indeed it is, first steps and all that and I hope you can get to a better place.
BTW im not trying to put you down or make light of something like depression / mental illness.

Not wishing to devalue your problems, but if you have to create a different login / online persona to be able to discuss your problems, are you actually really ready to admit you have problems in the first place?

I did just that when I discussed Mrs North’s breakdown/depression. I then dropped the old name, and stuck with this one.

When I too posted on here recently about my own depression (and got great support like that above^^^), I stuck with this name. I’m ambivalent about what one calls oneself when asking for help.

There is a difference, in my view, between (1) admitting there is something wrong (2) taking the first step to seeing somone (usually GP) and (3) then taking the steps to manage/deal with the illness.

For me, I should have been receiving the help I now have (ADs and CBT) over a year ago. But, I couldn’t admit that I needed it. No forum name would have made that much difference.

Keep it simple, and be honest. And hope you start to feel better soon.

Tom

When I created a 2nd login on here to discuss something personal, I got handed a ban by the mods…

I’ve been to two different GPs (due to moving about) about depression, and both were willing to talk things through, although the 1st one did prescribe me anti-depressants (I didn’t take them). I wish I had written stuff down before going to the GP, but at the end of the day it didn’t make a huge difference as they quickly realised what help was needed.

I’ve had CBT and now awaiting counselling through student services and the NHS. Got a 4 month wait for NHS though…

All the best, and good luck!

File – Print

tell the GP exactly what you told us, good luck.

Just be very honest and open about how you feel and what you struggle with.

Some GP’s may do a simple questionnaire to evaluate the level of depression and to rule out other possible mental illnesses like PB.

CBT is a good thing if it helps you deal with the things that are triggers do your depressive moods.

Your GP is there to help, if you don’t quite feel he’s doing it for you, then request a second opinion.

If you don’t feel he is trying to help, that’s just a symptom of depression. He is genuinely there for you.

Some just struggle in being anything other than dull, therefore positive sounding, which can come across like their saying MTFU a bit.

There’s a lot of people here like you who suffer and deal with it in different. Just don’t suffer in silence.

Wish you well mate.
Like others, i’m only at the end of an E-mail if only to moan to.

Sharki

Good luck Albacore , I think Im going through something very similar . Recently I’ve been feeling generally really down due to unsociable shifts , lack of job security and never seeming to ‘Get out the bit ‘ financially. Im at the point of going to see my GP but trying to go down the homeopathic route first with St Johns Wort or ‘Kalms’ to see If they lift my gloom. My other half takes ‘Fluoxetine’ and It seems to work as when she runs out there Is a noticeable difference In the general mood in my House.
One thing your right about Is taking the dog for a walk definately helps as I ended up one afternoon taking my lab for a 10 mile coastal trip and felt better there after. Pets can seem to put things in perspective as all they seem to want Is a bit off affection and are always In the same mood.

Good luck for tomorrow.

I hope you have a decent GP, when I went to discuss work related stress a few years back (I was not sleeping/short of breathe etc.) and the potentially for it getting worse and causing depression he shrugged and suggested I got another job….

There is a form the doc will probably get you to fill in. About 10 questions IIRC all kinda “rating from 1 to 10, 10 being the worst…..”, things like bad sleep, suicidal thoughts etc.

It all works on a rating system, and something you can repeat at a later date to see if things are improving.

Just say you are suffering, pretty much what your first paragraph says.

Long walks are good. So are long bikes rides. Sometimes it’s just reminding yourself there are things to be happy about that is all the kickstart you need, sometimes you need a little help.

Good luck fella, there are plenty of people on here ready to listen to rants if that’s all you feel like getting off your chest.

Went to the doc today, it went very well.

He was supportive and genuine and took some time to listen and analyse with some fundamental questions about alcohol, sleep, etc.

He is unsure wether it is mood driven or depression. Breatheasy is correct he has given me an assessment form to complete. He discussed that the course to take is either counselling and/or medication, but he wants to be sure of the course of action before taking it but he is certainly has both at his diposal which is good.

I have to say its a major relief to have taken the first steps! : )

Nice one Albacore, well done. 🙂

Albacore – here’s a coincidence: I’ve actually been to see Tim Cantopher about my particular issues. He’s a very smart, but also very empathetic/sympathetic man. I found him very easy to talk to, and he was much better at ecouraging me to walk through my own problems, rather than tell me what he thought was wrong.

My feelings are that once you are prepared to talk about issues frankly, with anyone, they become much easier to manage, and less intimidating.

Use the dog, fella, use the dog!

I have a small situation going on at the moment; walking the hound is very cathartic.

I need to impress on him that I want some sort of help and not just some pills.

Personally, I would be very wary of walking in and dictating what you do and don’t need. I think you will find that whilst things like CBT can be extremely constructive, they are not always appropriate and can in fact be counter productive if you are not in a place to handle it.

The way my GP explained it to me was that my malfunctioning was down to a chemical imbalance in the brain, caused in simplistic terms by a build up from adrenalin over a long period of time, which in turn was caused by the fight or flight mechanism getting kicked in through workplace stress without the fight or flight occurring to burn it off. For that reason action needed to be taken to sort that out before I could attempt CBT, (which was great for me). I still need the drugs, but in decreasing amounts and hopefully one day that will cease altogether.

The best advice I can give is to find a sympathetic GP, (which is not always easy), took me 3 attempts. When I did the next hurdle is to relax into allowing help to occur. It won’t be quick, it might even be permanently required, but whatever happens it will definitely make you feel better if you allow it to, and that’s the key. Your form of words is implying that you may well not allow it to happen, thus the post.

Good luck, you are not alone as any post on this subject will show you.