Trying to avoid going back to hospital

[crackers14]

hi  i have depression and its not being treated at the moment and i feel like if it doesnt get treated soon ill go back to the hospitial which i dont wanbt to do .

any advice is helpful 

crackers14au

[White_Rose]

Dear Carolyn

Welcome to the Beyond Blue community. I hope we can give you the support and advice you need.

First I notice that you have two threads that are almost identical. Can you decide which one to use and ask BB to remove the other. You will get replies to both but the responses will be split between them and much of the continuity will be lost.

What do you mean when you say your doctor will not treat your depression? If you are taking a herbal remedy (St John's Wort?) then you will need to discontinue this before taking prescription medication as I understand these two preparations are not good together.

Have you been diagnosed with depression? This is the important first step. If your GP is unwilling to help the find another GP. Go to the Tabs at the top of the page and look at Get Support/Find a Professional. This will take you to a search function for GPs with mental health treatment experience. This is searchable by postcode.

If your stay in hospital was due to depression, has the hospital referred you to a psychiatrist or psychologist? If so then I urge you to make an appointment with that person ASAP. It may be your GP feels he/she does not have the expertise to manage your illness.

Would love to know about you. I hope you will write in again.

Mary

[crackers14]

hi Mary im taking executive b stress forgp mula and my stay in hospital was due to the fact i had a break  a down and have been diagnosed with a mental illness but my GP is leaving it up to my psychiatrist and i have a psychologist who i see on Tuesday but i downloaded a hypnosis tape and am using that .   

[White_Rose]

Dear Carolyn

Great to hear from you. I am still a little confused about your situation. I gather that you have a psychiatrist and psychologist helping you. Is that correct? And you are also using a hypnosis program and taking a vitamin B supplement.

So what is concerning you about your depression treatment? Have you been prescribed any medication such as antidepressants?

Do you feel you are not getting enough help or that you are not getting the right help? Or is it that you feel you are not getting well? Unfortunately depression takes time to disappear. Depression likes to mess with our brains and tell us we will never get better so why bother. This is not true.

Our steps to recovery are often small and slow, frustratingly so at times. And that horrible feeling of being in the dark and alone is awful. It's then you need your courage to hold on and move on. You will get there.

Going back to the help you are receiving, are you seeing these psychs regularly? I am concerned that you may be using a hypnosis program instead of seeing the psychologist, but I may be misinterpreting your comments.

What sort of treatment are you receiving from the psychs? Sorry to keep asking questions. I hope you do not feel that you are getting the third degree. It's just that I do not fully understand where you are and what is happening for you.

Please know that the folk at Beyond Blue are supportive and caring. We will help you as much as possible but we are not medical people. We have heaps of experience gained through our own journeys and we are happy to share this with those who write in here. The difficulty is not knowing much about you which means that others with the most similar experience may not necessarily respond to you.

So can you tell us a little about yourself? Only tell us the information you are happy to share. Although this is an anonymous site people sometimes feel it is difficult to talk about themselves. And that's OK.

Please write in again and excuse me for not understanding your situation. I hope we can change that soon.

Mary

[crackers14]

Hi Mary

I have a psychologist that i see once a month and a psychiatrist and a doctor but the psychiatrist is treating me for a different illness and the doctor is leaving it up to them . but i havent any friends that i can talk to .

I am using a hypnosis program to stay relaxed as i find if I have something to do then I wont get depressed and I also have high stress levels .

[White_Rose]

Dear Carolyn

It's good that you have something that helps with the stress and depression. Have you considered meditation as well? This is a fantastic way to let your body recover and re-energise.

I have a suggestion for you. Can you contact Beyond Blue directly? You can phone 24/7 on 1300 22 4636, go online with the Web Chat, just clink on the link at the bottom of the page, or send an email for a private answer.  You can see all three options at the bottom of the page.

May I also suggest a visit to your doctor? This is the proper person to discuss your concerns with about your treatment. If you believe you are not getting anywhere your doctor should know about it and refer you to someone else. This is his/her responsibility. If the doctor will not discuss this then find another GP. Click on Get Support/Find A Professional at the top of the page. The list of GPs is searchable by postcode.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Mary

[crackers14]

hi mary

I see my psychologist tuesday so ill also see if doctor gow can fit me in but i doubt it 

[Pixie15]

Hi Carolyn,

I have read through this thread but have not seen the other one that you started so please forgive me if I am repeating something that has already been suggested.

If you are already being treated by a psychiatrist for another condition. I am wondering if this is why your doctor is reluctant to start any additional therapy. Is it possible to contact your psychiatrist and see what they recommend for you? Is your psychologist treating your depression or the other condition that you are seeing the psychiatrist for?

White Rose is correct I think. It does not seem right that your doctor is dismissing your concerns? If you do not know this doctor well you might want to seek another opinion.

thanks,

Christine.

[geoff]

dear Carolyn, excuse me for chipping in, but your post is one that intrigues me, as what I can gather is that your doctor seems to want to be on the outer of all of this, and that your psychiatrist is treating you on one problem, while your psychologist is treating you on another concern, but if you are suffering from depression they could be well and truly linked together, however by using two different psych's it may get rather confusing.

My other concern is that you are trying out an hypnosis program which doesn't actually put you into a deep relaxation period, which however may have been suggested by one of the psych's but not agreed to by the other psych. so it can get a bit confusing, so I'm just wondering if you have a preference to either the psychiatrist or the psychologist, because it doesn't seem as though your doctor wants to get too involved.

Hope that you can get back to us, and I also hope that all these questions won't put you off replying because we'd love to hear back from you. Geoff.

[Neil_1]

Hi there Carolyn

I hope it’s ok to call you Carolyn, as Mary has been calling you that, but for the life of me, I can’t see where you put down Carolyn as your name.  BUT I must say, that Carolyn is a much nicer and better name than ‘crackers’.

Ok, so you’re off to see your psychologist on Tuesday, which is great.  Hopefully that will be a very beneficial appointment for you and you can get a number of things discussed and off your chest – with a result that they may be able to give you some coping mechanisms to help you out at the moment.

Do you find the hypnosis program to be beneficial to you?    Perhaps does it help with your high stress levels also??

It’d be great if you can keep posting here and I would love to hear back from you again.

Kind regards

Neil