Got a question related to mental health? ASK DR KIM

[Chris_B]

Hi everyone,

This is a thread for asking questions of our resident GP and counsellor, Dr Kim, who pops into the forums regularly.

PLEASE NOTE as per our community rules, Dr Kim won't be able to answer questions about medications, these are best discussed offline directly with your mental health professional.

UPDATE - 01/03/2018
BEFORE YOU ASK DR.KIM PLEASE CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING POINTS:

• Dr Kim's time is limited! We cannot provide an ongoing dialogue with Dr Kim in this thread - one post/question per person please
•  We'd recommend you have a look through the forums before posting here to see if your question has already been answered by Dr Kim, our other members, or if there's information about it already on the beyondblue website. If a question pops up that has already been answered previously, or if alternate resources are available, one of our moderators will reply and direct you to the link.
• When writing your question, imagine you are speaking to someone in person i.e. provide a clear and detailed post with enough information that outlines how Dr.Kim can help you.

Background

After 20 years of experience working as a GP, Dr Kim realised in 2003 the aspect of her work she enjoyed most was talking to people and understanding the way they think and behave – and so she underwent training in counselling and therapy, where she now solely works.

Her experience includes working with a wide range of mental health issues including anxiety, depression and adolescent mental health.

“Given my training I also see couples, siblings, parents with their children and entire family groups,” she says. “In this work I hope to give families the skills to understand one another and have the strategies to communicate and manage relationships that are distressing them. I believe strongly that best therapy is achieved when there is trust in the therapist's ability but also their genuine desire to understand and help.”

[white knight]

Hi Dr Kim

I'd like your advice of brain food. There seems a lot of controversy over what helps, what isnt proven to help but might and what is not worth persuing.

Can you please give some spices/vegies recommendations that we can consume to help with depression and anxiety.

Tony WK

[geoff]

hi Dr. Kim, I'm sorry but Phoenix.stirlingite, can I correct you, he won't get any help from his father or mother. Geoff.

[LuLu_]

Hi Dr Kim

Correct me please if I am mistaken but I think you may have missed my post.

I have been suffering from severe depression for two years and am in treatment. I am on medication and see my psychiatrist and psychologist regularly.

I am finding it difficult to accept and deal with the thought of recovery. My depression is apart of me, I don’t know who I was before and know I can’t go back to that person.

My question is:

Is recovery a choice?

If so, should I feel guilty that I am not making that choice?

I know being depressed makes it hard on the people around me but to recover seems too scary. I don’t feel strong enough to help myself.

Thank you for reading, your help and time is much appreciated

lulu

[geoff]

hi LuLu, can I just say before Dr. Kim replies to you, is your other post is on page 13, so go right to bottom and page numbers will appear.

Your question, without intruding on Dr. Kim 'Is recovery a choice', the answer to this is yes, but it needs to take medication plus counselling to overcome it, otherwise you will struggling if you try and do it on your own.
The trouble is that once anyone has depression of any type it will remain in you, even though you may feel so much better then there's a chance a relapse may occur, so what you have to do is contact your doctor as well as psychologist, then after some time you will be feeling well again. Geoff.

[Dr_Kim]

Hi Lulu!

I think that recovery is sort of a choice.

I say that because I actually think it is sort of hard to get better without wanting to and really trying. This is because getting better from severe depression/ anxiety usually means more than just taking a pill every day. It usually entails things like adjusting sleep routines and exercising regularly and eating well and getting good day activity routines and attending therapy sessions.
And all of those things require the person to push themselves to do it.

However , I also think that sometimes there is a resistance to getting better that can come from 2 sources
1. the illness itself can make people have little desire to want to get better due to the feelings of low motivation it causes .
2. there can be wants called ‘ secondary gain” in staying unwell. This is when unconsciously the person has some deep agenda for staying unwell that they don’t fully even realise. For example , if when unwell,ones friends are really kind and supportive , it may unconsciously encourage someone to want more of that kindness and stay unwell. Or if when unwell, you are not pressured to go back to Uni or work , then maybe on a deep level there is a relief and a part of you that is OK with staying unwell. I don’t in any way think people scheme these things.. but i think it can happen without them even realising it.

However I think your empathy is intact and this allows you to see and feel that others care about you and are upset and this in turn makes you feel guilty.

I have this allows you to think about your situation in a new light. Maybe talk to your therapist about “unconscious resistance” to improving or possible “secondary gain” as they may not be immediately obvious.

[Dr_Kim]

Hi Tony,

I totally agree with you that this is a confusing and controversial topic.
I am going to say from the outset that I am no expert but I usually tell my patients that getting better from mental health issues for most people requires a multi focused treatment regime.

So I think that lifestyle factors are important ( like sleep wake cycle, daily schedules and purpose) , regular exercise, and diet together with medication ( if necessary ) and counselling and mindfulness practice.

What I mean by diet is usually simply a “healthy” diet . Three meals a day, not eating to excess, eating broadly from fruits / vegetables, cutting down on processed foods and sugar etc.

The specifics about which exact spices or veggies relieve which mental health conditions is a bit beyond me to be honest. I haven’t heard of think there there being conclusive evidence that one should take anything in any specific daily dosage. However, there are “integrative medicine" GPs who would probably disagree with this and have lots of ideas on what is good to take.

By all means consult one if you feel it is appropriate to you but be aware :
1. there is no magic bullet with these conditions
2. don’t spend heaps of money trying out unsubstantiated options.
3. just because things are” natural” doesn’t mean they don’t have potential side effects or drug interactions.
4. just because someone has a medical degree doesn’t mean they won’t give your poor advice sometimes so be a BIT wary….

Look up "Integrative Medicine GPs " in your search engine and you will find some doctors in your area if you want to go down this route.

[Daneeka]

hello

Ive been diagnosed with anxiety/depression few months ago, I am yet to go to a psychologist appointment soon, this friday, and been feeling okay the past few days, but today Im not feeling great, Im not motivated, I feel lazy but at the same time Im feeling bad for missing work, I feel like I have taken many days off and Im new to my job. The job Im doing is not enjoyable, Im not doing it because I love it, its because I need to work. Its not hard, can be quite stressful due to lack of management. My question is, is it okay not to work and not feel guilty about it, please help.

[Dr_Kim]

Hi
Its hard to know whether you don’t like your work due to the work itself ( which clearly isn’t your dream job ) or partly due to your mood disorder which often robs people of the joy of things ( including work)

I don’t think that you need to feel guilty about not working but i do wonder if you should see your work through a few different lenses .
it may provide
1. a place to give your day some structure
2. some regular income
3. a sense of being part of a community of workers / the workforce.
4. a place to try gain skills that may go towards your next job
5. a place to find some possible friendships
6. a place to learn how to navigate a system
7. an opportunity for you to try learn coping mechanism like “How to manage the stress of not being managed well in my workplace” . To think about what strategies you can put in place to make it less stressful and more enjoyable for yourself.

If all these things don’t inspire you or you don’t feel apply to where you are, thats ok . Then I feel you should be kind to yourself, take everything that you have learned and noticed about yourself - both things you are proud of and things you need to work on and work hard with your counsellor to be in a better, more motivated space of your next job.

You might need to work on treating the anxiety/depression and separately looking at your career/ employment future and really thinking about that fully - as in your expectations , hopes , limitations etc

But if there is one message - be thoughtful about where you are in your head and then BE KIND to yourself .

[Alisa]

I have PSD so its very hard i have meetings all the time with the school counslers but i need people i can talk to.

[Sophie_M]

Hi Alisa! Welcome to the forums.

We would recommend starting your own thread regarding your journey with PSD so that our community can provie you some valuable support! 

This thread is for questions to Dr.Kim!