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.”

[Dr_Kim]

Hi demonblaster,

It's great that you have finally worked out what your thinking is all about and are working hard with your health professionals to try and find the best treatments for you.
 
My understanding in talking to people with Bipolar is that many find it really hard to find that ideal place between managing the mania ("pulling it down" ) and managing the depression ( "the lack of motivation part") . Its like a see - saw and finding the right amount of psychology and lifestyle stuff and medications that just keep it perfectly balanced is super hard.
 
It seems like you are working pretty well with your psychs and GP to try and find that balance and your good insight is going to be a major bonus in this.
 
My advice to you would be to see your GP and psych as part of a team that you work with to help you find that spot . You won’t always agree with them but its important that you all work together. Don't go out alone and just change things as it confuses the team. If you think your treatment needs a change, consult with them first and get an agreement so that they can monitor the change and ensure that you are safe whilst you trial it. 
 
Most people with Bipolar dont manage to find their magic mix of treatment immediately but have to work quite hard with their health professionals to try a number of things before something seems to do the job.

Remember that nothing will be perfect . Some treatments will give you a bit more mania , others a bit more depression , few people are exactly balanced in the middle for the rest of their lives so expect to ride the ups and downs a bits but it will be SO much easier if they are smaller ups and smaller downs and if you have a good team with you on the journey .
 
Good luck.

[BluBelle]

Hi Dr Kim. I was wondering what you think about pyrroles as a physical cause for depression and anxiety. Is this something doctors should be testing for as routine? Should we be requesting a test for this?

[Mitan]

Me and my husband need couple Counselling. But we cannot afford it. Can you give me a free counsellor service that we can go to? Plz

[Sophie_M]

Hi Mitan, unfortunately we can't provide recommendations for services here on the forums. Give Relationships Australia a call on 1300 364277 or have a look at their website: http://www.relationships.org.au/

Although not a substitute for professional counselling, you can also start up a thread in the Relationships section to ask our community for support around your relationship issues.

[Dr_Kim]

BluBelle said:Hi Dr Kim. I was wondering what you think about pyrroles as a physical cause for depression and anxiety. Is this something doctors should be testing for as routine? Should we be requesting a test for this?

Hi there, regrettably, I’m not going to be super helpful.

I am not aware that, in regular medical circles, it is considered to be a cause of mental health issues that should be sought out or managed. I do understand that in integrative medicine arenas it may be considered. Given that I am not an integrative medicine specialist I’m sorry that can't really give you advice about this.

Generally though, I will caution anyone from undertaking any treatments for important health conditions without at least consulting their GP as even seemingly “natural” medicines can have unforeseen side effects or can interact with other medications. I have also had experience with some patients foregoing important mainstream treatments for their health in favour of what they see as more "natural" ones. Sometimes this works out for them, but often it can be problematic (and expensive!), so proceed with caution.

Chances are if most doctors you speak to can't comment on a proposed treatment, it is probably because there are not widely published reputable clinical trials on it.

[demonblaster]

Thanks Dr Kim, my goal which I'm going to achieve is to be one of the "few" with BP achieving balance. With luck I can figure work out how to keep manageable mania.(there's a lot of valuable tools in it) though I guess then it's not completely balance, still be happy with that.

[MrJay]

Hello, This is my 1st post. My wife of 28 years died on 19th Jan. I feel like I want to join her but will not.

The very breath has been taken from my body, I love her so much. I cannot fashion any thought of any future. How do I go on? How can those men who lose their wives remarry in 6 months? Lynnie is an impossible act to follow, so very kind and beautiful. I want to stay in bed all day. How do I go on?

[demonblaster]

Hello MrJay welcome to Beyond Blue 🙂 You've made a good choice reaching out here it's a gentle source of comfort & support talking to people & being heard.
You're in a safe caring community.

I'm deeply sorry for your pain. It's a hard hit Jay throws you sideways
In time it does ease, take as long as you need to work through and try to be gentle with yourself.
Very well said it does take your breath away

How will you get through this? Ohh can hear your pain. You will get through, you're not alone here you have support & people are listening, please feel free to talk anytime

Empathy & Understanding.

I'll be here as often as I can.

If you'd like to start a thread I & others could support you there.
If you go to All Posts click on a section then on top R) new thread.
Please let us know here what the title is.

The light does come back with time 🙂

[MrJay]

Thanks for the advice demonblaster. I took your advice and posted a new thread named "How do I go on?" in the forum "Relationship and family issues"

Jay

[Dr_Kim]

Bethie said:

Hi Dr Kim

My husband was diagnosed with Retrograde amnesia mid last year. All CT and MRI came back negative. Hes slowly getting better after registering 2 on the memory test. When he goes anywhere he cant remember he still has basically a breakdown to a large extent feeling inadiquet. How long can this type of amnesia effects last? I am currently his career because he still finds it hard to remember to eat and find his way home from even the shops and constantly forgets his phone

What a difficult situation for you and your husband! Your lives must have been absolutely turned upside down. 

I wish I could help you with your question of “how long “ but I dont think I can as it seems that everyone has had a hard time working out the cause of his amnesia. 

However , even if they did know the cause, say a stroke for example, it still wouldn’t necessarily give you an exact idea of what his recovery timetable is . People heal in different ways and at different speeds, so even two people with the same stroke may get better at different paces .

I really hope that you have support in your caring role and a good rehab team around you. You may need some coaching in how to manage the emotions and reactions to his “new” way - both the way he reacts and the way you react which I assume is different. 

Please look at this website for some ideas on how to get YOURSELF through this tough time. It is so important that you look after yourself both physically and emotionally because if you are not ok , it will be super hard to look after him. 

Call these people for help if you need it. 
http://www.carersaustralia.com.au/home/