Hello Yeah, and a warm welcome.
It's a great achievement to be able to post on the forums and there is no judgement at all on this site, as we have been through similar circumstances and know how you are feeling, and there is the possibility that your doctor may have been through it themselves or have someone in their family or a close friend has been in exactly the same position as you, so they deeply understand how difficult it may be to open up up to them, but their job is to help you, that's what they have been trained to do and need to understand why you have chosen to visit them.
If by chance any other friends have not understood how you are feeling, then they don't realise the situation you're in, but this certainly doesn't mean a doctor will be the same, as I said, they are here for all of us who suffer from any type of depression and their aim is get us to feel much better.
A doctor must be viewed differently than a friend who is also concerned, but your doctor will steer you in the right direction so the appropriate help will benefit you, plus they are always there for follow up appointments.
My doctor who was also a psychologist was the only person I could discuss problems with, that no one else knew about, that was certainly the relief I had in seeing her.
Your first appointment may only need to be a couple of minutes to begin with, but this illness is not something we can recover from by ourselves, we only go around and around in circles, not being able to sort out one problem from another, but someone who is trained can direct us in the right direction, which may be one we haven't even considered.
Please get back to us when you're available.
Geoff.
