I agree with everything you said except the idea that I was being dismissive. It’s terribly concerning, especially if the symptoms have arisen recently. Because it often takes a long time to arrive at a proper diagnosis, it’s important to start down that path at once.
Comment on What could be wrong with me?
GnomeKat@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 months agoGetting mental health conditions properly diagnosed in a clinical environment is absolutely not that simple. I am basing this off of more than a decade of going through the US mental health system at a high level of utilization. I am not saying that OP shouldn’t try to get a professional opinion, it can be valuable but its not the end all be all. People need to absolutely understand that a lot of the time the doctors are just guessing at what is wrong mental health wise and are subject to a lot of biases. Hearing what other people online have to say and self evaluating is absolutely still a valuable thing to do and dismissing op by saying “go to a doctor” is actually anti helpful.
calypsopub@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Pandantic@midwest.social 11 months ago
Are you talking about general practitioners or psychiatrist? I think OP should go to a GP if these things aren’t normal, but since OP said they are, they should see a Psychiatrist / psychologist. It’s true, that this may not help depending on the doctor, but a psychiatrist can do real evaluations as to not “guess” and help fine-tune any depression/anxiety meds that are prescribed as to not keep a person on prescriptions that “aren’t actually helpful”. Some of it is guess work, yes, but if you treat for anxiety, try different meds, and it’s still not going away, then a good psychiatrist will suggest something else. This is coming from over a decade of moderate-use of the US mental healthcare system.
I want to point out that saying “you should see a doctor” should always be the first post on any psychological and/or physical problem post for the simple fact that some people do ask questions on the internet instead of seeing a doctor. This is not dismissive and does not prevent people from giving their non-medical opinions, but if someone follows someone’s advice on the internet instead of going to the doctor, this could be a life-and-death mistake.
Also, from what OP said in the original post, this could just as easily been a fairly serious medical condition.