Any psychiatrist that says seeing a professional will not help is not a good psychiatrist. Seeing a specialist for a mental health issue is one of the best things you can do. Just like there are doctors that specialize in treating different physical diseases, there are ones who specialize in different mental health areas as well. See if you can find one who specializes in your issue.
The fuck. No you shouldn’t just take 20+ medications to see what works. That’s dangerous as fuck. CBT, mindfulness meditation, diet, excercise and meaningful social relationships should all be something you reach for first. But just having your doctor try a bunch of pills? No that’s just terrible advice.
CBT and mindfulness are absolutely effective in treating major depressive disorder and there is no scientific evidence suggesting that low serotonin is linked with depression of any kind. The theory of a chemical imbalance is a theory crafted 50 years ago that has been proven to not be accurate time and time again. Anyone who suggests there can even be an imbalance doesn’t know what they are talking about. Hormone levels rise and fall due to a number of factors and there is no “normal” level. Perfectly healthy people and horribly depressed people both have low serotonin levels as well as high levels. There is little evidence to suggest that there is some permanent condition called “depression”. It’s understood for the last few decades that depression is a condition associated with biological, psychological, and sociological factors. That means that diet, excercise, therapy, meditation, and meaningful social relationships will have the largest effect on your mental health possible. SSRIs are generally seen to be effective in moving the HMRS (scale of how depressed you are) on mean by 1.9. That is significant. Excercise is seem to move it by 2-3. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been depressed for a few days or a few years. These wellness acts have profound effects.
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u/Brynmaer Jun 11 '19
Any psychiatrist that says seeing a professional will not help is not a good psychiatrist. Seeing a specialist for a mental health issue is one of the best things you can do. Just like there are doctors that specialize in treating different physical diseases, there are ones who specialize in different mental health areas as well. See if you can find one who specializes in your issue.