Nervous about visiting the doctor

[red04]

So just lately my anxiety has gotten quite bad and I'm thinking I need to visit the doctor and try to get help, I have had anxiety and depression since I was about 15 so about 9 years now I have always dealt with it alone, I don't like to let people in very often....my health anxiety and social anxiety has gotten much worse over the last 3 months and I'm getting really fed up of feeling this way. I have a one year old little boy who makes me smile everyday yet I still feel so anxious and down most of the time. I'm nervous of visiting the doctor because the one time I have been before about this the doctor I saw didn't listen, made me feel like I was being stupid and just gave me some tablets and rushed me out, I also feel like I'm wasting there time, I just want to feel ok again :(

[Helen123]

Hi red04,

I totally understand how your feeling. I also have had anxiety and depression since my teens and I'm 24 now so we must be about a similar age.

My doctor is also a complete.. You know what.. So now whenever I go I ask to see a female doctor, is that a option for you? Women can often be a lot more understanding than men I think. Or even asking for any other doctor? But don't let that one doctor put you off, There will be a lot of help out there that you could be getting :)

[MyNameIsTerry]

I think a lot of people will understand about your GP.

At my surgery a double appointment is 10 minutes! Thats fine if you've got a cold but not for anything of any detail like mental health issues. So, it would mean that your surgery works like this and they are just a revolving door.

I used to attend a self help group with an anxiety & depression charity. They said that this is quite common due to demands on GP's time so they advised we should consider our GP's as a gateway to other services. For you, I would say they need to refer you off for therapy which will likely be guided self help sessions and CBT therapy, the latter can have a longer waiting time.

So, your GP will want to discuss anti-depressants with you as well but ask about services like this. These services spend longer talking to you and looking at your individual issues. For instance, a guided self help call like mine was about 30mins and a CBT session an hour. The guided self help ran for 4 sessions and the CBT was about 12 (the CBT was conducted over about 10 months).

Some doctors are tools. Some seem to be in it for the money. But there are many who are very good, but may be hampered by their targets. So, use them as a gateway to other things and use other services like NHS Choices for info and come on here to talk to people who understand what you are going through far more than any doctor ever will!