My doctor was no help

[Dep1]

I went to my GP today, sat down on a chair, he didn't look me in the eye once, he said "Why are you here then?" i said "I've been experiencing anxiety" asks me how long I've had it, then he turns to his computer, types some stuff for 10 seconds, then tells me "I will book you in for anxiety management classes at the hospital, we'll send you a letter next week... Bye"

... And that was it! I couldn't believe it, he didn't help me at all, you can't expect a person with 'Chronic Anxiety' as he calls it, to go to a hospital which is a new surrounding with a bunch of new people and be OK with it, usless excuse for a doctor, anyone else have this problem?

[lilly-lou]

Hi,
I went to see a doctor who wasn't very sympathetic, she sat yawning while I was in tears I haven't been back to see the doctor in nearly 4 years because of that incident. My midwife referred me for C.B.T while I was pregnant, when I turned up for the appointment it was up stairs right at the back of the building, I suffer from agoraphobia so can imagine how panic stricken I was, my hubby went mad at the therapist, even he could see how stupid this was. Have you tried another G.P? Can anybody else recomend a good one.

[Dep1]

Hi,
I went to see a doctor who wasn't very sympathetic, she sat yawning while I was in tears I haven't been back to see the doctor in nearly 4 years because of that incident. My midwife referred me for C.B.T while I was pregnant, when I turned up for the appointment it was up stairs right at the back of the building, I suffer from agoraphobia so can imagine how panic stricken I was, my hubby went mad at the therapist, even he could see how stupid this was. Have you tried another G.P? Can anybody else recomend a good one.
Hi, i'm sorry to hear about that.

And i am going to call again on Monday morning to get another appointment with a different doctor, like i said the previous bloke i had today was appauling, he sounded like he better stuff to do than his job of helping people.

[Tom_M]

I live in the north east of England, and most of the doctors I've had have been extremely helpful. But In my experience, you usually only get one or two doctors in a practice that are caring, and are up to date on on treating emotional disorders. The rest don't give a damn as soon as you mention anxiety or depression. The best thing to do - if you can - is to choose another doctor who will be sympathetic.

Tom

[samc100]

Hi - do try with another Dr.
My surgery has a few Dr's and the first one I saw just didn''t believe in anixety. But I saw another Dr who was more help then saw another ( because the 2nd was on hols) and they were brilliant.

So don't give up....

[mandie]

Hi

Sorry to hear yr doctor was like that with you.

Im lucky i have a lovely doctor who actually listens to what i say and never rushes me out.

Has given me medication and refered me for cbt.

I work in a gp surgery and the dr there is the complete opposite, doesnt want to no.

love mandie x

[Coni]

I agree, like everything else there are good and bad, and there are doctors who maybe have a special interest in mental health type issues...which obviously makes them a good choice....so if you have a few GP s in your practice, keep trying.

Also as far as premises go....if treatment is on the NHS and is within a health centre, practitioners usually have little control over where to hold their clinics or treatment sessions....they have to go where there are rooms available, and in my area treatment rooms are in constant demand and this demand very often outweighs the rooms available.

Coni XX

[Marginalia]

I think I'd only regard my GP as one possible source of help/information. As people have said, GPs are generally not trained up in the treatment of mental health hype stuff themselves (I got lucky with my current one who has an amateur interest in CBT and willingness to search out local services).

Try the web, phone books, health centres, churches, libraries, advice bureaus and so on, because I have discovered that there are many other counselling and mental health services available outside the NHS route, and many of them are free.

There are always self-employed counsellors (go through the BACP or BABCP websites if you are able to pay for a counsellor - cost seems to be anything from £25 to £100 per hour :ohmy: - but I'm paying one at the moment and if you can afford it, consider it). Many of those counsellors offer telephone appointments. If you have social anxiety or agoraphobia use that as a starting point in doing web searches or making inquiries, because it may take you a while before you can do a face-to-face appointment outside your home. I am doing a counselling skills training course at the moment and the tutor mentioned email/online counselling as a possibility. There are also procedures for home visits but counsellors have strict health and safety guidelines so it's much harder to get those set up - but it's do-able.

However it is also possible to find free services. There seem to be several charities in my area which include types of counselling (group or individual), sometimes geared up for particular circumstances (people who are carers, teenagers, people with eating disorders, or whatever), so it's really worth 'shopping around' if you've tried one avenue which doesn't work.

There are also online self-help resources (such as http://moodgym.anu.edu.au/welcome), and self-help books (such as http://www.amazon.co.uk/Feeling-Handbook-Plume-David-Burns/dp/0452281326
(both those based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy - the website gets you started on the basics - the book has a lot more detail)

Marginalia

[Dep1]

Also as far as premises go....if treatment is on the NHS and is within a health centre, practitioners usually have little control over where to hold their clinics or treatment sessions....they have to go where there are rooms available, and in my area treatment rooms are in constant demand and this demand very often outweighs the rooms available.
Thanks, and i do understand that i may have no choice than to go to the hospital, and that's OK, but he should have given me medication first to calm me down and take away my anxiety short-term, then at least i could go to the classes feeling more relaxed, i mean it was an ordeal just getting to the GP, and i don't even know where the hospital is, and going to new places and meeting new people is a big part of my anxiety and i know that without medication first i can't go to these classes.