2023-09-19 10:55:12
Prejudice often prevents people from turning to psychiatrists and psychotherapists.
These are comments from readers in the Community. Collected into one material, carefully edited and designed according to editorial standards
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
I was diagnosed with ADHD – it didn’t affect my life at all. I appreciated some of the positive features of this in myself, and I still do. As I accepted and compensated for the negative ones, I continue to do so.
It is important to note here that as a child I was lucky to have parents and teachers who did not scold me, but, on the contrary, taught me how to deal with inattention and other things, and gave me a set of tricks. So I never felt different in a bad way, but saw myself – and continue to see myself – as special and unique in a positive way.
From the above set, I most actively use the following tricks:
While studying at school, I checked the spelling of essays and other things, starting from the end of the text. In general, any action that does not follow the usual scenario forces the brain to be attentive. I am a developer. I write code into short blocks of functions with simple logic so that there is no room for mistakes, plus I constantly check it on test data. I break up tedious work, during which I constantly want to be distracted, into small tasks and then set a physical timer for 15-30 minutes. If I don’t have time to complete the task, I set it once more. I meet deadlines – I allocate the same period of time for any of my desires. During work meetings, in order not to lose the essence, I briefly and concisely write down the main points. On my desktop I keep only the things that are necessary now. I delegate the task if I need to do something tedious , for example, writing statements. If there is a strong desire to fidget, I do a few pull-ups or push-ups, stretching – any action that will release some of the energy through physical sensations. I help memory with the help of feelings. For example, I am constantly afraid that I did not close the door to the apartment. Therefore, following closing, I pull it hard – there is a slight pain in my hand – and then I press it until it clicks – there is a sound. This helps me realize that I really closed the door when on the subway I’m wondering whether I closed it or not. Meditation, swimming, sex help to reboot.
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Anxiety disorder
A few months ago I was diagnosed with anxiety-depressive disorder. An unpleasant diagnosis, but there was peace in my soul because the disease had been identified and treatment had begun.
In addition, I finally understood why everything in life goes the way it does: poor emotional contact with people, lack of friends and girlfriend. The stupid feeling of guilt and anxiety that I am doing something wrong in this life and that I generally have a complex character have disappeared. Not to mention that the treatment stabilized me greatly.
My diagnosis is anxiety-depressive disorder and elements of obsessive-compulsive disorder. I have always been an anxious person, but following concentrating stressful events in a limited period of time – divorce, moving, working 12 hours a day with a hellish boss – it hit me in full. At first I just went to a psychologist, then another specialist said that we need to treat the hardware first before updating the software.
So in the fall of 2019, I went to a psychiatrist and was treated with antidepressants according to different regimens for three years. My quality of life has improved, my productivity has increased, and I no longer get colds every month like before.
I finished treatment in December 2022, but recently depression returned – it’s rare, but it happens. I’m getting treatment once more, but this time it’s not as scary as at first.
Diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. I think I had it for a long time, but following February 24, 2022, it became really bad: I mightn’t eat, sleep, or work. We picked up antidepressants – it helped a lot. Now I’ve also connected a psychologist, and it’s also working well.
I urge everyone not to be afraid of medications: when chosen correctly, they greatly improve the quality of life. A mental disorder cannot be dealt with using the “get yourself together, wimp” method; these are, as a rule, disorders of the biochemistry of the brain, and they are also treated with chemistry.
I don’t hide my experience; on the contrary, I try to talk regarding it to help people overcome the prejudices associated with antidepressants. One of my friends recently also started taking them, having previously reached such a state that she might not go outside for weeks. Now he lives a normal life.
The story began in 2016. They diagnosed me with generalized anxiety disorder simply by taking an anamnesis. I came with a specific complaint: I constantly feel anxious. And with symptoms. They prescribed pills that helped and are still helping. But sometimes it still breaks through, especially if everything in life becomes unstable.
Of my relatives, I only told my parents. They took it calmly, but it seems to me that they don’t fully understand what it is. Perhaps at their age such topics were not particularly discussed in society. I also shared this with my brother and sister. My husband is supportive and my friend is too. But she herself has anxiety and depression, so we understand each other perfectly 🙂
Anxiety sometimes gets in the way. She literally binds. You just can’t get up and start doing anything. But such exacerbations do not happen often, but during turbulent periods.
I try to cope on my own, sometimes it works. I read books on psychology and use the tools from them in practice. Sometimes I go to a psychotherapist and take tablets, respectively. Rationalization supports, but not always.
Those closest to you help the most.
It is possible to work with GTR. But at the same time, features may still appear in how you relate to your work and by what parameters you choose it. For example, I notice that over the past few years I have become much more sensitive to what kind of manager I have and what kind of team I have. If I see signs of toxic people and manipulators, I leave without looking back. Otherwise I will worry.
Regarding caring for yourself. So I kind of try to do what’s best for me. And don’t do anything that might make the situation worse. But sometimes there is a feeling of guilt. For example, quitting because my nerves are fraying at work seems okay, because I care regarding my condition. On the other hand, do you mean quit? And who will earn money? And then the anxiety begins regarding “I’ll quit, but what will I live on?” In this case, rationalization once more helps.
Or, for example, sometimes you have to cancel some plans. Let’s say, don’t go somewhere because of a sudden surge of anxiety. At the same time, I understand that if I go, nothing good will come of it: I will simply withdraw into myself and want to go home and hug my cat. And sometimes anxiety can completely take you by surprise – somewhere in the city, at a party or while traveling.
It’s hard to say how much other people’s attitudes towards me would change if they knew regarding my diagnosis. I myself am learning to live with anxiety, although it doesn’t always work out. I don’t understand why in some periods I can be stuck for two or three months, and then I live for the same amount or longer and don’t worry.
I also don’t understand whether anxiety has affected me as a person or whether it has changed my outlook on life in a global sense. It seems to me that no, although the question is complex. But I know my triggers, and sometimes I have to adapt to them so as not to completely go crazy.
Learn more regarding anxiety disorder →
Schizotypal disorder
My diagnosis is schizotypal disorder. Quite serious by psychiatry standards. I’ll tell you everything in order.
During my second year at the institute, I started having problems sleeping and had a lot of anxious thoughts. Not at the snap of a finger, of course, but I became very anxious, restless and was constantly like a compressed spring: I might not relax. I became interested in esotericism and thematic forums—I didn’t summon demons, but I was obsessed with the topic of spiritual enlightenment. My mood changed dramatically due to all sorts of little things many times a day.
My parents, seeing the changes, went to a neurologist, who advised me to go to the clinic. There they made the diagnosis. The therapy was later changed many times in hospitals. I had a hard time taking the drugs: for the first year and a half I was terribly depressed and might hardly walk to the store near my house. This, in fact, is the main difficulty: I felt bad every day, and the hope of recovery only faded over time. After regarding a year and a half, improvements began, but the process was slow.
I have been in remission for the last year. Briefly: I feel like an absolutely healthy person, I only take medications twice a day. The diagnosis itself now has almost no effect on my life, except that I can’t get a driver’s license, but I’m not particularly striving for this.
And the treatment itself with a psychiatrist had its pros and cons. Pros: All’s well that ends well. Now I feel like an absolutely healthy guy and, perhaps, I will remain so for a very long time.
Cons: I graduated from college with grief, following that I didn’t work for a long time and didn’t get a job in my specialty. I lost almost all the people around me for obvious reasons. In general, living as a vegetable for a year and a half is so-so.
Bottom line: I feel good now. I’m going to study for another specialty, work, improve my personal life and form a new environment.
The main advice to anyone who wants to turn to a psychiatrist for help: spend as much time as possible working with a specialist. Psychiatric drugs are serious, you need to carefully monitor your condition and tell your doctor regarding everything. In my opinion, it is better to select them for the first time in a clinic, not in a psychiatric hospital in the classical sense – there are enough negative reviews regarding them without me.
Well, for those who are now struggling with psychiatric problems, I will say this: we do not choose which brick falls on our heads, but we choose what to do with it. Never give up and believe in yourself!
Find out more regarding schizotypal disorder →
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
When you find out what obsessive-compulsive disorder is and how it works, the tension drops. You immediately understand which way is the road to relief from your condition. That’s how it was for me. Not immediately, but I managed to break the vicious circle of obsessive thoughts, learn to withstand anxiety through exposure, and start working with thoughts and feelings in cognitive behavioral therapy.
Now OCD does not cause any problems, even contrasting obsessions do not unsettle me. In general, I began to monitor my stress level, the variety of my leisure time, and the change in work and rest schedules.
Now OCD is my friend, I have found an approach to it, and sometimes it even helps me. For example, I am more wary than other people – this helps. I can calm down with the help of internal rituals and not become dependent on them.
Learn more regarding obsessive-compulsive disorder →
Bipolar affective disorder
With another diagnosis everything is complicated. Unlike OCD, I have never found an approach to bipolar affective disorder and I feel that I will not, because the cycles change quickly, suddenly and, in my opinion, nothing affects them. Psychotherapy doesn’t seem to help in this case at all, but medications work. I stick to pharmacology.
It is also very difficult to realize that all this time I had bipolar disorder, and the diagnosis was made when the psychotic symptoms began. I immediately looked at my life from a different angle and realized that I wasn’t everywhere. And then it was as if I had returned home – to my life.
Well, without euphoria and intense emotions, as it turns out, life is very boring and insipid – I’m slowly getting used to the minimum level of happiness. It’s still unusual. Another discovery is that it needs reasons. Previously, everything might be bad around us, but the brain decided that we would be fine and triggered euphoria without any reason.
But depression, on the contrary, has long been my natural state, because there have been many such episodes and it seems that it never happens differently.
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Schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder
The official diagnosis for the last six years has been schizophrenia, I even wrote an article regarding it in T—J. But recently, during a consultation, another psychiatrist said that this was definitely not schizophrenia, but bipolar disorder, possibly schizoaffective disorder. I still can’t comprehend the change in diagnosis. But in fact, it is not so important what specific ICD code is written in the medical record, the main thing is that I feel good and understand what is happening to me.
All this had a rather good effect on life, oddly enough. Now I don’t just feel bad, as I did before the diagnosis, but I understand that a depressive episode has begun or, conversely, a manic episode, and I also understand what to expect and what needs to be done.
I have been at my current job for almost seven years and am very glad that I never had to hide the diagnosis – neither from colleagues nor from superiors. They have no prejudices regarding this; I have a very responsible position with complex and interesting tasks. When I involuntarily ended up in a psychiatric hospital for as much as a month and a half, people at work were waiting for me and bored me.
Since January of this year I have been living in Thailand. I feel generally good, although I don’t take medications.
What irritates me is the attitude towards psychiatric diagnoses in society. Yes, it has gotten better, but it is far from perfect. All these jokes regarding bipolar people, the stereotype that schizophrenia is a split personality, numerous jokes regarding “if you laugh, you’re crazy,” and so on. I have very few followers on social networks, but I still try to write more regarding it. It may be a drop in the bucket, but maybe these stereotypes will gradually change.
Learn more regarding schizoaffective disorder →
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