Posted by WorryGirl on March 19, 2003, at 20:27:08
In reply to Re: How many mental illnesses can 1 person have, posted by noa on March 19, 2003, at 16:53:04
> Choose a therapist who will work with you on how you want the therapy to be conducted. Friend of a friend might be too close to home, no? Discuss right up front with a new therapist the problems you had with previous one and ask how he/she would deal with those issues.
>Hi noa,
Even though this therapist doesn't know me personally, he does know a few people who know me, so you have a point. I'm thinking of looking for a different one and just explaining to my friend that I'd prefer a female or some other excuse. Because she is really trying to help me out I don't want to rain on her parade.
> The labels/diagnoses are only helpful if they're helpful! I mean, to the extent that using them helps to define the problem in a way that helps point to strategies for dealing with them, then they're useful. Otherwise, they're just words. Remember, these categories are just organizing constructs made up by people to try to help understand people's problems. Even those that have been linked to biological findings may overlap or be incomplete explanations for the problems.
>
I've calmed down more about the labels now thanks to the responses I've received. It's amazing how the perception of things can change almost drastically from day to day.> Meds are helpful with symptoms and often don't necessarily correspond with one diagnosis vs. another. They treat the symptoms, not the categories.
>
At this point I feel that meds are going to have to part of the solution. I'll probably start with Paxil.Thanks again!
poster:WorryGirl
thread:210476
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20030310/msgs/210791.html