“Yes, I’m normal!”: what prevents us from contacting a psychiatrist

Work on this article began with a survey, the participants of which shared what fears might prevent you from seeing a psychiatrist. But what is actually worth fearing, and what belongs to the field of superstition? Maria Leibovich, psychiatrist, psychotherapist of the highest category, helps to shed light on complex issues.

Attitude to the problem

“Are you taking me for a psycho? Share with someone? Can’t do it myself? I’m normal!”, “Everything is not so bad as to go to a psychiatrist”, “It’s all of you who are sick, not me,” many people think like that. One of the common misconceptions is to believe that only “psychos” with serious disorders, hallucinations and similar symptoms go to the doctor.

However, anxiety and depression can also be grounds for seeing a psychiatrist. But many are stopped by the unwillingness to admit the problem, disbelief in the possibility of improving the situation, arrogance or apathy, and sometimes the desire to hide the disease.

“Gradually gaining weight or going bald, a person may not notice minor changes and, only after seeing a photo of six months ago, suddenly realize how much he has recovered or gone bald. A similar scenario often works with depressive and anxiety disorders, explains Maria Leibovich. – Symptoms often develop gradually, in waves – sometimes better, sometimes worse. A person gradually gets used to himself this way, and only some situation, often critical, shows that his life has changed and cannot continue like this.

Many consider it important to cope on their own. That is, visiting a psychiatrist and taking prescribed medications is a “crutch”, and if a person does without him, he is a fine fellow and a worthy member of society. I usually draw an analogy: people do not consider it a weakness to cast a broken leg or treat cavities. Depression and anxiety disorder are also diseases that should be treated by a specialist.

fear of consequences

There are also concerns about privacy issues. Many are afraid of stigmatization (“they find out at work and get fired; the partner will leave”) and publicity (“this will be recorded in a conditional state database, form a stigma and will affect the future life”). Will the patient be registered, will this close the opportunity to get a certificate from the dispensary for a driver’s license or work?

“Now the law is completely on the side of the patient, the consumer,” the expert comments. No one can get information about your medical history. Before meeting with the doctor, you sign a document and indicate who is allowed to share information about your condition. If you choose “no one”, then no one will know anything. Only through the court.

She recalls the following story: “Some time ago, a 16-year-old teenager was undergoing treatment at the government center where I worked. He signed a document in which he stipulated that his mother, who did not live with him, should not receive information about him. The woman demanded information, and for a month and a half, our administration defended his right to confidentiality.

By contacting the PND for a certificate for a driving school, you are already “registered”. But that’s just the way they work. Do not confuse this concept with the wording you need “there are no contraindications” to a particular activity – driving a car, working, studying. Such a certificate will be given to you if you do not suffer from serious disorders, are not in a psychotic state and are not dangerous to yourself and others.

If you have previously consulted a doctor with depression, and now you do not complain about anything, then you will receive a certificate. And if they were treated in another public or private clinic, information about this will not appear in the PND database.

At work, no one from the doctor will find out about your visit to a psychiatrist – only if you bring them the appropriate sick leave. Increasingly, I hear from young patients that they do not hide their illness from friends and receive support. Apparently, the educational work is bearing fruit.”

Attitude towards doctors and treatment

The word “psychiatrist” sounds threatening to some. “In fiction and films, psychiatrists and mental hospitals are often presented in the horror genre,” says a participant in the study. “Doctors tend to be shown to be even more psycho than patients, each of which is a dull, drugged creature.”

The second factor is the Soviet past with “punitive psychiatry”. Around antidepressants for many, too, there is a lot of ambiguity. People are afraid to “get hooked” or become “vegetables”: “It’s scary that they will heal. They will put you on drugs for life.”

“A dentist, a gynecologist, a therapist, a hairdresser, an auto repairman … Usually we prefer to select specialists with whom we are comfortable. Often we look for them on the recommendation. This also applies to the psychiatrist. You make a choice. And if at the reception you experience discomfort, feel neglected or devalued, you have the right to get up and leave. It is a good practice to take a trusted person with you as support: this helps many people to get to the doctor and get the help they need.

Sometimes treatment includes prescription of medications. The fear of pills is largely rooted in the middle of the XNUMXth century, when drugs were non-selective, they could cause “vegetable” drowsiness and other “side effects”. Now several generations of drugs have changed. Any medication, as well as its termination, should take place only as prescribed and under the supervision of a psychiatrist, this minimizes the risk of withdrawal syndrome.

After treatment, patients sometimes tell me, “I finally remember how I used to be.” The disease imperceptibly changes our personality, and my practice shows that the right treatment, including medication, helps not to lose, but to return the “best version of ourselves”.