Should I contact a psychologist?

[paden1991]

I would say yes, you most definitely should see a psychologist of some sort. Therapists are not so terribly expensive that it would set you back a whole lot more than a doctors visit. You could likely get away skimping on the recommendation from your general practitioner as well with some research--could save you some cash.

In other news, with the symptoms you provided, it does sound as though it would be a form of depression, possibly a depressive episode. The lack of concentration, ambition, and irritability are hallmarks of such things. Not to say it is a disorder, as that implies that it is long standing, which it may or may not be, not a whole lot of information was provided, and for fair enough reasons. You could stand for some CBT (cognitive-behavioral therapy).

To me, it seems as though you have maladaptive behaviors, coupled with the breakup which turned your focus to them, making you more aware of it. Nothing that can't be fixed, nor anything that is terribly serious.

As for smelltheglove, you are actually backwards. A psychiatrist is allowed to prescribe medication, and typically does so coupled with some sort of therapeutic technique. Psychologists, on the other hand, are not allowed to prescribe medication without recommendation and input from a psychiatrist. Psychologists typically stick to therapeutic approaches, talk therapy, for example.

As for your "maladaptive behaviors," as I called them, they could be caused by various things--relationships, the way you were raised, inefficient coping strategies, you name it, it's possible. I would recommend seeking therapy if that is what you are comfortable with. Diagnosis cannot be given without it being disturbing to yourself or others, providing some form of danger, be it to yourself or others, deviant from the norms of society, and dysfunctional enough to become a problem in the first place. To me, it sounds like you meet all of the above criteria, with the exception of danger, which you hadn't alluded to. Mind you, they can still treat you, and give therapy, but not diagnose you with a disorder without those criteria met.

The other thing you need to be wary about, as I have read some of your posts as I was typing this-- to be qualified as "depressed" you don't need to meet every symptom, only five of them. While you are right, you aren't necessarily in a position to evaluate yourself, you also should discredit other evaluations. Just from what you said, and a minor amount of extrapolation, you met 4 of the 5 criteria for a major depressive episode, and that wasn't even touching the physical effects, such as sadness, or psychomotor abilities. You could very well qualify as having a major depressive episode. For further diagnoses, use the DSM IV, or V, depending on when you get around to it. Their website contains much of the information used to diagnose someone. The DSM IV criteria for a major depressive episode is as follows:
(1) depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day, as indicated by either subjective report (e.g., feels sad or empty) or observation made by others (e.g., appears tearful). Note: In children and adolescents, can be irritable mood.

(2) markedly diminished interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities most of the day, nearly every day (as indicated by either subjective account or observation made by others)

(3) significant weight loss when not dieting or weight gain (e.g., a change of more than 5% of body weight in a month), or decrease or increase in appetite nearly every day. Note: In children, consider failure to make expected weight gains.

(4) insomnia or hypersomnia nearly every day

(5) psychomotor agitation or retardation nearly every day (observable by others, not merely subjective feelings of restlessness or being slowed down)

(6) fatigue or loss of energy nearly every day

(7) feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt (which may be delusional) nearly every day (not merely self-reproach or guilt about being sick)

(8) diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness, nearly every day (either by subjective account or as observed by others)

(9) recurrent thoughts of death (not just fear of dying), recurrent suicidal ideation without a specific plan, or a suicide attempt or a specific plan for committing suicide


(Master's psychology student (social psychology))

Edit: more information of depression/diagnosis process

[Bluxwave]

maybe social anxiety mixed with inter-personalization skills a bit of paranoia?

to be honest.. some mental problems only show themselves after the person reaches a certain stage... Just get in touch with mental health, its like going for a checkup to the dentist or eye doctor... just another thing you got to keep running in a good state and healthily.

[smelltheglove]

As for smelltheglove, you are actually backwards. A psychiatrist is allowed to prescribe medication, and typically does so coupled with some sort of therapeutic technique. Psychologists, on the other hand, are not allowed to prescribe medication without recommendation and input from a psychiatrist. Psychologists typically stick to therapeutic approaches, talk therapy, for example.

yeah, i googled it after cai responded... im a goober. i just wanted him to make sure he wasn't running to a pill pusher if that's not what he wanted :/

[Caiada]

How do you know you're not depressed? All the symptoms you listed are typical depression symptoms.

Maybe you could list some of the other symptoms that would indicate it's anything other than normal depression? Otherwise, I don't know why you're posting here. We aren't qualified to diagnose you, and we certainly aren't qualified to diagnose you if you're witholding symptoms.

It's not really anything to do with my mood. I'm not constantly unhappy or anything, I don't ever consider suicide (I did during the breakup period, but that was incidental and uncommon), there are still things I do that I find fun. Not really typical depression stuff, I don't think. Maybe I should have been more thorough in my initial post.

Then that answers your original question, doesn't it? I don't know where you live, but around here there are many clinics that are income based and even offer grants that give you 10 free sessions. I would say go.

That was my initial reasoning behind considering it. Thank you for the advice. I'll look into free clinics.

[Leefnmajors]

Few facts.

1. Psychiatrists hold an MD, not necessarily a PhD. They can prescribe medication, and generally lean more that way but at the same time do not ignore therapy. Generally if your condition is really bad or if it is treated well via medication you end up here.

2. Psychologists are moreso the talking types. Some psychologists merely hold a Bachelor's Degree (usually not many and I would try to avoid that if you think this is very serious), but most hold at least a Master's and quite a few hold PhDs. Not sure where you're from, but in the US when you're looking for someone to see generally you can see their credentials. Think of the guy who sits there with a pad while you lie on a couch sort of thing. Generally if they think you require medication for something (IE antidepressants, SSRIs, Lithium, etc.), they'll refer you to a psychiatrist as well. More people fall into counseling than psychiatry.

If you personally think your problems are completely out of your control, I would go ahead and at least give a session or two with a counselor a shot. Most of the time that will be enough to help you put your life into prospective. Complete conjecture on my part here, but it sounds like your break-up was moreso the trigger to your problems than the root of them. While I have no idea if any of these problems existed for you before that point, from what I can gather it does indeed seem to be the case. While a lot of variables (money, time, faith in Psychology) may go into this and I'm speaking from a bit of a biased point of view (Psych major), seeking mental help almost always turns out to be a positive thing for the person involved. At the very least, you might just find out you're perfectly fine and your outlook is much brighter than you think.

EDIT: It should also be pointed out that depressive episodes after a major break-up are pretty common and go away within a year (usually... just preface all of this with usually). If you feel like you're still fixated on it and haven't improved in all of this time, that's a problem. The big red flag is usually answered with a few simple questions:

Do you feel tomorrow is going to be better than today? and Do you feel like things are better now than they were a year ago?

And depression is fairly common. I forget the incidence rates off the top of my head but I think it's around 5% of the US population has some form of depression disorder (that's ALL types of depressions) and around 25% will go through it at some point in their lives. I wouldn't armchair diagnose you though without actually meeting you, though. A lot of variables go into this (family history, behavior patterns, health complications, etc.) and you don't usually figure this out in an hour or two, though sometimes for insurance purposes it gets rushed.

[hightides24]

It's called depression, OP.

It's pretty common, and can be treated with therapy and/or medication.

Not to get off-topic, but depression is NOT as common as people think. People frequently use it as an excuse to get drugs and that inflates the popularity of the disorder and makes it seem more common than it actually is. When it's actually a disorder, it can be pretty bad.

[nyc81991]

Even though you don't think you are in a depression that might be the case. Trust me, Depression can manafest itself in a lot of different ways. Now i'm not saying that you are, but speaking from personal experience it isnt really something that someone will know they have. And Depression isnt a bad thing to find out you have, the only way to make yourself feel better is to confront it.

[Bluxwave]

yeah, i googled it after cai responded... im a goober. i just wanted him to make sure he wasn't running to a pill pusher if that's not what he wanted :/

those psychiatrist "pill pushers" saved my life.

[smelltheglove]

those psychiatrist "pill pushers" saved my life.

some are good, very good. some throw ritalin at every kid within a 100 mile radius. not saying pills arent beneficial, but i dont think they should be the first thing to try

[Nikkishammy]

No, you should not.

[Eats Compost]

Yes, you should definitely pop in and see a psychologist. I wish I could elaborate, but there's not much to elaborate on. It can only help.

[paden1991]

Since there is a lot going on in this thread in particular about depression, and I feel obligated to say something-- depressive disorder is not terribly common, that is true, but you can be diagnosed with depressive episodes, which are far more common, especially in the teen-early adult years. It is important to recognize the differences between depressive disorder, and depressive episodes, as depression as a whole is a very wide range of diagnoses. Bear that in mind.

One should not hate on psychiatrists. While yes, they do prescribe medications, they also tend to deal with a fair bit of therapy as well. It's not as often as you think when one simply sends pills to a patient and sends them on their way. There is typically a bit of therapy involved, especially because there is a lot of money to be had there on the higher end. Pills and on typically only happens in psych wards, where there isn't always a therapist on hand that is available (lots of people and all that).

Codependency is technically not a disorder, and you cannot be diagnosed as such. I personally feel that you would be more likely to be diagnosed with a depressive episode than nothing at all, but I'm not exactly qualified to confirm such things, as I have no therapeutic training beyond undergraduate courses.

[Bluxwave]

yes I was extremely sick at the time,

[Tlalocan]

Ignore the comic-sans. Does this describe you?
http://www.mnwelldir.org/docs/mental...dependency.htm

Ok, this has scared me. Over 80% of that describes me :/

OP, it sounds like you have mild depression. Get it dealt with before you get worse.

[ZenX]

All I can say is, those problems don't go if you try to bottle them up somewhere, and alcohol is only temporary solution that later backlashes with a diminishing return making things even worse.

[Leefnmajors]

Most psychiatrists are good. They just get an unfair rep from the natural of what they're doing; chemically altering the brain tends to be met with so much more resistance than the rest of your body. We still hold mental problems way too personal, and I don't know if that's ever going to change. Now, granted, psychiatry has more "we don't know how it works (even remotely sometimes), but it does" solutions than most people are comfortable with (ECT and Lithium for starters), but there's stuff like that in any field.

Not gonna touch Ritalin/ADHD/diagnosing kids. If I were a psychiatrist I would not touch kids in my practice if I could help it. While yes it's probably overdiagnosed, it's probably not as high as you think it is and I've seen kids that really did need it.

[tlo]

It's not really anything to do with my mood. I'm not constantly unhappy or anything, I don't ever consider suicide (I did during the breakup period, but that was incidental and uncommon), there are still things I do that I find fun. Not really typical depression stuff, I don't think. Maybe I should have been more thorough in my initial post.

Depression doesn't mean you're constantly unhappy. Irritability, lack of motivation, inability to concentrate, increased anxiety are all typical depression symptoms. These are the only symptoms you listed. It's possible you're not depressed, but given the symptoms you're sharing depression is the most likely scenario.

---------- Post added 2012-03-25 at 11:35 PM ----------

Not to get off-topic, but depression is NOT as common as people think. People frequently use it as an excuse to get drugs and that inflates the popularity of the disorder and makes it seem more common than it actually is. When it's actually a disorder, it can be pretty bad.

How exactly did you quantify "not as common as people think"? Do you have a source for any of this, or are you just spouting unfounded drivel?

I'd say 5% percent of the American population being effected by clinical depression each year is a fairly substantial number (http://uhs.berkeley.edu/lookforthesi...nsuicide.shtml).

[paden1991]

Ok, this has scared me. Over 80% of that describes me :/

OP, it sounds like you have mild depression. Get it dealt with before you get worse.

I don't mean to piss on the people that wrote it, not at all, their intentions were noble, and valid, however, I feel it deserves a disclaimer-- codependency is such a broad range that if read in the right light and the right mood, that anyone can feel as though they have it, and at times, everyone fits each of the categories at one point or another. It's not something to worry about unless its a lifestyle, and when it is a lifestyle, you can recognize it much differently.

To paint a picture of it-- codependency would be someone feeling so shitty about themselves that they cannot accomplish, or even attempt anything. Someone that truly fits the picture of codependency would be one that sits on a corner begging, attempting to manipulate people into getting their desired goal.

The reason why the website is worded so broadly is because they are trying to sell a book about healing codependency--something no one would buy if they did not think they had an issue. They listed 12 symptoms, one of which being, effectively, "not thinking you have codependency, or not accepting you have codependency." Ontop of that, you only have to have 20% of the symptoms, according to them, so if you have 2 more of the symptoms, you should apparently buy their book.

The website is biased.

[Caiada]

I don't mean to piss on the people that wrote it, not at all, their intentions were noble, and valid, however, I feel it deserves a disclaimer-- codependency is such a broad range that if read in the right light and the right mood, that anyone can feel as though they have it, and at times, everyone fits each of the categories at one point or another. It's not something to worry about unless its a lifestyle, and when it is a lifestyle, you can recognize it much differently.

To paint a picture of it-- codependency would be someone feeling so shitty about themselves that they cannot accomplish, or even attempt anything. Someone that truly fits the picture of codependency would be one that sits on a corner begging, attempting to manipulate people into getting their desired goal.

The reason why the website is worded so broadly is because they are trying to sell a book about healing codependency--something no one would buy if they did not think they had an issue. They listed 12 symptoms, one of which being, effectively, "not thinking you have codependency, or not accepting you have codependency." Ontop of that, you only have to have 20% of the symptoms, according to them, so if you have 2 more of the symptoms, you should apparently buy their book.

The website is biased.

Yes, that definitely needed some disclaimer. I've been taught some basics of psychology (nothing college or indepth), and the general rule I remember is that it's not a disorder unless it's negatively impacting your life. You could have so-called 'symptoms' of codependency or depression or many other disorders, but unless there's an actual problem, it's not any of those. That's why I really didn't want this thread to be about diagnosis or my relationship problems or whatever (though I kinda made it that way inadvertently) but a simple recommendation of what to do :/

[Bitehattori]

This may seem harsh but sit and think to your self....
You're very lucky that you're able to:
*Read
*Write
*Have money
*Internet
*People that care about you
*Healthy body - Assuming you have no broken bones or extreme ilnesses

While some people are not able to read or write(talking about adults). Some people have life threathening diseases with no food or water or even possibly a family!

Whut chu you got that's so bad? A small bit of anxiety? You can do it!