I previously mentioned in this post all the reasons why I loved private therapy and would 100% recommend it, but of course there was a little journey to get there.
(Just to do a short disclaimer, getting professional help and seeing a doctor is something I would always urge others to do if they need to. I’m not trying to bash that with this post, just simply sharing my experience.)
My mum convinced me to go to the doctors as my anxiety was really starting to be debilitating, I was about 17 at this point. Anxiety was starting to affect all parts of my everyday life and my confidence was slowly slipping away.
We went to a local doctors and saw a very old, male doctor. After both me and my mum telling his our concerns, he suggested that we get a dog and go outside more. It was safe to say that we were heartbroken with this ‘advice’ that we received, and to this day my mum still gets so angry that we got treated that way.
We weren’t giving up and decided to see a different doctor at the same place. Unfortunately, we received the same poor treatment and she said it would just be something I would have to manage, and given shoddy leaflets and sent our way.
After a few more low months where I felt like I wouldn’t ever feel any better, we changed routes and registered myself at a different doctors that wasn’t as local but still fairly easy to get to. I remember going in the room with my parents and seeing THE kindest ever lady who was listening to my every word, and wanted more than anything to help me. She gave me so many different advice options such as medication, CBT, local counselling and information about private therapy. I was so relieved that I had finally had a positive experience and I could get the help I so desperately needed.
Those first two appointments were not what I had wished, but I’m so glad we kept on going and stayed strong.
WHAT TO TAKE FROM THIS POST:
- Don’t give up. You deserve the help and you will eventually get it. Please stay strong and if you have a really bad experience, complain about it to a management figure (we really should of done this looking back)
- Don’t be too nervous when you go, they really are there to listen and help, a good doctor will never judge you.
- Write down your feelings. I did this as I didn’t know if I would be able to remember what I wanted to say, and it was so helpful and took the pressure off.
- If you don’t feel comfortable going alone, take a loved one for support.