You Know Yourself Better Than You Think

We all have gone to doctors for one reason or another, been given a prescription, and have followed the doctor’s instructions for “getting better.” A lot of times we don’t question the diagnosis, the prescription, or the doctor for that matter because we 1) want to get better 2) think that because the doctor is the medical professional that he or she knows what’s best, and, 3) because he/she is the medical professional who knows best, he/she knows how to get me better.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not ranting about doctors. I have known many people, myself included, who have benefited tremendously from proper treatment and medication. However, I want you to understand that doctors are people just like you and me, they make mistakes, they are not all-knowing, and most importantly they do not know you as well as you know yourself. They diagnose based upon your symptoms, and they then prescribe medication based upon that diagnosis. We all hope that the doctor diagnoses and medicates us correctly the first time around, but sometimes that hope falls short, your symptoms remain the same or they get worse.

Along those same lines, doctors cannot read your mind, so they rely on you to tell them your progress or worsening of symptoms. For this reason, document as much as possible and tell your doctor immediately. Even if you’re not sure if what you are experiencing has anything to do with your diagnosis, medication, or whatever it may be, ask them anyway! No question is stupid or irrelevant when it comes to your health. It is always to be better safe than sorry…

I’ve been on and off medication since I was 15 years old, but I never questioned my psychiatrist. Not about my diagnosis, the medication, the dosages, the side effects…nothing. I went in blind and decided to shield my eyes for years. Not only did I simply trust her on the basis that she’s a psychiatrist and I’m not, but since I didn’t understand why I felt so depressed, angry, and anxious 24-7 I didn’t know what else to do but take the medications she prescribed me.

A few years pass and I realized I hadn’t felt right; I felt flat, emotionless. Even though I didn’t have extreme, depressive lows, I didn’t react to anything, good or bad, happy or sad. Then I decided to just stop taking them all together. Definitely not a good idea considering coming off medication, especially abruptly, can result in horrible side effects (so please consult your doctor!).

Fast forward to the present and it feels like deja vu, but intensified tenfold. I’ve been heavily over-medicated to the point where I’ve been on eight different medications since last November with extreme dosage increases, arrested and hospitalized by my psychiatrist, diagnosed with five disorders (previously only diagnosed with two), and my psychiatrist has been a complete nightmare.

All the medication and the strength and dosage of each affected my physical health and mental capacity. I became even more depressed, anxious, and angry about the physical and mental deterioration. I felt sick almost every day, I experienced confusion, memory loss, speech and vision problems, and was even losing my hair! I couldn’t sit back any longer with my eyes and mouth shut. This is my body, my mind, and my life. So with the help of my Dad, I started keeping track of everything for not only myself (considering I was experiencing memory loss), but to bring back to my psychiatrist.

Listen to your body, trust yourself, and remember that you know yourself better than you think.

#prescription #medication #psychiatry #mentalillness #sickness #sideeffects #mindbodyconnection