How to talk to your GP about your Mental Health

How to talk to your Doctor about your Mental Health?


Seeking help for a Mental Health problem is a really important step towards getting and staying well, but it can be hard to know who or where to turn to. Its common to feel unsure about seeking support for your Mental Health. Its quite common for people to approach me via twitter or Instagram to tell me about their struggles and how they can access professional help. So having been through the assessment process more times than I care to think about, I think its time to share my tips on how to get the best initial contact and assessment.

Its common to feel unsure about seeking support for your mental health, and feel like you ought to wait until you can't handle things on your own. But its aways ok for you to seek help even if your not sure if you are experiencing a specific mental health problem.
Some reasons why you might choose to seek help could include;
. Finding it difficult to cope with your thoughts and feelings
. Thoughts and feelings having an impact on your day to day life.
. Wanting to find out about available support

The idea of approaching a doctor to say that you think you could have a mental health problem is something that would probably make most people feel nervous and unsettling. If you haven't been in the mental health system before, you have no way of knowing how it works, and what its like to be part of it. Many people worry that they won't be taken seriously, while others are anxious that they might have some form of treatment forced upon them against their will, however this is very unlikely in most cases.

Most people start their journey to diagnosis by approaching their GP. Remember that GP's have to have a very wide knowledge base, and this means your doctor is unlikely to have any in-depth knowledge of mental health. What a GP needs from you, is sufficient information to be able to make a sensible decision about weather you should be referred onward for further assessment. Usually if your GP thinks its best for you to be past forward for further assessment you will be referred to CMHT (Community mental health team) or if your are under the age of 18 you will be referred to CAMHS (Child and adolescent mental health service), both of which are NHS based services. Once you have been referred you are usually placed on a waiting list, depending on where you live the waiting list time will differ from area to area.
Once you've passed that stage you will be assessed either by a consultant psychiatrist, psychologist or community nurse. This assessment will help them decide on what level and treatment is best for you. These treatments can include, therapies such as CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) DBT (dialectal behavioural therapy) and CAT (cognitive analytical therapy)  these are just some of the most common therapies that you could be offered. Usually services prefer to use talking based therapies (the ones listed above) first before trying any medication. I have had people come to me in the past worried that they will just be given medication and then sent away,  however this is untrue.
If talking therapies are not helping they will change to a different form of therapy to see which one is best however if none of the therapies above have helped and you've not made progress and you are willing to try some form of medication they will probably suggest a small dose of a medication which would suit your needs. SSRI (Anti Depressants) are the most common psychiatric drug used and there are various types.  Not everyone will be given the same medication even if you have the same condition because everyone responds to medication differently. But please remember that if you decide to give medication a try you can change your mind and you will not be forced to take them against your will.

Going back to your appointment with your GP, it is always very important to be truthful and explain fully about your concerns and struggles. Everything that you say to your doctor will be completely confidential unless you pose as a risk to yourself or others. If your GP believes someone is either manic or severely depressed, especially if they believe there is a suicide risk, the referral should be urgent and you will be seen In the upcoming few days sometimes in severe cases you may get suggested to go to your local A&E for your own safety if you pose as a risk to yourself.
But some people hold back from disclosing suicidal thoughts to a doctor or health care professional, in fear they could be "sectioned". Please don't; your doctor really needs to know what is going on for you, and telling your GP about your thoughts will not get you "locked up". The only health care professional who has the power to detain you under the mental health act is a psychiatrist, and they can only do this with if an AMPH (Approved Mental health professional) has formally assessed you and recommended that detention is necessary, and a second doctor has agreed.

Over the years what I have found helps is thinking about my concerns before my appointment.
Before the appointment it might be helpful to write down what you would like to talk about to make sure that you do not forget anything during the appointment.
Write down symptoms of how you are feeling and how your mood might be affecting you day-today life.
Write down key personal information such as, upsetting events in your past and any major stressful events.

Writing a list of questions you want to ask is also very helpful to prevent missing things out.
You might have some questions in mind already but I will list a few which have to come to mind;
What type of Mental health problem do I have?
How do you treat my type of Mental illness?
What can I do to help myself?
Is there specific medication that can help?
What can others do to help?
How long will treatment take?


Getting a second opinion
If you are unhappy or want to confirm that the advice and support you were given is correct, you have a right to ask for a second expert opinion. Sometimes seeing a different doctor makes all the difference.

You aren't alone!
Remember that you're not alone. 30% of all GP appointments are related to mental health and wellbeing issues and 1 in 6 people will experience a mental health each week.
Seek help!

I hope this post gave you some ideas on how to seek help and prepare for an appointment.
I hope your all well

Love Leah x