If I go to the doctors with depression, will they...?

Question

prescribe me meds but let me do the therapy in my own time?

I am depressed and I self harm and feel suicidal most of the time but I don't feel ready to go to see a psychiatrist yet. I just want the pain to stop. Will the doctor allow me anti-depressants without therapy or do they only ever go hand in hand together?

Thank you in advance for your information.

Answer 1

i'm not sure where you live, but in new mexico, you not only see a theripist but you also are stuck with a counselor and are sent to a mental hospital for however long they feel you need to get the medications right. don't deny self harm when you talk to them either, they need to know. they know what they're doing and remember, they're only there to help. tell them everything! even if the medications aren't working, don't go back to your old ways of dealing. call them right away and tell them!

Answer 2

I am a CCMA

Nope they are a combination that works together..

Answer 3

Your doctor will assess you as being at risk ... you therefore really need to follow his guidance here and as people have said, meds and therapy together would be good for you. You want the pain to stop ... please let your doctor help you here ...  be totally honest with him as well.  The help you need goes well beyond just drugs .... good luck to you.

Answer 4

they will do what ever you want after all they can not force you to see any one unless you are sectioned

but go see your Doctor coz you need help

Answer 5

Your doctor will prescribe antidepressants, my doctor did it for me. I was already seeing a counselor.

Your doctor will have you come in every month or so to see how you are doing.

I did that for a while and made an appointment with a psychiatrist. After I fired the first one, I found a better one.

Psychiatrists don't make you lay on the couch and talk to them. All they do is monitor your meds and make sure the side effects aren't too bad.

Answer 6

I went to my family doctor for severe depression over a year ago. Because I was suicidal, my doctor thought I may have to be admitted to a hospital. My doctor had talked to my husband about watching me closely and let me start treatment from home instead. ( I had to promise her that I wouldn't harm myself) She suggested I go to counseling, but I could set that up on my own. She prescribed three different medications before I found the right one.I also went to counseling regularly for a couple months before I just quit going. The medication was working fine on its own. By the way, I'm on Paxil. Since you self harm, I'm not sure what exactly will happen to you. All I can say is that you need to find a doctor that you can trust, like the way I trust mine. You should also speak freely about how you want to go about your treatment. Good luck thought, and definitely get some help!

Answer 7

They should really go hand-in-hand, but especially if you are in UK you will probably have to wait a long time for a therapist because they get booked up quickly. Your GP will probably prescribe pills to get you started and make you have regular checkups until you can get booked in for therapy.

The goal of treatment for depression is to help you get into a better state of mind, so the doctor should take your wishes into account. Speak to him or her about how you want to approach things. But don't delay in getting an appointment to see your doc because the pills can take a few weeks to take effect and you don't want to drag this out longer than necessary.

All the best for your recovery.

Answer 8

Most Doctors now don't give out medication as 1st resort, that's the last resort, They usually give councilling 1st.

Answer 9

A psychiatrist will more than likely evaluate you for medication and a psychologist will more than likely help you with your depression through therapy.

Depending on what kind of doctor you see, these are your options. I encourage you to pursue both routes because statistics show the greatest improvement for treatment is a combination of both.

That being said, this is something you should do for yourself. No one should make you do anything, but rather you should want to explore everything you can to begin trying to help yourself.

Depression is a very treatable disorder but much of the work will come from you and how much effort you put into it :)

Answer 10

seek help

what pains you?

please ask someone for help you wont get what you need on a web site just people who have had too many beers giving silly answers good luck  

Answer 11

Hey there,

They will indeed give you the medicine straight off.

However, i must warn you, after suffering depression myself, medication alone doesn't cure the pain.

It's a common misconception that is does, because people severely depressed want a quick fix and believe that this is it.

Even if you take this medication, you will be depressed. What it does is reduce the time you spend being depressed in a weekly period for instance.

The medicene does not get to the root cause of why you are depressed, and those reasons that got you depressed will always remain, so therefore the medicene wont get rid of the pain.

The therapy is about getting past the reasons, about changing your perceptions about life. Therapy is 90% more effective than medicenes as proved in studies done in the U.K, which is why anti depressants are now only ever prescribed WITH therapy in the U.K today.

They work well together, and i think you need both if you are going to get through this.

I should also remind you that anti depressants can make you more suicidal in the first 2 weeks, so it may be necessary to have therapy in those two weeks at least - to stop you doing something you would regret.  

Answer 12

You could talk to your pdoc about this and see what they think.  I think that they would probably want you to see a therapist though especially if you are suicidal.  And if you truly are suicidal they might not even give you meds (if you tell them you are suicidal)...that makes you a high risk.  They won't even give me my meds...they give me a weekly planner...just enough for the week but not enough to hurt myself...or so they say.

Answer 13

Starting meds without having an evaluation from a psychiatrist is a bad idea. All meds are different. They may target specific chemicals, and be better at treating specific symptoms in specific people. You CAN go to a GP and get meds, but they're just taking a shot in the dark, and they aren't really qualified to know which med is best for you.

You really should see a psychiatrist and undergo an evaluation. Getting the wrong med can make you feel even worse - not a risk you want to take if you feel suicidal already.

Answer 14

If you are self harming, they will probably want some method of monitoring you.

I have suffered from reactive depression, but not what you describe.  Personally I found the drugs to be useless, but i did get some counselling that was very useful and gave me several management techniques.

Answer 15

They will ask if you self harm, or have suicidal feelings.

they will recommend therapy, exercise and nutrition before they give tablets.

Though i think if you accept therapy they may offer tablets.

Talk to someone i swear it helps more than tablets they just numb you.

Good luck

Answer 16

They should encourage (but not force) you to get psychiatric help. It wouldn't stop them from starting you on anti-depressants although they may limit how many they give you at a time in case you decide to overdose.

The tablets they prescribe will chemically help to lift your mood but the idea of talking is to help you get to the root cause of how you got there in the first place and then learn ways of dealing with it.

I hope you get help to find a way through your pain.

Good luck.

Answer 17

You do not have to have therapy if you are not ready.  Not everyone gets therapy it is expensive and insurance does not want to pay for it.  It is best to go to a psychiatrist because they can give you a proper diagnosis and treatment.  I went to a primary care doctor at first and she mis diagnosed me so I got a medication that was bad for my condition.  It was not until years later that I got the right care.

Answer 18

I'm a psychotherapist

Sorry I can't help you

:P