AD's or Therapy? Or both?

[Celery]

I'm not sure if what I have is actually depression. I am generally unhappy most of the time. I have social anxiety, and various issues which I know stem from my childhood.

Having coped until now, I've decided I need to address my mental health now, if I'm ever to be happy.

I know counselling, probably long-term, is what I need to help sort out my long-term anxiety and self-esteem issues.

My question is, will AD's help me too? Various things have happened recently, in my personal life, that mean I'm not coping as well as I have before. I've always managed to "buck my ideas up" and get on with it. I'm really struggling to do that this time.

I know AD's aren't going to sort out my long term problems, but will they help me to cope with day to day life better? Will they help me get over this blip that I'm in at the moment?

Yes, the ADs will help you cope with life and get through the blip.

Counselling is good for maintaining your mental health longer term, i.e. learning coping strategies to not get so down, not beat yourself up over everything, not get so upset and anxious.

But yes, ADs in the short to medium term are definitely helpful. They can clear your head enough to be able to focus on, and get the most out of the counselling.

Thank you. I know it sounds silly, but I kind of needed somebody to tell me exactly that, to give me the push I need to go the GP.

Yes as GDYWF says, ADs will treat the symptoms (if you are prescribed one that works for you) different ones suit different people so that is a bit trial and error really but that is definitely the way to go initially. As you say you do need counselling to sort out your long term anxiety and self esteem issues. Then of course as I'm sure you know there are no quick fixes and you need to find a therapist in whom you have trust and feel safe with. I had one awful one and needed therapy to get over the therapy!

Do go to your GP and talk about how you are feeling and I don't think you will have a problem with getting a prescription for ADS.

Can you afford to pay for counseling as there is usually a long wait for NHS counselling and then you are only allowed 6 sessions I think. CBT seems to be what is mostly on offer these days with NHS therapists and is good for dealing with the "here and now" and coping strategies, but will not help with anxieties related to your past life. Most therapists combine a mixture of therapies, so maybe you could find someone who could do both.

Really hope you can get the help you need. I don't think anyone can understand how horrible this anx/dep thing is unless they have experienced it.

NanaNina, thank you for replying. A few kind words from somebody really can make a difference

I have read up on various types of counselling. Have even done a bit of DIY CBT online and read a couple of books, but you are right, and have in the past been able to use what I learned in my day to day life, which helped.

I can't seem to do that right now though, have no motivation, black cloud etc, which is why I think I probably need to give AD's a try.

I don't think CBT is the type of counselling I need. I can afford counselling, but I don't know where to start in finding one. I know I can look at the BACP website, but is it really as simple as picking a name, ringing them and seeing if we click? Of course, even the thought of doing that terrifies me, but I know I have to do it.

My mother is Bi-Polar and an alcoholic, and I was always the strong sane one. Feel so silly for crashing and burning. Am coping on the surface, nobody knows.

Sorry, didn't preview, second paragraph doesn't read quite right.

Hi - hope you can have a good meeting with a gp to see if medication can help you (I found medication helped me settle so get most out of talking help personally).

Perhaps if you look on the BACP website you can narrow your search by: area, their gender if that mattered to you, their qualifications (do you want experienced, newly qualified, not concerned), their area of expertise and interest etc then you may find there are a few to choose from. Might be a start, or your Gp may have some suggestions in your area - they cannot necessarily "recommend" but may have useful pointers for you. You can also look up types of talking help - psychodynamic, emdr, CBT,gestalt, elcectic, TA, DBT, etc etc to see if any appeal. Many counsellors have more than one tool they can use. All the best.