Worried about asking gp for help.

[jayney09]

Hi,
Sorry for the long post.
I think I am suffering from depression and anxiety and have been for quite a while, I'm worried about going to docs incase they just brush it aside and don't listen. I am a single mum to 2 childen one who is severally disabled with a life limiting condition and my other child is going through assessments for autism and adhd, i was in a domestic violence relationship for several years and i lost both my parents several years ago. I dont know whether it is actually depression i am suffering with or whether it is stress from daily life, or grief or something else. I have done several online tests for depression and all of them have come out as me having severe depression, I know these probably aren't a accurate thing to go by but I thought it would give me some sort of answers. I'm looking for advice on what's the best way to approach it with the doc, I don't think I could just walk in there and say I think I'm suffering with depression. Would it be worthwhile me printing of the results of the online tests and just giving them to the doc. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you x

Print out the tests; list your problems and go along to see GP with your concerns. It is entirely reasonable to say you think you have depression.

Given what you describe it is quite likely to be depression.. Howeve, one prolem is thqt fatigue and depression both appear vey similar.

See your GP and book a long appointment.. These days they are very good (mostly) when it comes to MH issues..

Please let us know how you get on.

Do go to the GP, mental health problems are such a big percentage of GP appointments that most now listen and react. They will most likely ask you to fill out two questionnaires, the PHQ9 which measures depression and the GAD7 which measures anxiety. You can probably download these from the web and present them to him or her if you feel you're not being heard. These measures just give the GP a sense of how you are. You can say that you'd like a referral to IAPT which is the counselling and CBT service provided by the NHS. They will carry out a telephone assessment and help you decide what the key problem is and whether counselling or CBT would be most helpful. A lot of IAPT services offer support groups and things like mindfulness. Honestly, you've clearly had a tough time and you should be offered some support. Good luck.