GP in person appointment for long standing anxiety (12 years)

[Kiwifruitsoi]

Hi all

Looking for last minute words of wisdom or guidance.

Tomorrow morning I have an in person appointment regarding my anxiety. I’ve had anxiety since I was 14 but never addressed it. It’s becoming worse to the point it’s affecting my sleep, my ability to leave the house, you name it. I didn’t see the dentist for 11 years or been to a hairdresser since I was 15! I’m 26 now…

I’m going to be a rambling mess I can already feel that during the appointment.

Just looking for any support/advice

Well, you could print out what you just wrote and hand it to the GP - it seems a very clear outline of your problem.

Well done for making the appointment. You can do this.

Write down (in short bullet points) what you want to get across. If you get flustered you can read it out, and if needs be, the GP can even just read it themselves.

Good luck.

Hello.

I went to see the GP about anxiety a few years ago. I thought I was going to die. All the signs were there. And by signs, I mean a tummy ache and suddenly seeing a hearse in traffic. I'd had bouts of health anxiety for about a decade but it got to the point where I couldn't get through a day without sitting in the bath and crying about how my children were going to cope without me.

I dissolved into a crying, hyperventilating lump after saying "I feel like I'm going to die." Honesty, I was an absolute mess. The GP calmly and kindly asked me about what symptoms make me think death is imminent, how long I'd felt that way. Gave me a very thorough exam, assured me nothing unusual had been detected, drew bloods and said she'd
check for everything so she could solve any problem, then frankly told me about her own anxiety, how she knew what it felt like, gave me a prescription for sertraline and beta blockers and referred me to the practice counsellor.

They should be able to spot what you've come in for, even if you're not able to get all your words out and there are good and effective treatments for it.

Good luck!

Well done for making the appointment. That's a huge hurdle and you did it. That's great as it is the first step towards recovery.

Write down brief bullet points for the 4 main points you need to make.

(Eg affecting sleep, preventing you from fulfilling adequate self-care, getting worse etc)

then if you disolve into a weepy mess you can hand over the paper instead.

Any self-managed treatments you have attempted e.g. reading self-help books and following their advice should be listed as one of the treatment options will be to prescribe you a self-help book to read.

It's really important to be concise, the doctors don't have a lot of time and could misunderstand the seriousness of the issue and think you just need a pep talk.

What are you hoping to be offered? Are you aiming for medication? A talking therapy? Or other?