He thinks....

My therapist thinks i have a biochemical disorder

my second session....i dont know if im ready for this .....

Inny,
This is not a bad thing. Most mental illnesses are biochemical in nature, as far as I'm concerned. It's our genetic makeup combined with our life experience that provides our feeling state. Maybe this is good news, as you can have an evaluation with a p-doc and maybe get some meds to help you feel better. I remember when my t first suggested anti depressants and I was a little worried about using meds. Now I am glad he took the initiative. go with the flow and do what feels right. Good luck.

Sister

Lots of ways biochemistry can be involved. I'd look at what I'm eating and sleep I'm getting, exercise, etc. Find a good B- Complex/multiple vitamin to try? I'm working on a long-term diet, exercise and lifestyle change for my high blood pressure, asthma and other chronic problems.

Get involved in learning a bit about human biochemistry and see if you can effect it your way first if you don't want to try meds? Keep talking if that's what you want (and carry a healthy snack :-)

well... all behaviour has a biochemical cause
(animal spirits and soul stuff went out last century)
since the brain causes behaviour
and the brain processes are biochemical in nature
your behaviour is caused by biomedical processes
just like everybody else...

if you want to teach someone how to cook a curry you are going to have better luck altering their biochemical processes by showing them how than you are going to have luck altering their biochemical processes by medication or psychotherapy.
just because your behaviour is caused by biomedical processes doesn't mean medication is the best way to alter your biomedical processes

as for whether mental disorders are caused by MALFUNCTIONING biomedical processes or not is an issue that is currently the subject of much controversy.

people do say the darnedest things...

maybe they mean to say that they think you could find benefit from taking a medication.

i guess that would make more sense of what they were saying...

is that what is worrying you?

Talk about your feelings in session and take it slow. Meds have really, truly helped me--without them I am a train wreck. But, everybody is different. There is no shame attached to taking meds. Yes, I believe it is a chemical imbalance in my brain that requires meds so I can function at a normal level.

Did he tell you what biochemical disorder he thinks you have? That is a pretty vague statement. I would ask him for more details.

If it is depression, you can also try to work on that in therapy without meds, or do a combination of meds/therapy. Another disorder might have different options. But you needn't feel pressured into meds if you are uncertain. You can always try other solutions first, then try meds if your other approaches aren't working. Meds can indeed be really helpful to some people.

I have largely beaten my depression, but occasionally it comes back. I remember a while back I told my therapist I'd been depressed the previous week. Just under a cloud. All the symptoms back immediately--feeling down, moving slow as molasses, inability to sleep, exhaustion, anxiety, etc. Everything back in a flash. He was really concerned and asked me why this was--was it hormones, biochemical, or situational? My response was "everything is biochemical," and we laughed and he agreed. I can't see how my answering that question with one of his options would have influenced anything we would do in therapy. We always feel down due to what is going on with our neurotransmitters and such in our brains. It's all biochemical. I don't even get his question, and he realized from my answer to him how irrelevant it was. Then we got down to work and looked for the root causes and what was truly bothering me to have brought this on.

It depends on the disorder, Inny... I agree with Sunrise-- very vague. Personally, I don't believe that any one disorder comes from just one thing. There are so many factors that play into it. What did he say that you have?

oh the urge to find a box

to acquire new knowledge about oneself

why does the drug put people to sleep?
why because it has a sleep inducing power!

why do i behave the way i do?
because if we draw a little ring around these behaviours that you do we can attach a little tag with the name of a mental disorder on it!

to then use the tag to explain why you behave the way you do is circular.

what does a dx add?
helps with insurance companies...

and helps people who aren't very good at tolerating ambiguity
and suckers people in who don't see the circularity for what it is

end rant.

((InACorner))


That's his thought. His.

You can accept or reject it.

Some therapists work in depth and some don't.

My first session I always discuss meds because I am through with them. So I bring that up and see how that flies.

What is it that seems to bother you about this? What are your thoughts? What are your feelings?

.