[Sometimes psychotic]

Sure we've all heard of the placebo effect but what about the nocebo effect...this is the kind of thing that happens when people tell you negative things....you'll die within five years, you'll never work again, you'll be on disability the rest of your life, you can't be cured etc. So I'm watching his tedx talk and I'm only hallway through but it really struck me that my current pdoc is incredibly negative and doesn't see things like my old pdoc all and it might actually be making me sick. Every time we meet she's trying to pathologize things that don't even meet the thresholds on her own surveys. My old treatment team would minimize the impact of what was happening....yeah so you had a hallucination or two....it might just get better it's own let's wait a bit. You wouldn't even meet the threshold for prodromal symptoms etc. Instead of making me less anxious she's I think making me sicker....I'm still going back on meds for the time being because I want to be stable because I have a lot to do in the next few months and I think meds do really help with that but I think I will try reducing meds again in the future....especially if I get my old pdoc back at some point. But yeah I wonder if I took her far too seriously...

Here is that talk..

Do you think that they way your doctor approaches your care (attitude) can make you more or less sick?

[Sometimes psychotic]

I seem to recall that those who rebel, stop their meds and leave psychaitric treatment often have the best outcomes but some of that is anecdotal from individuals and other is based on the harrow study....quitting meds at 2 years or less was not the recommended course 20 years ago....those people who did so and recovered were in fact rebels....this makes me want a tattoo strangely of a rhino or some other powerful animal that would not tolerate BS....perhaps a sheet of temps would do.....

[costello]

Why do you no longer see your old pdoc?

[Silent Void]

I dread seeing my psychologist (therapist). He judges me.

[Sometimes psychotic]

Originally Posted by costello

Why do you no longer see your old pdoc?

He moved to the VA and I'm not military....he's actually supposed to join where I work as well but he hasn't started yet....he's already been accepted but he has some forms to fill etc but he doesn't seem to be in a hurry to join...

[costello]

Originally Posted by Sometimes psychotic

He moved to the VA and I'm not military....he's actaully supposed to join where I work as well but he hasn't started yet....he's already been accepted but he has some forms to fill etc but he doesn't seem to be in a hurry to join...

It sounds like you need him back.

[Sometimes psychotic]

Originally Posted by costello

It sounds like you need him back.

I do...he has a predictable schedule so I may stalk him a bit on the bus to ask him questions ie when are you going to be accessible to me again....I hesitate to ask for medical advice though because he might get into trouble for that I really don't know.

I very much agree with this idea. If your provider isn't supportive & has an overall negative attitude it will greatly affect you...especially since you have reasons why you're there in the first place. But there's a huge difference between being overly positive & being realistic while still being supportive. The latter is really important for treatment or any improvement at all to be made..

I absolutely agree with this. A MH professional has to be encouraging, but realistic, and also cautious about over diagnosing and over medicating. In practice I have found it hard to find this. Normally they are dismissive of my difficulties and my aspirations (there's nothing wrong with you, but I don't think medicine is for you - which makes no sense to me!!). Uni pdoc pushed the meds stronger that the others, but maybe that's because he took me at face value? Or maybe it's cos the therapy situation here is a very unfunny joke and he had nothing else to offer?! But he never told me I flat out couldn't do Uni: he has encourage me to defer at worse points, but never told me I wouldn't ever be well enough to return. It's a shame that I don't have access to him right now.

Sometimes I would try to talk to old pdoc when you next see him and tell him that you need him to hurry up and sort the situation out cos you need to come back to see him. I probably wouldn't go into details (they're not banned from discussing it out of the office, but it's considered bad practice medicolegally because they usually don't take any notes to corroborate what you said and they said in case of you complaining or suing them later for something, so it's frowned upon). Old pdoc was great though so I really hope you can go back to him. I'm not so keen on your new one as she does seem to pathologise everything

*Willow*

[Sometimes psychotic]

Originally Posted by WeepingWillow23

I absolutely agree with this. A MH professional has to be encouraging, but realistic, and also cautious about over diagnosing and over medicating. In practice I have found it hard to find this. Normally they are dismissive of my difficulties and my aspirations (there's nothing wrong with you, but I don't think medicine is for you - which makes no sense to me!!). Uni pdoc pushed the meds stronger that the others, but maybe that's because he took me at face value? Or maybe it's cos the therapy situation here is a very unfunny joke and he had nothing else to offer?! But he never told me I flat out couldn't do Uni: he has encourage me to defer at worse points, but never told me I wouldn't ever be well enough to return. It's a shame that I don't have access to him right now.

Sometimes I would try to talk to old pdoc when you next see him and tell him that you need him to hurry up and sort the situation out cos you need to come back to see him. I probably wouldn't go into details (they're not banned from discussing it out of the office, but it's considered bad practice medicolegally because they usually don't take any notes to corroborate what you said and they said in case of you complaining or suing them later for something, so it's frowned upon). Old pdoc was great though so I really hope you can go back to him. I'm not so keen on your new one as she does seem to pathologise everything

*Willow*

Yeah I don't think I fully appreciated old pdoc until he was gone....I'm sorry you have had a string of bad ones...

[Sometimes psychotic]

Ran into old pdoc on the bus today just said Hi----I don't think I could talk to him without wanting to lay all my issues out and that seems unethical/unfair to me....also I think I might cry----it would not be good....

I feel like this is why it is really important to have a supportive doctor in many fields, not just mental.

[likewater]

Yeah. I had a T that said I would never be cured and really thought I was terribly ill and interpreted every single statement I made as mental illness. Now I have a T that thinks I'm doing well and capable of a lot and she understands that view the universe differently and from a very spiritual and organic place, but that doesn't make me mentally ill. In fact, that's the only thing that keeps me halfway sane. Don't let somebody tell you they know you better than you know yourself. It just kills me sometimes when a pdoc tells me how I'm feeling. Really. Seriously. Your kidding, right? I even had a neurologist tell me once my migraines weren't getting worse. What a jerkwad. Thanks. That helps. I'm glad I paid you so much money for that useless and wrong information.

[JFPL]

Yes, the attitude of people around you, including doctors, can definitely have an affect on how you think about your ability to recover. I hope you can find another doctor.