Hi Veeky Forums

Hi Veeky Forums

How are you? Anxious? Depressed? I'm a clinical psychologist located in north Europe, and I have an hour to be at your service. Ask me anything, I'll try to answer every serious inquiry. Wish I could be tripfaggin, but it doesn't work for some reason.

Other urls found in this thread:

nature.com/news/over-half-of-psychology-studies-fail-reproducibility-test-1.18248
psychologytoday.com/blog/the-intuitive-parent/201605/us-schools-and-the-astounding-rise-in-adhd
twitter.com/NSFWRedditImage

If a cow goes moo, does a moo go cow?

Good question

One day I feel like I can achieve everything, and I feel like I will fucking achieve everything, and I'm happy and shit, but then the other day I fel like shit, I just get depressed over my ex, and I watch tv series all day long. Is this bipolarity, or is bipolarity much worse? (Also I have rather high IQ, and reached 26 out of 50 on an autistic scale, ranked "maybe Aspergers")

Good question. How long are your "up" and "down" periods in days? Any triggers? How many hours of sleep do you get in each period? How's your appetite? Sexuality? Have you been having troubles concentrating now and when you were in school? Do you use any drugs or alcohol?

They tend to be short, like hours maybe, or days. No triggers, except obvious ones like seeing that exgf of mine. I always sleep like 8 hours. I have a huge appetite. In the first half of 2016 I was extremely horny, but after the breakup I'm not that horny anymore. I have lots of trouble concentrating, I think I might have ADHD. I did use stuff like ecstasy and speed, when I was 16-19, but now I just drink like 3 times a week.

Sorry I answer slow, on the phone.

Ok. Does not sound like bipolarity, as your down periods seems to be connected with a break up? How are your feelings towards her?

Why ADHD? Are you restless a lot as well?

There's no necesary correlation

boobs or gtfo loonie

I'm depressed and I think about suicide almost constantly. I'd love to get professional help but I'm terrified of being institutionalized.

Well, I was never depressed until my first relationship. So yes, these down periods are connected to girls... My feelings went from trying to get her back to now hating her. But when I see her posts, or her walking with her rebound bf on the street, I get depressed instantly. I don't know why, I can't imagine myself being with her anymore. But I'm glad this doesn't sound like bipolarity!

Well about the ADHD, I do have restless leg syndrome, concentration problems, and emotional problems like this depression shit. But of course I'm not a professional, and I haven't asked any until now. Thanks user!

How can I get my doctor to prescribe me xanax for panic disorder. Ive had it for 10 years now and theres medical records to prove it. Was prescribed it when I was young but decided to just deal with it on my own. Now its getting worse, especially in long car rides. I just want it for emergencies but he's treating me like I've abused it in the past. I know its his job to be weary especially if I came to him asking for it. They keep pushing SSRIs on me even though I tell them it makes me more anxious and prone to panic attacks. Am I just fucked by Kaiser?

>but I'm terrified of being institutionalized.
Me too. I try to act as normal as I can tho, so my family won't suspect anything.

I have no drive/passion/anything to go on.
Nothing propels me in life, moreover each day is pretty much met with 'maybe tomorrow will be better/lets see what happens' instead of ending it. Any advice/help to get a fire going in me?

Forgot to add I've already tried all the shit they recommended. DBT, SSRIs, whatever welbutrin is, meditation. Nothing ever worked except xanax. Now that I finally give up and need it I cant have it. Im extremely frustrated by the process. Is this just USA nonsense?

Same here. I feel like my depression would just let down my parents and fiance.

Why do you get depressed instantly when you see her posts? What thoughts run through your head? Did she do anything hurtful towards you during the break up?

I have patients who direct all adaptive anger towards themselves, blaming themselves and having constant negative thoughts. This is a pattern which enhances the depressive symptoms, and a pattern that needs to disappear.

I wrote a long post, but it got deleted.

Suicidal thoughts are a symptom of severe depression, and can be treated with the right healthcare. Professional therapists make suicidal assessments every day, and know when to put you in to a institution and not.

Do you have any concrete plans? Have you attempted suicide before? You'll get questions like these, and if you're considered to be at risk, you'll be able to go to an institution. But almost never by force, then you gotta be highly suicidal.

>diagnosing strangers on the internet based on sentences they wrote

I am taking a Bsc in Psych and I guarantee you haven't studied beyond GCSE

A local psychologist in my town tells his patients to take 400mg of L-Theanine a day for anxiety and depression instead of putting them on medication.

What're your thoughts on this? I'm told it works.

>knows acronyms

Cooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool

No concrete plans. It's the ideation more than anything. It seems to reduce my anxiety rather than depression by thinking about it. I'll go talk to my doc about. I appreciate you taking the time to render your services.

Well first of all, have you ever talked to a clinical psychologist before about these panic attacks? Panic attack disorder was considered chronic 30 years ago, but are now pretty easily treated with cognitive behavioural therapy. I have treated quite a few patients myself with this method.

The method is about investigating your catastrophic thoughts (i.e. "i'm dying!" "my heart is stopping" "im going insane" etc), and helping you understand why these thoughts appear and how you can stop them. Most panic patients misinterpret bodily signals (like rising anxiety), and these catastrophic thoughts make it spiral out of control. Remember, it's never dangerous, although it is highly unpleasant.

Try that, and then go back to trying meds. The disadvantage to meds for anxiety are many

>Over half of psychology studies fail reproducibility test
>nature.com/news/over-half-of-psychology-studies-fail-reproducibility-test-1.18248

How does it feel to know that most of your profession is a meme?

How is your day job/study program? Do you get any kinds of challenges in every day life? What are your goals? What can you do tomorrow to move towards these goals?

Have you ever tried to talk about how you feel? I can't imagine holding all those negative thoughts and complex feelings all to myself.

I have small goals: slowly learn to cook, get fit. ect
but no real overarching goals or plans
just graduated uni and doing an education degree online in the mean part. as for job currently not employed but will be working parttime as relief for the city where I live as a lifeguard/swim instructor.
I just dont know where I'm going or what I want.

I am a phd student in computer science at one of the best universities in Europe

i have no idea how I got here seeing that everyone around me is super smart and I am a dumb piece of shit

I think my mother is depressed and is probably either alcoholic or border alcoholism.
I don't know how to help her so she can stop drinking beer and she will let go of all the stuff she's holding back.
I've tried so many things, but she doesn't want help, she has too much pride and doesn't even accept a conversation.

What can I do?
How can I approach her?

Also, now we live in different countries, but both in the EU.

I'm pretty sure everybody in this thread understands the limits of talking with a psychologist through a japanese image board. Im glad for you having a Bsc though, keep up the great critical thinking you got going there:)

I'm not sure, have zero experience with L-Theanine. Psychologists usually prefer psychotherapy instead of medicating people though.

In Europe psychologists have about zero medical education, so I'd advice you to ask your doctor :)

Thanks! I have talked to a psychologist and they just love pushing SSRIs on me and if I refuse them they wont work with me and send me to a therapist to talk about things I already know. My triggers, thoughts that are tied to other thoughts and memories, why certain sounds trigger certain things. Im fully aware of what triggers me, what triggers me can't be proven wrong though and its impossible to not dwell on when im not occupied.

I know my triggers they are existential in nature. Cant stop thinking about the basics of terror management theory, how everything we do is just to distract ourselves from the fact that we will eventually fade back into nothingness. Religion, society, music, everything I love and do is just to fill the time til I die and it all has no meaning. Only meaning to me but I am meaningless in the grand scheme of things so no meaning in my opinion. This is where I am supposed to not care because I cant do anything about it and if I truly believe death is the end it shouldnt concern me. Problem is that it does concern me and I'll never accept that this is it and theres no hope for immortality. I accept it as fact but I will fight it to the end as pointless as it is.

Thanks. Although I never see a shrink, I was just curious what your experience was with it. I mean, it's just an amino acid and can be bought anywhere really.

Thanks for your time, man.

I'm glad to hear it! :)

Psychology as a empirical field definitely have problems. Luckily researchers conduct these studies though, as constant self-scrutiny over time will strengthen the discipline. And the numbers are better than for parts of medicine, but nobody seems to care about that.

Bear in mind that psychology is immensely huge, and that trials within clinical psychology remains unchallenged. Psychotherapy has a big effect on a specter of mental health problems, and that is my field of expertise.

I have a behavioural therapist for half a year and a med doc for some months now. Got prescribed Mirtazapine for GAD and depression. How do I know I have the right doc, how long will it take to get me fixed?

I'm doing really better but I still get sudden deep depressive holes which make me want to fucking shoot me on the spot, however they go over quickly. I'm able to enjoy more than I have in the last, but its still a long way to go. So you as a professional, how long do you see the recovery span of people. When are they 'normal' again. I know normal is a stretch, but I am smart and ambitious, I just hate this horrible disease thats keeping me from really becoming what I want ( which just furthers the spiral)

I think about the good times we spent together, the awesome memories, the smell of her bed, etc, and that those will most likely never happen again. But then when this period ends, I feel like I don't want to be with her again.

So your not in any employment as of right now? Do you have meaningful relationships and other hobbies? Having an interesting job that challenge you is important for mental health and ones passions - I'm glad to hear you have certain goals though! What's the reason for going slowly at them?

Protip: people are great at hiding their weaknesses. It's a well-known sign of high IQ and general cognitive abilities to doubt one's intellectuality. But it's also a well-known trap for mental health to have these self-attacks you seem to be having - where do they come from?

I miss her, but there's no point in missing her if she's not willing to be mine. Meh.

That sounds like a tough one to help through a simple post. I work at a rehab, and assuming she has a problem with alcohol, alcoholics often have comorbid psychological problems they deny and try to drink away. Often its depression and/or anxiety, and relatives can not do much more than trying to be there for them. Be persistent, even when you get rejected, and try to have a meaningful conversation where you communicate your worries and try to help her get help. Luckily it's not heroin, I have plenty of successful stories with patients having alcohol problems. Generally speaking; the key might be exposure to difficult feelings they have been avoiding for some time.

>as constant self-scrutiny over time will strengthen the discipline
>over time

thats a good thing to say indeed, but the fact is that right now its a near worthless thing that can barely even be called a science.

presently no. Meaningful relationships? barely any freinds I talk to. have my family, but it's not great with them. Dont have anything challenging which is probably why I'm more like this. Reason for slowness? Apathy, plain and simple.

It sounds like existential anxiety, and welcome to the club. Everybody with a certain intellect and open mind encounters anxiety at a certain point when meeting nihilism, and there actually is specific types of therapy for this. But generally I'd advice you to lower the frequency of hours alone, ruminating about your existence and the emptiness of it all. Instead, do it with friends you enjoy the company of, and get some input on your thoughts. It's easy to get lost alone, and it generally feels better to know there are many others out there experiencing the same.

>Generally speaking; the key might be exposure to difficult feelings they have been avoiding for some time.
I think this could be the way, or a way.
Any idea on how could I do it? Or how could it happen? I mean... Her opening up or facing those feelings she has been avoiding.

Anxiousness will probably be very, very common on Veeky Forums

There are tons of information I don't get by short posts like this, so take it with a grain of salt.

Did the depression come before or after the generalised anxiety? What kind of behavioural therapist is it - I'm not familiar with some of the licenses you have in the states.

The common factor for GAD and depression is rumination about the past and excessive worrying about the future. These thought processes maintains and cause the symptoms by themselves, and can be lowered by metacognitive therapy. I'm not sure if anyone practices this where you are, as it is a pretty new discipline, but I'd advice you to check out other therapists. The equivalent-ish might be mindfulness-oriented therapy. The less time you use worrying and ruminating, the better you'll feel.

Can anxiety affect breathing or muscles in the throat making me not breath correctly or not be able to expel phlegm ? ? Feels like something is stuck in the back of my throat, being going on for a little over a year, started after really high stress in school (engineering) followed by a pretty traumatic event (went full mode after that) were I almost OD at a rave while two other people did OD and died that night on the same doses.

Sounds like normal thoughts and feelings after a break up to me. Have you met other girls yet? Usually the ruminating about earlier girls goes away when you get some new projects in to your life.

How do I reduce my anxiety? Can meditation help?
I think too much and many of my thoughts are financial worries or generally negative situations.

Seems to me like you have it figured out. Try to meet someone new!

If you ever get so unfortunate to experience mental health issues, and the odds are not in your favour, my guess is that you'd be happy to know there are thousands of researchers and therapists out there trying to figure out how the field can improve by using strict methods of science. And how they can provide the best therapy possible, for you.

Take this with a grain of salt etc etc; but you sound kind of depressed. Having few meaningful relationships with people your age might be connected to this. When one is feeling depressed, the first thing to happen is the 0 drive to reach one's goals. This result in even less meaningful activities, more isolating, etc etc, and the spiral continues. I'd try to get someone professional to speak with about your negative thoughts and feelings. Perhaps your new goal should be improving your abilities to connect with others?

I get extremely uncomfortable when people compliment me in any way. I don't know if this because of some inner self-loathing but a lot of times I get complimented for something I have this line of thought that I still could do better or I didn't give my best. In short I don't ever really feel like I've earned that compliment.

Can you give any psych tips on not overeating? I'm very slowly starting to get better but there are still moments where i feel no control and binge eat and it's fucking me up

Usually when walking on the street i give no fucks of other peoples opinions about me, but sometimes i go full anxiety and get that feeling in my stomach when you do something bad or wrong and i feel like everyone who looks at me hates me.

Other issue, i never feel like i have accomplished enough. I put my all to everything i do but i still feel im not doing enough, and it wrecks me mentally.

haha you mean make/get better freinds? I am feeling down but I'd rather have a purpose or at least get to finding one and that could help lead me out of depression.
I don't mind the isolation, I'm used to it. I mean it does get lonely but hey, nothing new there.

Thank you! Finally someone understands, even if it is an user on Veeky Forums. Maybe I just need to look around for different Doctors. Thanks for your time.
Most people just tell me I think too much or I'm crazy.

Can affirm this. As autistic as it sounds (FUCK my life), if I sit close to an attractive girl, it feels like I can't breathe unless I forcefully swallow my saliva. So embarassing

It probably is. And it is in almost every population of people as well. About 50% will experience excessive anxiety and depression at one point during their lives.

It's highly complex, and I'm not sure if it's a project you should be partaking in. Lots of defense mechanisms are hard to navigate through. The best case would be to have a professional therapist at the case, so your job could be to motivate her for this. Assuming she has the issues we suspect, off course.

The symptoms increase when you are anxious? Could very well be anxiety canalised in the smooth muscle system - perhaps you should contact a professional to have a look at it? Especially if you have experienced a traumatic event, and are having problems in the aftermath of it.

>psychologytoday.com/blog/the-intuitive-parent/201605/us-schools-and-the-astounding-rise-in-adhd

Id rather not. I even remember some research that the majority of mental health problems fix themselves after some time.

What you guys are, are basically a modern inquisition. Extremely harmful to society.

Several psychotherapy disciplines incorporates meditation, so I can easily recommend you checking it out. It's harder than one think though, so keep practicing! Excessive ruminating about the past and worrying about the future puts your body in a constant fight or flight mode, and getting out of this spiral is very positive for your health.

Sounds like you have very high standards towards yourself? Who are you to judge whether other thoughts about you are real or not?:) Often when I meet patients having trouble taking compliments, it's about their self esteem and constant negative thoughts about themselves. Why are you being so hard towards the only person you got in your life (you)?

No bitch deserves to have that effect on you, user. Keep this in mind

>The best case would be to have a professional therapist at the case, so your job could be to motivate her for this
She's very proud and she can be very... uhm, she can be very 'closed' and stops conversations completely. How could I introduce that idea to her? Any suggestions?

>About 50% will experience excessive anxiety and depression at one point during their lives.
Interesting, I thought it would be much higher than that.

Do you know anything about small, uncontrollable twitches that develop when you are in an uncomfortable situation like talking to someone knew about a job interview or talking with someone on an extremely uncomfortable subject? Like cocking your head to the side at something someone said would usually be a smooth and quick motion, instead it is jittered like the muscles are rapidly clenching and unclenching in the span of a second? This may be an automatic response to pressure similar to another issue I've noticed that it is hard to maintain a positive, or even neutral facial expression and mannerisms. At the end of the day, the questions are: 1) is this a mark of some sort of issue with neurons, and 2) whether it is or isn't, how does one maintain control pr otherwise prevent that from happening?

I'm just recently overcoming my crippling anxiety and I've found I'm actually pretty competent at most things I put effort into and after nearly two decades of what I consider wasting away I feel like I'm worth so much more, but I don't know how to remedy it. It's an immediate reflex to just either freak out, mumble something, or outright disagree with their statement.

here
Symptom actually does intensify when I'm anxious. Symptom is always present though. I've been to a few doctors because I was sure this was sinusitis but they all said that it was just allergies producing mucus, one of them did say it was anxiety-depression and offered to prescribed psychotropic drugs, but I don't want to be a zombie.

Is there a correlation between anxiety and allergies?

Regardless what would be some good methods of reducing anxiety?

I hate it because I never really feel stressed or anxious at all. But then I can't breath right in occasions and constantly have that symptom of the feeling of something stuck in the back of my throat. It's like being tense but feel relaxed? My brain must be fucked..

Hmm. Why do you overeat? What are the triggers for binge-episodes? If its about regulating anxiety and/or difficult feelings you try to avoid, you have several options. For instance therapy. Or is it because you smoke weed or you try to bulk? Avoid having snacks and high calorie food in your home, and replace them with more healthy options.

Sounds like you sometimes experience high levels of anxiety, and you project your own thoughts towards other people (looks like they hate you etc). Is this anxiety related to social situations as in social phobia, or agoraphobia (afraid of big masses of people etc)?

Meaningful relationships are highly important for every human being walking this planet. That's why I keep talking about your friends with you:) Its a big difference between "having some friends" and having highly meaningful relationships where you can exchange your inner thoughts and feelings.

There are many people out there you can talk about these subjects with. I do it all the time, especially when we're high. Personally, I currently find meaning in nihilism, but it takes time to get there. Just don't ruminate about those difficult topics all by yourself, and you will be fine:)

Sounds like anxiety indeed. Does this also happen when you're out drinking? Most people deal with approach anxiety etc with alcohol, and gradually become habituated to the anxiety that comes whenever attracted to someone. Generally, the more girls you meet and hook up with, the less anxiety you'll experience. Or just try to describe your feelings if you get kind of close. Or just fake it til you make it.

well thanks for the advice. I'll try to figure out how to form meaningful relationships. hopefully the rest of the stuff will become clearer out of it.

Talking with patients about feelings and negative thoughts are extremely harmful to society? Citation needed etc. Where is all this anger coming from? I'd love to discuss empirical questions with you, but it usually takes a lot of time and I'd have to dig up sources. But I'll say this: every person I've ever met in this industry are highly empathic and motivated to help as many people experiencing difficulties as possible.

Many people are like that. But always remember that she's experiencing the same difficulties in life as every other person. Sorrow, anger and anxiety. Sounds like she's highly affect phobic, and avoids every topic about feelings possible. Have you tried to normalise having feelings, and not always being in top shape? Everybody experiences down periods every once in a while. Other than that, I'd try to motivate her for therapy.

The studies I'm referring to are from my country, and every country have different prevalence rates. And remember, I'm talking about symptoms so severe that you qualify for a diagnosis. Every person on earth experiences anxiety and depressive symptoms every now and then.

The twitches you describe sounds like tics. Perhaps you should read up on it?

I'm glad you're overcoming your anxiety, and finally seeing your positive qualities! I'm not sure if I see any question here, but do you ruminate over the lost years and opportunities? Have you let yourself feel and accept the sadness this awakes in you?

>Is there a correlation between anxiety and allergies?
I have no idea. Perhaps if the allergy makes breathing difficult (asthma etc), and you start worry about dying or how difficult it is to escape a situation?
>good methods of reducing anxiety?
There are several, but often they require therapy to incorporate in a good way. As self-help I'd recommend talking to someone you trust about how you feel, and the anxiety you experience. Everybody experiences anxiety every now and then, and many people deal with it by talking about it, and receiving other views on one's catastrophic thoughts/worries. And/or try meditation. Or be better with accepting your feelings in your body, and don't avoid them. Most people are phobic towards emotions, which make them anxious.

Okey guys, i really gotta go sleep before work tomorrow. It's been a pleasure, hope someone out there got something out of this. I'll come back after work if thread is still up.

A colleague from south europe sends you greetings

>Many people are like that. But always remember that she's experiencing the same difficulties in life as every other person. Sorrow, anger and anxiety. Sounds like she's highly affect phobic, and avoids every topic about feelings possible. Have you tried to normalise having feelings, and not always being in top shape? Everybody experiences down periods every once in a while. Other than that, I'd try to motivate her for therapy.
I understand, but I have no idea how to motivate her or how to bring the topic of therapy without
a) bringing another war between us -we got then every now and then and way more often that what I would like-
b) Her shutting everything down, avoiding conversation and simple keeping everything to herself with anger.

by the way, I appreciate your time and your messages.

It was interesting, thank you

For me it's a bit weird, given that sometimes I still feel depressed for the girl that I had a relationship that ended more than 1,5 years ago. So I just can't get over anyone, really. I think I need to see a therapist. Thanks for your help! You made me realize, that these things aren't caused by a disease - I just have to ask a therapist for help.

I hate talking about my feelings because I feel weak and stupid. So I bottle them up and turn to drugs and alcohol. I start to cry like a little bitch when I try to talk to someone about my issues. How can I prevent from doing this if I ever go see someone?

Not a psychiatrist but it sounds like you may hjave bottled them up a little too long. In a way, you're opening up now just here. It's through the interwebs, but does it matter much who you vent to?

I am a neuroscientist and psychology is a meme.

Hi guys so 4 years ago i had a panic attack while lifting weights and i sank into deep panic attack disorder that sent me to sadcunt mode and i stopt lifting. I got better with time infroming myself on anxiety and stuff, so lately i went back gyming 3 weeks in and my anxiety gets worse after every workout till i had a fullblown panic attack today that i had to cut my workout short and leave the gym asap. Been feeling not so well whole day...
Any help with this matter pls i just wanna be a sickcunt.
Ps: never got any professional help.

Big masses t.

Stay alive

I am afraid of everything and the smallest things make me extremely upset. If someone looks at me too long in the morning I will believe that something is wrong with me the whole day. Leaving the house is difficult for me because I am terrified of appearing weird.
This probably stems from back in school where the weird kids were mercilessly bullied out of school and I had my hands full not becoming one of the victims.
That's why I started working out and became a bit strong, I thought it would help my self confidence but it didn't.
What should I do?

Feeling like a whole new person after 1 year of weekly therapy. I feel so content with myself I just teared up. Now it's nothing but forward with self-improvement.

>Getting a bachelors degree in psychology
>actually doing something with your life
Have fun wasting your money on a useless degree

user who gives a shit about living forever. The secret is to make life so miserable that you happily embrace death