Im realizing i have a social anxiety disorder and its really holding me back from having a job and enjoying my life. Should i go to a psychiatrist or is there medication that helps with this instead.
2007-10-31 10:55:48 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ Mental Health
hi- I have social anxiety disorder and depression also. I go see a psychiatrist once a month for med checks. YES, it helps. They just see how everything is going with the medications. I am also in Cognitive Beharvioral Therapy. (CBT) with a psychologist once a week. Together they go great!!! I am on Effexor for depression, Klonopin for anxiety, and Seroquel for sleep. I have tried many others, but I like these the best. Overall, I would go to a psychiatrist first. They might recommend you to a psychologist for therapy. They like to help people. Good Luck! ;-)
2007-10-31 11:02:21 · answer #1 · answered by 777 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Yes, and Yes.
The response from "121" is not true - psychiatrists most certainly do do therapy, although some specialize in medication management.
A psychiatrist would have the most expansive and up-to-date knowledge of psychotropic medications, although a generalist can prescribe them. However, they tend to use the most-common meds and sometimes don't know how to manage a more treatment-resistant case.
Therapy can be done by a psychiatrist, a psychologist, or a social worker and they would probably tend to have different approaches to therapy, even within those specialties.
Good luck.
2007-10-31 21:46:26 · answer #2 · answered by MomSezNo 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Those two things you mentioned are one and the same...psychiatrists rarely do much else besides prescribe a medication. And there are some really good meds out there for anxiety. Most are under the SSRI class (Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, etc). But you will likely get more help from seeing a therapist than anything. They can be called a psychologist, which might have been what you meant in the first place. They should be your first line of defense. Good luck.
2007-10-31 18:00:59 · answer #3 · answered by Jules, E, and Liam :) 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
It depends on what you want.
If you want somebody to talk to you about what motivates you, how you feel about certain things and so on; go to a psychologist or counselor.
If you want medications to work directly with your symptoms go to a psychiatrist.
Personally, I would rather just go to a psychiatrist. I have been to both and I think the medication is more useful to me.
2007-10-31 19:47:25 · answer #4 · answered by majnun99 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
a psychiatrist prescribes medication, a psychologist doesn't, you should try going to a psychologist first to be assessed, then if need be they will refer you to a psychiatrist.
2007-10-31 18:43:56 · answer #5 · answered by oldwise1 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You should see a psychologist. A psychiatrist can do nothing for you.
2007-10-31 19:24:42 · answer #6 · answered by Susas 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No stay away from the meds. Very dangerous your better going to see a psychologist who can help give you tools to deal with your issues. Stay away from antidepressants. look at wikipedia antidepressant controversy and law suite part. Also go to www.paxilprogress.org which help people who have had horrible side effects from meds. See a psychologist who can help you sort out your problems and give you tools to change them.
2007-10-31 18:11:25 · answer #7 · answered by killer kitty 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
yes it does and there is such a thing as a Christian counselor. may not be easy to find but well worth it .
2007-10-31 18:06:51 · answer #8 · answered by jhurd67 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋