If I cannot help myself then no one can help me
This destructive opinion is shared particularly by many men. It is associated with the often-found belief that a man who admits having problems, gives a signal that he is weak.
To maintain the imperative of being a strong man, men have denial strategies such as workaholism, alcoholism, sex addiction, gambling, drugs, etc. Showing weakness is associated with risk of being exposed to ridicule and rejection. Expressing and sharing one’s emotions can be considered a weakness. As a result of this, suppressing and denial of emotions in daily functioning often takes place and resorting to more and more desperate and less effective attempts to deal with problems rationally and intellectually.
Family factors can play important role here, in which seeking help and support was associated with experiencing constant disappointment and rejection and sometimes even shaming and humiliation.
A visit to a psychiatrist is admitting my life’s failure
Such a belief has many destructive meanings. It may result from the assumption that all problems should be dealt with completely independently. Reaching out for help can be viewed as a general failure. On the other hand, life can bring many things that often cause feelings of helplessness and being lost. Mental suffering can be kept inside, hidden and pretending to the outside world there is nothing wrong. However, the costs associated with this over time increasingly affects our functioning. Unresolved problems will remain, and they will be likely to torment us more and more.
Obviously, there is a difference between a trivial problem, which will disappear if you ignore it, and one that requires attention and resolution. Most people do not have difficulty telling the difference, but a lot of people make light of them and dismiss them, ignoring of them which can be detrimental. Seeking help for oneself may be delayed and put off, which in some situations cause the exacerbation of the condition or the other way round – more chronic nature, the risk of complications and even life-threatening conditions, (such as depression, psychosis and mental anorexia.)
Contacting a psychiatrist can be a simple way to look after one’s own health and better life quality, an attempt to improve your own functioning in the face of irritating and unpleasant mental ailments. It can be a kind of new opening in life and sign of modern thinking to take advantage of different resources which are available to us.
Meeting with a psychiatrist is complete giving up on your own affairs
For many people, coming to terms with the fact that they cannot deal with something remains very difficult.
Difficulties in realizing their plans and tasks cause feelings of threat, fear, hurt, feeling of guilt or anger. The feelings experienced are, on the one hand a source of suffering, they are a sign that life is not working out. On the other hand, these feelings are source of energy to remove obstacles we meet on our way. The feeling of discomfort associated with failures causes a sense of anguish, but simultaneously it is also a stimulus to remove this discomfort. It motivates to different than former activities, which may help more in overcoming the problem.
In other words, sense of helplessness could be such a stage in life, which may release new energy to deal with problems. In this context, contact with a specialist could be useful temporary support for his expertise and experience.
My depression is just a whim and temporary breakdown
This belief may result from lack of knowledge or understanding or downplaying the problems. Colloquially, depression is often defined as brief, fleeting state of sadness or low spirits. In medical terms, depression includes a set of symptoms, including low mood, low activity, sleep disorder, anxiety, depressive assessment of the past and future; losing the will to live, decreased interests and withdrawing from life. These symptoms cannot be treated lightly, especially if they are accompanied by suicidal thoughts and attempts, which can be life-threatening.
It is worth knowing that approximately 10% of adults within a year experience longer lasting depressive mood disorder. Even though some of those people can deal with depression on their own, it does not change the fact that depressive disorders belong to the most common health problems. If we consider the consequences of depression, the rank of depression can be compared to other diseases which are dealt with by modern medicine (cardiovascular diseases, inflammatory and degenerative diseases of muscle- skeletal system, cancers.)
For several years, almost all developed European countries, have seen significant increase in the number of people treated for depression.
If someone has anorexia it is enough to get a grip and start eating normally
Anorexia nervosa is a serious disorder which requires intensive and long-term treatment with the help of various specialists. One of the symptoms of anorexia nervosa is a strong fear of gaining weight. This fear has sometimes paralysing force when trying to eat meals. Dealing with the problem of anorexia is complex and goes far beyond a simple advice concerning eating meals.
The destructive meaning of this myth, often present in the families of the people affected or those surrounding them it is that it influences the decision to stop treatment and subsequently end up suffering and dealing with the illness on their own. The family sometimes only after a few years admits they are not able to help a sick person. This sometimes happens when the symptoms are already advanced and well established.
With neurosis you go to a neurologist
Neuroses are mental disorders, in which a standard treatment is psychotherapy that provides a lasting and effective cure. The use of drugs is supplementary and supports the basic treatment. On the other hand, a neurologist is a specialist in the diagnosis and treatment of illnesses of the nervous system (for instance facial neuritis, sciatic nerve damage, vascular diseases of the brain, infectious diseases of nervous system, etc.) A neurologist, as specialist in his field, may not possess adequate knowledge concerning the diagnosis and treatment of neurotic disorders, the principles concerning using psychotropic drugs, the ability to use qualified psychotherapy. Many patients use the help of doctors of other specialities before they reach a psychiatrist. They get superficial, symptomatic help which can be often ineffective. Sometimes it can happen that a person with anxiety or depressive ailments is prescribed the wrong medication or incorrect dosage. The excessively frequent use of benzodiazepine drugs is a problem among neurologists and GPs and in the long run can cause addiction and difficulties in coming off them.
Are psychotropic drugs addictive?
There are various groups of psychotropic drugs. Some of them belonging to the group of benzodiazepines or to the group of hypnotic drugs are indeed likely to cause addiction if taken for too long. Hypnotics belonging to the benzodiazepine group, can be used relatively safely for a period of 4 weeks. Practice shows that after approximately 2 weeks of taking, some of the sleeping pills become less effective. In anxiety ailments, treatment with benzodiazepine drugs lasts on average 4-6 weeks, only in completely exceptional cases more than over 8 weeks.
In relation to other drugs – such as antidepressants, neuroleptic drugs or normothymic drugs – there are no such restrictions. They can be taken for any length of time without the risk of addiction. That is, at any time, after agreeing with the doctor, the drug can be gradually withdrawn. Sudden, too fast withdrawal can sometimes cause unpleasant symptoms, but it doesn’t mean constant obligation to take such drugs.
