My psychiatrist says only medication will work -and I will need it for life?

Hi! I have a psychiatrist who may be called a "realist"- and says nothing will help to improve my social phobia apart from continued use of an SSRI.



She thinks there is no use to continue or increase cognitive or behavioral therapy. What it comes down to is that my social anxiety can hardly be lessend or shifted. It is stuck solid like a tree. Accourding to her the only thing I needed is continued supply of a SSRI.



Now this story is more complicated: I also have PDD-NOS, a disorder on the autistic spectrum. This is generaly believed to be incurable at this time. My psychiatrist believes that the PDD-NOS makes treating the social phobia impossible.



Analogy:

It is like the social phobia is having one broken leg and the PDD-NOS a broken arm. Trying to help someone move with crutches (CBT) is impossible if you have a broken arm.



Do you agree that medication is the only thing I need?My psychiatrist says only medication will work -and I will need it for life?
Where to begin? Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is THE choice of treatment for social phobia, not medication--though you should NOT simply take yourself off medication without the supervision of a physician. In fact, in many individuals medication may be contraindicated once they begin therapy as the effects of the meds will interfere with the social exposures. You need to find a qualified, licensed psychologist who specializes in anxiety disorders. You've got several ways to do this: check out your local university's psychology department (that's usually where the experts are), try ADAA's website to find a psychologist, try ABCT's website to find a psychologist.



As for the PDD-NOS, what merited the NOS? Severe social symptoms? From that standpoint it may be a social skills deficit in addition to social phobia (not uncommon). There is actually a growing literature on the use of CBT for anxiety in those with intellectual and developmental disabilities (though it is still a very specialized area).



As for the CBT being provided, I'm guessing that's being done by the psychiatrist??? As a general rule, they're not really trained to do that, at least not to the same degree as a psychologist. Think of it this way, you have psychiatrists (medical doctors, meds) and psychologists (diagnosis and therapy). When working together as a team, they can be an effective combination, but by themselves psychiatrists are not sufficiently trained in non-medical treatments and psychologists aren't in medication/medical issues (in fact psychologists can only prescribe in 2? states and then only after completing a great deal of additional training).



Final words, take heart. You're seeing the wrong psychiatrist and need to find a good psychologist.
If medication were all you needed, it would be cured.



There is an experiment you could do; it is harmless. The next time your phobia manifests, just this one time, let yourself experience the depths of it.



Stay with fear, anxiety, whatever.... and let it be felt 100%. You've run from it, and it chases you. Stop, and it stops.My psychiatrist says only medication will work -and I will need it for life?
Take your doctors advice darling. Living on this medication is nothing to be ashamed of. Stop worrying and accept it, love yourself and move on do your best to enjoy your life. Your life will improve, lots of people are on different medications for life for different reasons you just happen to be one of them and it's ok. x
As a psychologist, I can tell you that you're psychiatrist is wrong. I urge you to see another psychiatrist. If a person does not want to take medication, then other forms of therapy should be persued. Social phobias are very common (you didn't say if you were diagonsed with Social Anxiety Disorder or not...), and they are very curable without medications. Your other disorder will make it harder, yes. But if you are willing to put the work into it, then your psychiatrist should be willing also. Seek out a new psychiatrist. Increase your cognitive behavioral therapy, because CBT has been proved to work wonders on social anxiety. In addition, I would suggest that you talk to another psychiatrist about group therapy for social anxiety. That way, you're in a room with others who feel just like you do in social situations. All of you know how it feels, so it's a much more comforting environment. It's been found that it greatly helps difficult social anxiety patients, since they can slowly acclimate themselves in the group situation, then eventually in other non-group situations. There are other opportunities to resort to before you resort to medication. Your psychiatrist should be as dedicated to you as you are to him. But this guy isn't backing you, so find a psychiatrist that does, one that will be supportive of your decision not to take medications and one that will help you find alternate means of treatment. There are always other options for treatment, and it is ridiculous that your psychiatrist is unwilling to pursue other option. As a psychiatrist, I would never recommend medication for life unless someone were a danger to themselves or others! It's just unheard of. Please find a more reputable psychiatrist, not one who simply wants to let medication do his work for him instead of pursuing CBT or group therapy. Good luck, and message me if you have any questions!My psychiatrist says only medication will work -and I will need it for life?
Medication won't cure you. It's sweeping the problems under the rug. You can't take one person's opinion in any situation. Do you really want to be dependant on medication for the rest of your life? Is medication the only thing you need? I think you already know the answer to that from previous things you have told me. You are a smart man, you can make the wiser decision on what will be best for you in the long run. Regardless of what you decide, do NOT take one person's opinion on anything. When I was trying to get medicated for anxiety and depression, I went to one doctor to get a prescription for Xanex, and he told me that that is one med he will NOT prescribe to people, because of it's addictiveness and side effects. I went somewhere else, and another doctor told me Xanex is a wonderful drug that he thought could really help me, and prescribed it to me. I have not been medicated in years, because of the negative effects of the drugs. Xanex actually made the problems worse, because I was so out of it, I was constantly worried about how I was acting and coming across to people, it intensified my anxiety. I learned from experience that you cannot take one doctors word for anything.



You already know my thoughts on the subject, but Medication is only a treatment, not a cure. People give up on themselves, and so doctors give up on them.The truth is,you cant help someone who does not want to help themselves, and who chooses to take the easiest way out. That's why so many psychiatrists just dish out as much medications as these people want, because they KNOW that there is no helping this person because they have lost the desire to battle it alone. It makes the person satisfied, and the doctor gets paid, and everyone is happy. Until that person decides to get off the meds, that is......



I understand the necessity that some people have for medication. It CAN be a good tool for some who need that crutch, for them to lean on while going through the healing process, but that's all it should be intended for.
I am suprised your psychiatrist gave you that advice because the most effective treatment for social phobia is medication and cognitive-behavioral therapy together. I have no experience with PDD-NOS at the same time as social phobia, so I may be incorrect.



I am sure medication is extremely helpful, but it is hard to believe that looking at your thoughts during an attack to change them would not be helpful to you at all.
Medication IS the only answer. It sounds like you have a smart psychiatrist. There is no way that any type of talk therapy will change your brain makeup. Medication will not cure you but will make life a lot easier.
Medication can certainly help with the problem of the chemical imbalance. However, in my opinion, and my fathers as well, it won't help with some of the psychological side of things. In many cases, anxiety is not only caused by a chemical imbalance, but also by some sort of trauma in your past. Often, talking through what has bothered you in the past will help. I'd really recommend finding another therapist. I have severe social anxiety as well, and one thing my doc did was to take me out in public, sort of an immersion therapy type of situation.

Best of luck to you!
This is absolute bull! You can overcome it on your own!

I did! I had it until I was 24 years old. For the past six years I have been free of it.

It used SSRI's but those things just messed up my mind.



Dr. Thomas Szaz speaks out against psychiatry:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj7GmeSAxXo%26amp;mode=related%26amp;search=



Psychiatry: An Industry of Death

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPUHUpfDVgY



Psych Ward Horrors:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eJmcP5Yml8%26amp;mode=related%26amp;search=



Psychiatry Exposed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b30iwhEw9ho%26amp;mode=related%26amp;search=



Psychiatry. Voting on Diseases:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hy79C0v8elE%26amp;mode=related%26amp;search=



Psychiatry is a fake science. Proof:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwP2PP8CU0Y



Psychiatric victims speak out:



http://www.cchr.org/index.cfm/8771

http://breggin.com

http://sntp.net



The myth of chemical imbalance

http://www.drugsandyourmind.com/chembal.html