I Think I Need Psychological Help

In My Humble Opinion
1

Alright, where to start… I don’t like who I am. I hate almost everything about myself. I’ve never really been happy. And I was able to ignore it all this time. I was able to just sail through life and pretend everything is ok. Well I can’t anymore. It really has built up and I wake up feeling like shit every day. I’m barely able to talk to or hang out with my friends. I’m very quickly losing touch with the world and with myself. Basically I’m finally able to admit that I have a serious problem and I should seek professional help.

Here’s the thing. I quit my job a few months ago so I don’t have any medical insurance. I have some money saved up. But I don’t want to spend thousands of dollars if I don’t have to. This is where I could really use some advice because I have absolutely zero experience with psychologists. How much does the average psychologist charge per hour? How much do meds cost (assuming I need to take any)? And more importantly, what financial aid can I seek for either of these?

Also I would really appreciate it if any of you could share success stories with me. I could really use a pick-me-up right now.

2

I’m sorry that you’re having a hard time. I strongly urge you to seek assistance in your community. Call your hospital and/or a local college and/or your local crisis support hotline and ask them for low-cost referrals. There’s probably a clinic or agency that offers low-cost services for people without insurance.

The cost of therapy/counseling and medication is going to depend on what you need. The best way to find this out is to get to some services going.

Best of luck!

3

Various stores, including Wal-Mart, are selling prescription drungs for $5 a bottle.

These are generics, but I’ll bet there are generics that could help. Ask an MD.

4

This thread is on shaky ground, so let’s keep all responses to relating experiences and not any off-the-cuff diagnoses or medical advice.

5

If you are in the United States, and the closer to a larger metropolitian area the better, then chances are there are at least a few mental health clinics that provide services on a sliding scale basis. Clinics that provide services on a slide scale may also provide services free of charge. You can begin by contacting your local area Department of Health, and most telephone books may have a listing for Social Services in the “blue page” section.

Also, if you are a legal resident of the United States, then I would also encourage you to apply for Medical Assistance (although most “free” clinics can assist you in doing this, especially if you have a diagnosis of any type of mental illness, depression included). In several states, Medical Assistance (Medicaid) may cover treatment for depression or other mental illnesses, as well as needed prescriptions. (This will, of course, vary from state to state, and from individual to individual.)

Good luck with your situation.

6

There are sliding scale clinics. Look in your phone book for local mental health resources. You can call them and if they do not offer a sliding scale payment plan, they can recommend who else to try.

I’ve had depression, anxiety, full-blown panic attacks and agoraphobia. I wouldn’t presume to guess at what your troubles are, but a good thing to keep in mind is that very few of our problems in this arena are unique. What might make you feel very lonely and peculiar is very likely something that a professional sees 5 days a week.

I am worlds away from how I was a few years ago - very, very much better. Even deciding to seek treatment and taking steps to address the issue is empowering.

Best of luck to you.

7

Another vote for community mental health resources. Here in Rhode Island, there are several community mental health agencies (Newport, East Bay, West Bay, Kent County, Woonsocket, Providence, Pawtucket etc. in our case. I mention that to give you a clue on how to look where you live.), each serving a geographic region. You may have similar resources where you live. They provide several levels of care. If you don’t have insurance or medicare they can either help you with sliding scale fees or refer you to someone who can. As for generic drugs being available for $5 per bottle as Bosda indicated I tend to doubt that’s true - it may be true that that is the copayment for generics, but you obviously need insurance for copayments to apply. Also where I live the local psychiatric hospital has Residents who will see the occasional individual patient at a lower fee than the going rate. There may be something like that near where you live as well.

8

In a lot of communities you can get a referral to a mental health specialist through the United Way. They’ll work on a sliding scale.

The thing to note is that this isn’t an instant process and it may take you several therapists to find one that works for you. Myself, I like behavioral therapists much better than the “lets dig through your childhood” type - the ones that work with me to change my behavior and attitude today seem to give ME better results, than the ones that listen to me and then say “where do you think that comes from?”

9

To follow up on Dangerosa’s mention of the United Way:
Most states have adopted 211 as the “first call for help” number. Here’s a website with more info:

Note the 211 Finder on the bottom right.

10

I’m really sorry to hear about your problems.

I would suggest you read up on depression and find out more about it, it helps to know what exactly is wrong with you, and then, of course, try to seek help.

What can I say? I know it’s easy to talk, and I am not you, but try to force yourself to go out with your buddies, maybe even tell them how you feel, regardless of how hard it is to express yourself, let others help you out.

If you have friends, then obviously not all about you is bad. Seek reinforcement. It was very wise of you to make this post.

I really hope you have the best of luck, keep at it. :slight_smile:

11

Thanks for all the advice so far. Yes I’m a U.S. Citizen and I live in Southern California. Sorry I should have made that clear to begin with.

There’s a big part of me that doesn’t want to go through with this. It’s the same part of me that stops me from succeeding. Stops me from taking big risks (or any risks for that matter). For whatever reason I have a huge fear of the unknown. It controls me and clouds my mind. I guess the irony here is that in order for me to see a psychiatrist to fix this problem, I first have to overcome the problem…

Also I want to make it clear I am in no way asking for a diagnoses. I have no clue what’s wrong with me and I sure as hell am not going to diagnose myself with something I read on the internet.

12

Yes, and most classic self-help books can be lent for free at the library. They’ve been around for decades and have helped most people. At least these books might help you to find some words for your problems.

13

I had some of the same issues in my past with a vague fear of well, everything really. It was an all consuming thing, more so because I didn’t think any other person in the whole wide world had a clue what it felt like or what I was going through. finally one day I just broke down and talked to an aunt I was always close to, and I was amazed to find out she went through the same thing at my age!

Life is much better, much better, now for me than previously. Just take a chance and start talking to those closest to you. Friends, family, whoever. Just talk. Things are less scary and big when you just get them out there and share the burden.

And as everyone here has said, look in the phone books, call your local health dept. for a list of professionals if you need it. Just do it, you will be amazed at what a few conversations can do for you.

Good luck!!

14

Slurm Factory,

I am so very sorry that you’re dealing with such pain, but there are a couple of things that I want you to know: first, that admitting that something isn’t right was an extraordinary act of courage on your part (there are so many people who never get that far); and secondly, it *is * possible for you to get better.

I can’t really add anyting to what others have said so far, so I’ll just reiterate: call your department of health, and call local colleges and universities and find out where you can obtain low-cost, free, or sliding scale assistance. Hopefully, one of these avenues will allow you to get the help you need. And shame, shame, **shame ** on this g.d. country for not giving a damn about healthcare, to say nothing of mental health, which it treats like an ugly stepchild. I believe, however, that you’ll be able to find a way to get the help you need despite this obstacle.

I would encourage you to consider letting your friends in on what’s happening, even though I know how difficult that can be. I mean, friendships can be strange, and we never know until there’s a real crisis whether our friend–not to mention our families–will embrace us or keep their distance. It can be difficult to open yourself up fully to people when you suspect/think that they might ultimately dissapoint you, I know, but perhaps you can steel yourself to try. You might be surprised at the kind of support you’ll get.

As for your job… . Well, I don’t know if what you’re experiencing had any hand to play in your decision to quit, but if it did, perhaps you might be able to look for something that you want to do, as opposed to something that you think you *need * to do. Whatever the case may be job-wise, I definitely encourage you to, if at all possible, engage yourself in activities that make you feel good.

Most importantly, though, **definitely ** seek the help that you need. And do it now. And know that it’s not just you.

And please know that, even though we’re just a community of strangers on the internet, we *are * real people–as are you–and we really do wish you well.

–Li’l Pluck, who himself has just recently realized that something hasn’t been right for a long time, and who is in the process of seeking professional help. And though he’s not amused that it’s taken him until he’s in extraordinarily grave academic danger to do so, he knows that he’s going to be okay. Wishing the same for you! :slight_smile:

15

Just some terms that might help:

Psychiatrist: MD who specializes in psychiatric illnesses and who can prescribe.

Psychologist: PhD or Master’s level person who does psychotherapy. Psychologists are cheaper than psychiatrists and can help your primary physician with recommending meds. IMHO (although I am a psychologist and therefore biased), I think starting with a psychologist makes sense.

Also, most universities that have a PhD program will have a low cost clinic. You will see a graduate student, but s/he will be well supervised.

16

Thanks, Brynda. I’ll add that psychologists may also have an EdD or PsyD degree rather than a PhD, and that if you’re going to see a counselor or therapist of any kind, the degree isn’t enough–you want one who’s licensed to practice in California.

17

I thought you had to have a PhD or PsyD to call yourself a psychologist. But lots of people do psychotherapy with an MA in Counseling, an EdD in Counselor Education, or an MSW. I’ve found very little correlation between the quality of service and the degree the person holds. It is much more important to find someone who is a good fit for you. It might be a psychiatrist with advanced training in Freudian analysis, or it might be an LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker).

OTOH, it is rather rare in most places to find MDs who do psychotherapy. Most psychiatrists just see you to prescribe and monitor meds while you’re getting therapy from another source.

18

If you don’t mind me asking, what part of SoCal do you live in? Here’s what I’d do. UCLA and UCI have studies on depression often and I always see them advertising for subjects. You’d get paid for it too. You can also find localized support groups/organizations like these or this.

If all else fails, sign up for 12 units at a local community college so that you are a registered student and seek mental health there. It will cost you about $250 but you can get your money back if you drop out after a few weeks. You can take fun classes which always help me when I am depressed.

19

Ack, part of my post went missing. If you are under 24, your parents income will be factored into your financial aid if you decide to go the community college route. If you are over 24, then you will everything but $19 covered if you have under 16k. I don’t know how difficult it is to get financial aid above 16k because I’ve never made more than that, but if you go in and talk to the financial aid office, I am sure they would be willing to help you. I suggest the cc route because I found that having little things to look forward to really helped me a lot. When I was in the hospital for severe depression they made us attend “classes” where we worked on various projects. I made bird feeders and ceramic cats. At my local cc you can take “Baking Basics,” “Ceramics Fundamentals,” and other classes that are non-major specific and good for novices. If you are worried about the cost of a cc, then you can join free classes at various locations. For example, at a nature preserve near here, they offer bird watching classes for free. I’ve found that forcing yourself to get out of the house and do things is a very good way to help fight depression.

20

Sometimes exercise can make you feel a little better, especially if you can get some fresh air at the same time.

If a university near you has a medical school, psychiatrists will often see patients for a greatly lowered fee.

I was diagnosed with depression. In my case it caused life to seem to go in slow motion and I felt like I was wrapped in cotton gauze. I was very confused and it was hard for me to concentrate. And I couldn’t lift a finger to do anything about it. I even quit talking for a while.

Medication has been of incredible benefit to me – especially prozac. About three weeks after I starting taking it, I felt a great weight drop away from me. It was if the real me was finally emerging. I was much stronger than I had ever dreamed I could be.

You are very fortunate that you are aware there is a problem. Sometimes illnesses can affect that part of the brain that makes judgment calls. It’s good to be checked out.

Whatever you do, don’t be hard on yourself. Something like what you are feeling is not your fault or a sign of weakness or a character flaw. And it probably won’t mean seeing a professional more than once a week or maybe even once a month. That’s how often I see my doctor.

Whatever it costs, the price has to be paid. Even your regular doctor may be able to help.

Keep in touch. Someone here is always willing to talk with you when you need to.