You feel like life is getting out of control. Can't you sleep, eat? Are you tormented by fears? You don't have the strength and desire to start another day? Consider visiting a psychiatrist - a specialist in the human psyche. Remember that this is a doctor like everyone else.
In our society, the dominant belief is that "normal" people do not go to a psychiatrist. It's not true!Psychiatristis someone who will help us in difficult, crisis situations, e.g. if we suffer frominsomnia ,anorexiaor bulimia. But also when we cannot get over the loss of a loved one. And more and more people understand it. Although - to seek the advice of a psychiatrist - you need courage. After all, it's not easy to admit to a problem, and even harder to ask a stranger for help. But this specialist understands it well and will be able to talk to us. Sometimes a few visits are enough to see the whole problem in a different light and bounce off the bottom. People who have serious he alth problems also often need consultations and support from a psychiatrist. Most diseases, especially chronic ones, can cause - and usually causes - changes in the psyche.
First visit to a psychiatrist
This is primarily a conversation worth getting ready for. You will have to tell about yourself and your problems. When did they start, how do they manifest themselves, do they affect e.g. sleep, appetite, memory. The doctor will certainly adapt the questions to the problem that he will try to solve together with you. There will also be questions seemingly unrelated to your troubles, but for a doctor, answering them may play a huge role. So don't be surprised when he asks about family home, childhood, school age, adolescence, professional and personal life. Sometimes he may also ask someone close to you to speak to him.
ImportantMental disordersmay be caused, among others, by by: acute infection, e.g. typhoid fever, poisoning, e.g. with methyl alcohol, carbon monoxide, technical oils, oxygen deficiency, drugs (e.g. steroids or some blood pressure lowering agents promote depression), vitamin deficiencies (e.g. deficiency of B1 in alcoholics) leads to psychosis; B2 deficiency causes depressed mood, psychomotor slowing down; too little vitamin B12 causes sleepiness, and even delusions and dementia), vitamin overdose (too much vitamin Ais responsible for excessive emotional excitability, tearfulness, loss of appetite, excess D causes weakness, insomnia, sensory hypersensitivity), chronic pain, noise and vibrations, treatments (causes of postoperative psychosis).
Psychiatrist - the path to diagnosis
After the initial consultation, many psychiatrists refer patients to additional psychological tests that help in making an accurate diagnosis. The doctor may also ask for an opinion from an internist or neurologist. He or she may also order basic blood tests, urine tests, etc. to get a more complete picture of your he alth condition. In many cases, an X-ray of the skull or a CT scan of the head, which is considered the most important neuroradiological examination, must also be performed. Its advantage is not only good visualization of the skull structures, fluid spaces, but also the brain tissue. In special cases, brain MRI or EEG is performed.
Psychiatric treatment
Once the diagnosis is made, which is not always easy in psychiatry, the doctor recommends appropriate treatment. Pharmacological therapy is often combined with appropriate psychotherapy - individual or group. Sometimes it is enough to select one method.
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