Talking To Doctor About Brain Things Help

Discussion in 'Braaaaiiiinnnns...' started by Camber, Aug 6, 2019.

  1. Camber

    Camber Active Member

    (posted this in Advice then realised Relevant Forum. sadly I do not know how to delete the other thread. sorry for redundancy!)

    My tangled up anxious brain nonsense has finally affected a thing that means I'm forced to actually get it diagnosed or registered or Something that means I can show it to my university and say 'hey, I'm not just doing this for kicks'. I've talked to a therapist about it before but not a doctor (in this case it would be a GP), and not well or clearly.

    Any tips for how to talk about sensitive and scary brain stuff to a doctor with the aim of them... I guess writing down 'sounds legit'? Ideally I would also love to get an idea from them of whether I should look into an ADHD diagnosis, but since regular appointments are about 15 minutes that's secondary. When I think about it clearly it's obvious this isn't something I'm making up but I tend to try really hard to persuade myself otherwise right before this kind of stuff.

    tl;dr: any tips or relevant experience on getting a doctor to tell you what's up with you brainwise, and put it down on official paper?
     
    Last edited: Aug 6, 2019
  2. latitans

    latitans zounds, scoob

    The best advice I’ve ever gotten is to make a list of what you want to convey to the doctor before you go in. The basic list items can be things like:
    • why you are coming in (i.e a description of how you’re feeling, what problems you’ve been having, etc.)
    • how long you’ve been having the issues—this one is important because the doc will often ask how long you’ve been feeling this way, and i always find myself blanking on it when I’m up on the crinkly paper chair
    • how the issues are affecting your life—this is the most critical thing on the list
    • what types of treatments you’d be open to, or any that you’re not comfortable with.
    • questions that you have for the doc about next steps, etc.
    Making list helps you organize your thoughts before you go in, and having the list helps you get the most out of your visit when you have a limited amount of time. I have a tendency to deflect, minimize, or just straight up blank out in the doctor’s office, and having a list makes it easier for me to explain what’s actually going on and get the treatment I need.
     
    • Useful x 2
  3. Camber

    Camber Active Member

    @latitans - having a sort of list to base my list off is really useful! I never know how to talk about how mental health is affecting my life without just sounding like I'm complaining, but I guess it's more important to actually communicate it than to, idk, get my GP to think I'm Brave or whatever. thank you!
     
  4. hyrax

    hyrax we'll ride 'till the planets collide

    fyi you could report the other thread and ask the mods to move it if you'd like!
     
  5. Camber

    Camber Active Member

    Oh! I’ll do that. Thanks!
     
  6. hyrax

    hyrax we'll ride 'till the planets collide

  7. Chiomi

    Chiomi Master of Disaster

    FYI I moved the posts from the other thread.

    Also, you could talk to your school's disability office? If getting things addressed by a doctor is big and scary and a barrier, they can maybe help you navigate that.
     
    • Useful x 1
  8. Camber

    Camber Active Member

    Thank you very much!

    I wrote a list as suggested and found someone to drop me there & it really helped, and now I have the letter I needed. I’ll keep that in mind though!
     
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