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Suggest Remedy For Mild Anxiety And Depression
Question: As per your advice, I am starting a new discussion Dr. XXXXXXX Sheppe.
I wasn't having any idea like what the counseling would be like. I just entered his office & started talking to the doctor. I told him what all I feel, why I feel shy etc. I dont remember what points /tips he told. I also do not remember the medicines that he had given. I just remember a few sentences which he had told like: "Boy, I dont know why u feel that u r not good looking. Just look at me. Am I good looking like you? Absolutely not. U have such a good smile, complexion, you will be a handsome man in a couple of years, then u will remember my words". Thats all I remember.
Doctor, I still feel that the speech problem is only because of my low confidence. Simple things like anxiety, depression /unhappiness about my own low confidence, shyness, self counciousness etc is the only cause.
Please would u give some medicines to come out of stress /depression /anxiety along with your tips so that I can gain back my confidence. Pls help.
I wasn't having any idea like what the counseling would be like. I just entered his office & started talking to the doctor. I told him what all I feel, why I feel shy etc. I dont remember what points /tips he told. I also do not remember the medicines that he had given. I just remember a few sentences which he had told like: "Boy, I dont know why u feel that u r not good looking. Just look at me. Am I good looking like you? Absolutely not. U have such a good smile, complexion, you will be a handsome man in a couple of years, then u will remember my words". Thats all I remember.
Doctor, I still feel that the speech problem is only because of my low confidence. Simple things like anxiety, depression /unhappiness about my own low confidence, shyness, self counciousness etc is the only cause.
Please would u give some medicines to come out of stress /depression /anxiety along with your tips so that I can gain back my confidence. Pls help.
Brief Answer:
Private Consultation
Detailed Answer:
Thank you for telling me about the psychiatrist visit in your youth. It sounds like he simply reassured you. This does not really get at the root of the problem. You can be the most handsome person in the world, but if you lack self-confidence you will still feel bad and doubt yourself. We need to understand why your self-confidence is so low. I think the answer to this lies in your childhood experiences that caused embarrassment or shame or a lack of confidence in yourself. It would be helpful if you could think of some of those experiences and tell me about them.
Regarding medicine, medicine will not help this problem. No medicine can improve self-confidence -- the only way to do this is to understand why you lack self-confidence, and then catch your brain when it starts to think derogatory things and to correct those thoughts when they happen. This is what we will do together.
Also, let me ask you some questions about your mood. Do you feel depressed? Has your sleep or appetite changed over the last several weeks? Do you find enjoyment in things you do? How is your energy level? How is your concentration on tasks? Do you feel guilty or worthless? Any suicidal thoughts? Answering these questions will be helpful.
Dr. Sheppe
Private Consultation
Detailed Answer:
Thank you for telling me about the psychiatrist visit in your youth. It sounds like he simply reassured you. This does not really get at the root of the problem. You can be the most handsome person in the world, but if you lack self-confidence you will still feel bad and doubt yourself. We need to understand why your self-confidence is so low. I think the answer to this lies in your childhood experiences that caused embarrassment or shame or a lack of confidence in yourself. It would be helpful if you could think of some of those experiences and tell me about them.
Regarding medicine, medicine will not help this problem. No medicine can improve self-confidence -- the only way to do this is to understand why you lack self-confidence, and then catch your brain when it starts to think derogatory things and to correct those thoughts when they happen. This is what we will do together.
Also, let me ask you some questions about your mood. Do you feel depressed? Has your sleep or appetite changed over the last several weeks? Do you find enjoyment in things you do? How is your energy level? How is your concentration on tasks? Do you feel guilty or worthless? Any suicidal thoughts? Answering these questions will be helpful.
Dr. Sheppe
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Arnab Banerjee
Doc, there is nothing much to tell about the childhood /teenage experience where I was shy. During teenage one will be shy I think & there were no embarrassing or shameful moments. I was just a shy teenager when I got pimples etc. That's all. While talking go girls, I used to be a little shy & conscious. That's it.
Well I wont be depressed always but sometimes I feel sad with no particular reason & mood swings. Like I enjoy all the activities but sometimes when I am alone having no work (Eg. weekend or holidays if my friends are busy in other things) I feel a little lonely & feel that they don't care me.
I sleep properly & I eat properly. No problem in these.
Coming to the medicine: You had replied in previous discussion that antidepressant such as Prozac, Zoloft, or Lexapro could be helpful in reducing anxiety in the long-term. So I asked, if medicines would help me now.
About my energy level: My energy level sometimes goes down.. for eg. when I login to my shift in office, the energy level that I will have while logging in might not be the same after an hour or two (I feel a little down & a little weak means like physically strained).
My concentration on the work I do is good. I don't feel guilty or worthless. No ideas of suicide. Never.
Well I wont be depressed always but sometimes I feel sad with no particular reason & mood swings. Like I enjoy all the activities but sometimes when I am alone having no work (Eg. weekend or holidays if my friends are busy in other things) I feel a little lonely & feel that they don't care me.
I sleep properly & I eat properly. No problem in these.
Coming to the medicine: You had replied in previous discussion that antidepressant such as Prozac, Zoloft, or Lexapro could be helpful in reducing anxiety in the long-term. So I asked, if medicines would help me now.
About my energy level: My energy level sometimes goes down.. for eg. when I login to my shift in office, the energy level that I will have while logging in might not be the same after an hour or two (I feel a little down & a little weak means like physically strained).
My concentration on the work I do is good. I don't feel guilty or worthless. No ideas of suicide. Never.
Brief Answer:
Private Followup
Detailed Answer:
I think there is probably more to say about your childhood and teenage years than you think. I notice that you are very quick to normalize your experiences, meaning you say nothing was really too bad or really that different from others. That may be true, but it is still important to examine your life for events that may have caused you to develop a pattern of thinking that leads you to feel self-conscious and embarrassed. Tell me more about your experiences with acne, as it seems this was actually very important to you. It led you to feel ashamed in front of women, and eventually you ended up seeing a psychiatrist about this issue. So it is probably significant to you.
Your symptoms as you just described do not meet criteria for major depression, meaning that you do not need medication for depression. You're right that I originally said your anxiety might benefit from an antidepressant -- but after gathering more information, it strikes me that your anxiety is rooted in poor self-esteem at times, which is something we treat with therapy rather than medications. It may still be true that an antidepressant like Lexapro (starting at 5mg and slowly increasing up to 20mg) may be of SOME benefit, but I think that benefit will be small compared to the benefit of ongoing psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral therapy.
So, tell me a bit more about when you developed acne, and most importantly, try to remember your EMOTIONAL reactions to it.
Dr. Sheppe
Private Followup
Detailed Answer:
I think there is probably more to say about your childhood and teenage years than you think. I notice that you are very quick to normalize your experiences, meaning you say nothing was really too bad or really that different from others. That may be true, but it is still important to examine your life for events that may have caused you to develop a pattern of thinking that leads you to feel self-conscious and embarrassed. Tell me more about your experiences with acne, as it seems this was actually very important to you. It led you to feel ashamed in front of women, and eventually you ended up seeing a psychiatrist about this issue. So it is probably significant to you.
Your symptoms as you just described do not meet criteria for major depression, meaning that you do not need medication for depression. You're right that I originally said your anxiety might benefit from an antidepressant -- but after gathering more information, it strikes me that your anxiety is rooted in poor self-esteem at times, which is something we treat with therapy rather than medications. It may still be true that an antidepressant like Lexapro (starting at 5mg and slowly increasing up to 20mg) may be of SOME benefit, but I think that benefit will be small compared to the benefit of ongoing psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral therapy.
So, tell me a bit more about when you developed acne, and most importantly, try to remember your EMOTIONAL reactions to it.
Dr. Sheppe
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Yogesh D
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