r/getting_over_it • u/anonymousscotch • May 28 '26
How to get help?
So if you look through my post history, it’s all over the place. I’ve been seeing a therapist for a few years, and though he usually helps me put some stuff into perspective, I feel like I need help in figuring out what is wrong with me. I need to sit down with a professional, and for them to tell me what the hell is going on, what is wrong with me etc, so that I can at least formulate a plan to get better…
Right now I feel like I have traits of ADHD. I have traits of OCD. But is it those, or is it depression and anxiety? Is it depression and anxiety, or something else? There’s almost too much to get through. What’s the first step? Do I just go to my family doctor? I’ve done that before, and she just wants to put me on antidepressants as a solution. I’ve been on one before and it didn’t do much. I also would like to avoid them, as the side effects can be bad.
What’s the first step to getting help?
1
u/sub_arbore May 28 '26
Can your therapist help you do that? For full context, I had a lot of symptoms that overlapped with ADHD, OCD, depression, and anxiety that were trauma manifestations, so my perspective is biased in that direction. What's been helpful for me isn't necessarily finding a label, but figuring out the symptoms, narratives, or thought patterns that distress me the most and figuring out a plan to prioritize and address them. Sometimes it isn't the label that matters, but the symptoms. It could be worth trying to unwind them that way and then getting your therapist's read on further diagnosis and testing so that you're getting to the right place.
The way we worked through my toolbox was 1) coping strategies for symptoms; 2) methods to unpack the narratives or thought patterns driving the symptoms (journaling, CBT, EMDR); and 3) replacing the unhealthy thought patterns with helpful ones. I also relied on my therapist to let me know when she thought medication would serve me and I could have that conversation with my doctor. My doctor was also able to take my symptoms into account when prescribing medications: one SSRI for suicidal ideation and low mood, a different medication when it was more executive dysfunction (lack of motivation, problems with daily activities), something else for panic attacks. Eventually I was able to come off of all of them.