How To Get Diagnosed With Clinical Disorders

Hello peeps, lately a number of people have been asking me how to have an appointment with the psychiatrist. I can understand this as I did not understand the process as well, but as I have been through numerous of assessment, appointment and therapy, I somehow feel obligated to enlighten you on how to approach the psychiatrist and get diagnosed with clinical disorders. 

I would like to remind you that this is not only for you, but also for people around you who might need this. So, stop overusing the word 'depression' , 'ocd' , instead go and get diagnosed with the expert. That would be a wise choice my friend! 

1. Normal Clinic

The first thing you need to do is go to any normal clinic nearby. Then, it might be a difficult process for you, but remind yourself YOU NEED TO BE HELPED. Tell the doctor what is happening, how many weeks you have not been sleeping, how miserable you are, how restless you are. Tell him about your thoughts, what do you have in your mind, what your negative thinking is all about. Be brave, to tell a stranger what you are supposed to cause this is a good start. 

Once you have done your part, the doctor would come out with a referral letter to refer you to the psychiatry clinic at the nearest hospital. If he did not, you can ask him to write you a letter for psychiatry clinic. He would make a guess based on his observation, how suicidal are you and so forth. He might be doing an early guess like symptoms of OCD, but that one is not a diagnosis yet. Diagnosis only comes from the specialist. 

2. Hospital 

Next, either make a call to the hospital stated in the letter, or walk in, you can do both. Normally, the nurse would give you an appointment and it takes several weeks until the date. Or, maybe you can meet the doctor straight but the probability is low due to a huge number of patients at government hospital everyday. Haha. 

3. Appointment 

So, here you are, good and steady early in the morning at the hospital. Just take a deep breath and whisper to yourself over and over, all is well. :) Once the nurse calls you, you will be weighed and your blood pressure will be measured. That is a normal process, then, this is the highlight, meeting with the psychiatrist. The first appointment normally will be conducted by specialist as he or she has to diagnose you. This session might take as long as five hours. Mine is four hours. 

At this stage, everything will be asked. Your personal life, family background, your upbringing, friends, schools, bullies, experiences, achievement, drugs, and it goes on and on until your menstrual cycle. The questions are very details and sometimes you might take some time to answer the questions. But it is okay, he understands. if you are unable to talk, seriously, ask for a pen and a piece of paper and start writing. He will observe you, takes everything into consideration, making tables and charts which I do not understand. Haha. and you will get your diagnosis. Dr. Azam diagnosed me with depression, panic disorder and anxiety disorder. 3 disorders. 

At the end of the session, I was given two types of medicines. Lorezepam and Escitolapram if I am not mistaken. The former is quite strong and I only take it when things are too difficult to handle, it helps me to sleep but I would be jittery and groggy for two weeks to get used to it. If you take it 2 weeks straight, then you might be having permanent memory loss. That's what he told me, tha is why TAKE IT ONLY WHEN YOU NEED IT. The latter is the daily meds, take it and please comply to it and do not stop taking it without your doctor advice.  

3. Follow up 

Since, it was my first day and my case is a new case, the next appointment was in two weeks. This is because the doctor wants to monitor you how suitable the meds and the dosage is to you. Maybe, you will be changed to new meds, new dosage based on your suitability on how your body gonna adapt with the meds.

and of course DO NOT MISS YOUR APPOINTMENT. 

4. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy 

I have numerous of appointments and follow up until one fine day, the doctor suggested me to undergo CBT and I agreed. CBT is a therapy, not just a mere appointment. I had CBT once at Hospital Selayang and many times in Hospital Kuala Terengganu upon finishing my practical training in BNM, KL. I was assigned to a few tasks, for example writing journals, keeping track of my panic attack and negative thoughts. 

The psychiatrist that I have met, Dr Rohaya has quipped with new knowledge of psychology for her to know me more and for me to understand myself better. I learnt how to change my negative thinking to rational ones and so forth. She is very understanding and I really love talking to her. The main purpose of CBT is to make you busy with task. There also other kind of therapies and you always can ask your doctor what you want to know. If he or she refused to answer or always take your questions lightly, ask for another doctor cause that is what I did. Lel 

Additional information 

1. There is a slight different between government and private clinic in terms of assigning patients with meds. As for the government, the doctor once told me that they won't give the new patients a large dosage. Instead, they will monitor the patients and would increase it bit by bit depends on the suitability. So, the effects would be come to effective in weeks compared to the private clinic. 

2. Always ask and inform your doctor about your concern. The side effects of the meds or anything. Like I said, if you don't feel comfortable with your doctor, ask for a change. 

All in all, I hope this post helps you and all the best! I would like to assure you, yes! Your are on the right track and on the right page! hihi. 

If you have any enquiries, please do not hesitate to ping me! I'd love to help you! 

Lots of love,

Fighter in the same arena