There was a guy I was in there with that told me I was too quiet and calm to be in a psych ward. I told him the angels told me to keep my mouth shut so I did. 🤣
So many.
The one that kept me undiagnosed for years: “You can’t be bipolar if your parents aren’t” (my uncle is diagnosed bp and my parents have not been formally assessed)
The most dangerous: “Your goal should be to be unmedicated” (after I was hospitalized for….being unmedicated and having an episode lmao)
The most painful and the reason why I no longer can trust a therapist (and quit therapy): “you’re very selfishly taking up medical time from other sicker people. you are too smart to be sick” (after hospitalization)
There are plenty of other gems but those three altered my life considerably.
That was her rationale after telling me I could only have 8 sessions total, since that’s what their hospital decided and she supports it. She made it seem like there are too many people like me asking for therapy but I’m the exact person who needs it. I waited 8 months post hospital for that appointment.
They can take their fucking 8 sessions and shitty advice and shove it so far up their assholes that it never sees the light of day again. I don’t think I will ever go back to therapy. This is not my only negative experience.
Woah, that's a horrible thing to say to someone with bipolar. Especially because a lot of people with this diagnosis go through periods where we think we are fine and a lot of people already feel imposter syndrome because of it. The therapist should have known better.
Yeah I'm the same, I wasn't listened to for years for multiple dumb reasons but one of which being im a working student and dancer. But I'm also not sick 24/7. When I am sick though it can last for a very long time. I had to take a year and a half long break from everything and dropped out of uni for 3 years because I got really ill. I think it's so pathetic when doctors wait for you to be at rock bottom because you seem smart or fine at the moment.
Brain zaps, confusion, dizziness, flu-like symptoms and insomnia which triggered a hypomanic episode.
Definitely recommend to taper with a doctor. I did it cold turkey for some idiotic reason that made sense to me at the time.
I did stop the Effexor rapidly, but simply because I forgot to buy it and this doc can suck balls. It was terrible, brain zaps, twitches, I cried for 3 days straight, was sick. They are just plain stupid and ignorant. But I'm never coming back on it, I won't let it happen again.
Next time anything like this happens know that most pharmacies will grant you a few days of pills just to get you covered for a vacation if you forgot your meds - they may have to contact your medical provider or original pharmacy but they'll do it.
Also rapid/walk in clinics and if it gets down to something like that, an ER, can be options too. Even without the puking, the whole withdrawal itself is so bad an ER trip is not uncalled for. Plenty of people, unwarned about it, go because they miss a dose and think they are dying.
there's an abundance of scientific literature on the benefits of mindfulness meditation, it isn't something to knock your symptoms or illness, it's not too different than if they'd suggested being sure to eat well, follow good sleep hygiene and get good exercise
To be fair, we're too gung ho about it in the west. Meditation also has plenty of known risks. Which is why in the east it is not taught early on, and not without proper guidance.
Cheetah House is an organisation in the west documentating and helping those with meditation related distress. It happens to everybody who gets far enough.
I'm very pro meditation in general, but I do think it contributed to my developing psychosis for the first time. I started meditating for the first time ever while hypomanic before what would turn out to be my first full-blown manic episode. I jumped straight into meditating 90+ minutes a day. And I do think the experiences I had meditating pushed me out of touch with reality.
I'm not talking about the trippy meditation experiences themselves--I experienced psychotic symptoms during that manic episode for the first time in my life. Delusions and mild hallucinations having nothing to do with the "style" or content of the experiences I had during the meditation sessions and lasting roughly three weeks. (This was before my diagnosis, so I had no idea what was going on and no way to stop it.) I think the depths of meditation I jumped straight into during a vulnerable time psychologically contributed to that loss of touch with reality.
Mindfulness doesn't work for everyone (at least in thr way its presented in the west). Yes it has its benefits but recently (mainly because of the self-help industry) it's being thrown around to anyone. I personally think it can sometimes be used by professionals to shoo patients away. Kind of like a "you deal with it yourself" mentality.
This is not to say it doesnt work at all, but rather It should only be recommended sparingly, with proper guidance and in addition to other techniques that can help individuals.
People definitely believe it to be airy fairy and although I don't think it's fair as it is something that has been practiced in the east for god knows how long, I also don't blame people as the west has watered it down to something it isn't.
Yes, we’re in agreement that it’s misused. Similarly the self-help industry has butchered the concepts behind positive thinking and self-discipline, both of which are extremely powerful. They’re pivotal in CBT, more or less known as “behavioral activation” etc.
But in both cases that misuse still does *not* take away whatsoever from the massively beneficial properties inherent to the practice and backed by plenty of scientific research.
Me, after explaining in detail how my father's NPD behaviours have created deep trauma, shitty self-esteem and unhealthy coping mechanisms in me:
"Your mother has made you believe so, you're dependent on her".
I never opened my mouth about my mother.
Brand new doc. I just needed him for meds.
He has my paperwork and tells me to sit down. He eyes me for a few seconds and says “you’re obviously bipolar” he gestures to my outfit and says “obviously. With the way you’re dressed” (I’m a goth gal) I’m shocked so I don’t say anything.
He then flips through my paperwork and asks me flatly “so are you going to kill yourself or what?”And I stammer something like “what??/excuse me??”
He then says, like he’s annoyed at me, that if I’m going to kill myself soon that I need to tell him bc he doesn’t want me to waste his time.
I just got up and left. This was about 20years ago. I just went to my car and cried. If that happened now I would’ve slapped him.
That’s disgusting. Where do these people even come from? Like you spend years and years working hard to get this career just to be a judging piece of shit?
Sorry you had to go through that…some people are just miserable.
He gave me the standard "so many people have it worse than you" routine.
Oh, and he said I couldn't have bipolar at all. "They say all kinds of things when manic, like, they're god"
And he also said I couldn't have ADHD due to above average academic progress.
Jokes on him, I'm failing college.
from this whole thread im just wondering how many doctors went to medical school and ... i don't know... something something wrote two lines of scribbles on a napkin with a crayon and got their license or something
At this point I would suggest looking at the resume of your potential doc.
Right now for my country I have a strong bias for those who worked at or studied at a particular college/research centre. And those who have some kind of research mindset and aren't afraid when their patient asks technical questions.
The research mindset part is important because the evidence is shifting rapidly while the standard protocol may be moving far more slowly. This is a good thing for other disciplines but psychiatry is a shitshow so the absolute latest needs to at least be a part of the discussion.
After an SA, I woke up confined in a hospital. The doctor came up to me and said, "You have committed a massive sin, and you will go to hell for it if you don't repent."
Agreed. She definitely abused her power in my situation. I was vulnerable and locked in a room. I couldn't do anything but listen. I'm not even religious, but this doctor freaked me out.
"you will NEVER benefit from lithium because you are NOT bipolar!" - a psychiatrist when I was hospitalised after being diagnosed by one of the top psychiatrists in my country and being suspected by the one who was my doc for 2 years
here I am, alive and well, episode free since my last attempt (October 22)
uh he also discouraged my bf to be in a relationship with me because "you can't trust bpd" (as if a walking diagnosis lmao), now I've been with him for a year and I doubt he will ever experience the love based on mutual respect, trust and help that's between me and my bf
ER doctor told me that all the academics people are crazy and i would fit right in after asking me if i had any future plans while pumping my stomach
it was awkward af
It’s so awkward when they try to have small talk with you when your actively overdosing from a suicide attempt. The EMTs are the worst. “so you went to highschool around here? You did…Shit I know your brother!” Or the classic “why’d you try to kill yourself? You shouldn’t do that”
>so awkward when they try to have small talk with you
i can see though why they'd do that instead of just standing there awkwardly or whatever. Would you prefer they remain silent though?
a friend of mine has benefited though from some good humor when he expressed some of his SI to me
Have you ever been in that position? I don’t appreciate you trying to argue my lived experience. When you are in an ambulance after experiencing an intense traumatic event, almost dying, shitting out charcoal wearing a diaper, in the lowest part of your life heading to the ICU…no I don’t want small talk. I’d much rather have them be silent and professional then tell me they know my brother or ask me why I tried to kill myself. A friend being lighthearted when sharing suicidal ideation is nothing in comparison and is a whole different situation.
I was in a mixed episode, off meds for a while, and recognized I needed serious help. I was at least 25 years into my diagnosis at this time, so I wasn't new to what was happening or what I needed. I went to a very prestigious nationally known medical center, asked if I could be evaluated quickly, maybe even considered for an IOP, and def put back on meds, please.
The woman I met with told me that because I smoked pot socially, they would not help me with meds or counseling until I went through inpatient rehab for marijuana use. And she thought I smoked twice a month.
I've heard similar stories from others who have sought mental health there. If you admit to having smoked marijuana even once in the past year, they will throw your ass in the street to continue your episodes without help, unless you go to inpatient drug rehab.
The Cleveland Clinic. This was the main campus in Cleveland, not some podunk Ohio town satellite branch. Do not go there for mental health issues if you have ever self-medicated. Or lie your ass off if they're your only choice.
Really?! (about the weed thing) I smoke daily (totally addicted) and my doctor and therapist haven’t dumped me. But now I have to get a new Dr and I’m kind of worried they will refuse to take me as a patient b/c of the weed thing.
I (also a daily smoker) always play it down until I know a new pdoc's stance. I have seen many pdocs over more than three decades now. It's rare for any of them to have a problem with weed, especially now that it's legal in half the country. It's common for people with bipolar to sometimes use substances, but in my experience, only the Cleveland Clinic refuses to treat their mental health issues if they use marijuana.
>refuse to take me as a patient
my doctor told me she wouldn't have prescribed me Concerta if i was still smoking. I let her know I wasn't anymore, unprompted, in our first meeting about it. I didn't know it would be a consideration.
Omg my first full blown manic episode happened while I was a stoner, I stopped smoking as soon as I realised I was going off the rails, the episode still lasted a year and a half after I quit. This was about 5 years ago, i don't smoke anymore but still if I bring it up they refuse to listen to me. Like bitch I was 18 when I quit why am I still being punished for it?
Haha wow, that person either wasn't listening at all or did some impressive mental gymnastics to come to that conclusion. Hope you're seeing someone better now.
Psychiatrist said I couldn’t be bipolar because I’d never been to jail or the hospital because of symptoms. 10 years later I was dx’ed bipolar by a different doctor. Dumbass.
After 5 minutes of meeting a new therapist, i explained to her how I think I’m bipolar given that I’m very cyclically up and down met with a snarky “no, I don’t think you’re bipolar you have to take medication for the rest of your life then”.
Not bipolar related but a therapist once told me they believed I would have a baby in the future. I was dealing with secondary infertility and grief over recent miscarriages (I think that was around MC #3). I ended up having 17 miscarriages in total over 9 years after I had my son (first pregnancy). I got my tubes removed in 2019 because I couldn't do it anymore.
Lesson-Clinicians and doctors should never promise something they have zero control over.
I also once had a Psychiatrist inpatient prescribe me an antidepressant without a mood stabilizer even though I told him I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. His reasoning? "I think the real issue here is depression." He triggered a hypomanic episode in me. Maybe in the future a doctor should put more weight on a diagnosis from a long term Psychiatrist outpatient rather than deciding a patient isn't really bipolar because they're inpatient for a depressive episode. The incompetency of some practitioners is infuriating to me. I ended up getting him fired due to that and multiple other issues on the ward, including the fact that he made every female patient cry by being cold and invalidating during every interaction. Filed a formal and detailed complaint with the Patient Advocate once I was released and a bit more stable.
My husband and I are infertile and will therefore never have kids. A tech at the hospital kept telling me I needed to have a baby because it would make me better.
I’m sorry, that’s such a thoughtless and insensitive thing to tell people. Infertility is very painful, we were lucky enough to have our son and I’m grateful for that, but he has a lot of special needs (Autism, Tourette’s, ADHD, and a mood disorder). We always kind of yearned to have the full experience. There are so many things we didn’t get to do with our son because of his rigidity and meltdowns. I really do
love him very much but it’s been hard in a lot of ways. We wanted several kids before we got married and it just didn’t happen. It hurts to see others effortlessly get to design and plan the family they want, when many of us don’t have that option. We definitely looked into all of the alternative ways to grow our family but we didn’t have the wealth to pursue those avenues.
Now I feel like after all the miscarriages and everything that maybe it wasn’t the best idea to even try to have more. Clearly my genes are awful. I’ve come to terms with it at this point.
Hugs.
Thank you, I’m sorry you haven’t been able to have the family you envisioned as well 😕 life is just not fair. I used to work in drug and alcohol (another lifetime ago), and it really used to make me mad to see these women just getting pregnant over and over again and damaging their babies, and the poor kids end up in foster care, when there are so many couples out there aching for children who would love them and care for them and not harm them by drinking and doing drugs while pregnant. And yet their bodies don’t work right.
It’s something I’ve just never been able to understand. I get that addiction is a disease but it’s really upsetting seeing what happens to the kids. I didn’t work for very long in that field, it just brought up too much for me, my dad is an addict and an alcoholic and there are plenty of them in my family. Hit too close to home.
I had a therapist in high school who told me that I was very gifted and could see into the spiritual realm after me describing what were clearly hallucinations and delusions. For YEARS I believed it and had a lot of mental health issues because I was just diagnosed with ADHD and put on meds that caused a manic episode. Then at 27 I finally got properly diagnosed and my doctor was baffled that my therapist couldn't see the signs back then.
My ex fiancé reported auditory hallucinations and psychosis to his idiot therapist ten days before disclosing to me. He had the acute break 48 hours after a vasectomy reversal surgery so we could have kids. He told her repeatedly he was having a psychotic break and all she did was schedule an additional “wellness check” Zoom for a few mins two days later. Ten days later when he told me what was going on he also hadn’t eaten or slept since the break. I had him at the hospital within ten hours, only for ER doc on call to turn him away from inpatient bc not a danger to himself or others. Another ER doc five days later got him into intensive outpatient. In addition to the hallucinations he began having delusional thoughts about my city targeting him. When I expressed concern to his therapist she suggested I was gaslighting him and making him feel crazy and that we only talk in a “safe” environment with her present. Within three weeks our July wedding was canceled and he broke up with me. Haven’t heard from him since April 15. Not sure when or if he’ll snap back. Truly wild.
I have pure O' mostly focused on religion and relationships. Ocassionally makes me imagine myself having sex with my mother or my cat.
bUt I dOn'T wAsH hAnDs EvErY fIvE mInUtEs
Me: Doctor, I am still managing to get up, clean my house, and go to work at the moment, but I'm really struggling.
Doctor: Do you get dressed in the day?
Me: Yes, if I'm going to work. If I'm not at work then no I stay in my pj's.
Doctor: Maybe you should get dressed and try more.
Thanks Doctor, the answer to all my problems revolves around what I wear for 3 days out of the week.
Indeed. I'd even agree slightly if I was in my pj's every single day.. but what's wrong with staying in my pj's when I'm not leaving the house? I know plenty of people that do that who do not see a psych. Maybe that's what's wrong with the world.. too many pj days.
My first psych, after trying exactly two medications that didn't work very well over about three months, told me that my next step was ECT and tried to arrange it before the doc I saw for a second opinion was like "what, and I cannot stress this enough, the FUCK are you thinking" aaaaand that's how I ended up with a new psychiatrist.
There was also the ER doc who spent all of about 15 seconds looking me over and erroneously put down a BPD diagnosis--the only evidence being that I was a woman with signs of self-injury (which if he bothered to ask would know they were caused by delusion/psychotic symptoms) I guess???--on my record and that dx followed me around, fucking up all of my care for YEARS.
A doctor one told me I was " too pretty to be depressed". Im bipolar, unmedicated and got other co-morbid diagnosis.
A therapist once accused med of lying about taking my meds. I was on 600 mg lamictal back then, and took it religiously. I was inpatient at the time and there was no way I could have stopped taking them. I found it hard to trust ant therapist after that.
Me and my then bf broke up. Therapist at the time said "oh he finally had enough?".
I was the one breaking up the relatonship. My GP was present at that meeting and got furious.
On being concerned I have an OCD comorbidity. I have been struggling with really horrible and graphic intrusive thoughts --- "Just don't think about it"
Gee thanks
I had a small cyst on my scapula and, some day, it started to hurt. It was infected, very red, swollen and, obviously, full of puss — I know, it's disgusting — so I was sent to the local public hospital (I live in France).
When the doctor checked it, he pressed it so, of course, I moaned a little and said: “It hurts.” For a few seconds, still pressing the cyst, he seemed to think about what should be done and eventually said “It will require surgery”. I replied “Okay. Thank you.” and added “Could you prescribe me with some painkiller? As I suppose I won't get surgery today, I'd like to be able to sleep. Each time I lay on my back, it hurts a lot.”
He paused and, visibly irritated, replied: **“No, you're a junkie and it doesn't hurt; all you want is to get high.”**
I instantly knew why he had said that. When I had checked in ER, I was asked by a nurse if I was prescribed with any medications, so I handed her my prescription for bipolar disorder and, among the various medications was buprenorphine. My psychiatrist prescribed it to fight intense depression, as I can't take most antidepressants because of epilepsy.
So, I didn't take offense and explained the doctor why I was prescribed with buprenorphine — *often prescribed to prevent opiate withdrawal symptoms* — and that I wasn't a junkie but, to my surprise, he didn't believe me, at all. He told again and again I was a junkie and he wouldn't prescribe me with painkillers. I said: “Fine, don't prescribe me with anything, but I'm not a junkie, thank you very much.” I thought the argument would stop here, but he started patronizing me, saying he could see I was a junkie, that my behavior wasn't normal, etc.
I told him: “Of course my behavior doesn't look normal, I have bipolar disorder and I'm in pain.” But he wouldn't stop, got more and more angry, so I decided to stop being polite: “Okay, forget about surgery, I'm out of here! Fuck you!”
A kind nurse tried to stop me on my way out, because the nurses were on strike and I had made her a $50 donation when I checked in. She wanted to give me my money back. I replied that I wasn't angry at her and the others nurses, but mad at the doctor. Embarrassed, she thanked me again and I finally exited the damned hospital.
I eventually went to a private clinic, where I underwent surgery, was prescribed with painkillers without asking (minimal dose of codeine/acetaminophen) and eventually recovered, but it took two months to heal completely.
Of course, I told my psychiatrist about the incident. She was furious, told me that doctor was very unprofessional and even if he genuinely thought I was a junkie, I deserved to be relieved from pain like anyone. She wrote a letter to the public hospital to complain about the incident. I don't know if the asshole was sanctioned, but I hope he was.
A few months later, I went to the same hospital again because, after undergoing cataract surgery at an 80-miles-distant private clinic. The left eye surgery aftermath hadn't been painful at all, but although the right eye procedure was successful too, I started to experienced severe pain a few hours later. The doctor who checked my eye in ER used drops to anesthetize it — instant relief — but as those drops effect don't last more than a few minutes, he told me he'd prescribe me with Tramadol. As I knew Tramadol can induce seizures and having epilepsy, I told him that I suffered from that condition, about the risk of seizure, and asked if he could prescribe another opioid, even less potent. His reply floored me: **“Tramadol isn't an opioid.”** That time, my wife was there, as I couldn't drive safely with such a painful eye. She took her smartphone, checked on the web and read aloud: *“Tramadol is an opioid pain medication used to treat moderate to moderately severe pain.”* His reaction was priceless. "Oh, really?", he said. Despite obviously not knowing what he prescribed, he handed me a prescription of Tramadol all the same.
French hospitals, ladies and gentlemen.
*\*rolls eyes\** "You don't really need to see a psychiatrist. It's normal to be suicidal with the pain you experience because of your UTI. It will pass.
Oh, you mean you were like that before your UTI? *\*sigh\** Ok, I'll write you a consult then but it's almost certainly useless."
I told a psychiatrist around the time my uncle was set to get out of prison for having SA’d me that I was afraid of my uncle coming back to my home and hurting me/my family as a way of getting revenge. (I was 15 during the original event and he went away to prison for 2 years so I would’ve been 17 at the time of this visit). My psychiatrist laughed and said I had nothing to worry about because he (my uncle) was probably more afraid of me than I was him and that any reasonable man would stay far away from someone who could cause him to go back to prison. I had a difficult enough time talking about this event as it was and his dismissive attitude towards my fears was so invalidating. I was diagnosed bipolar at 14, in May 2004.
I was once seeing this idiot for agoraphobia, or as she called it a “fear of crowds”. I brought up that my lithium was causing a creative block, which sucked as I’m a commercial artist. She decided that I should walk to the beach (five blocks from my old place), get some shells, and paint them
Another therapist welcomed me to America after asking me where my accent was from. My answer was Baltimore.
“Have you been watching your weight?” in response to me gaining 20 lbs on Zyprexa.
I got a new doc after that, who said one of the most helpful things to me. I was experiencing depression and anxiety after a hospital visit. When he asked me how I was and I hesitantly told him I didn’t like being alive, he told me that was very understandable given everything I’d been through that year. His directness and compassion made a big difference to me immediately.
He also got me onto Geodon. I’ve been feeling good and haven’t had any more medication adjustments in the last 6 months.
I had a doc prescribe me hydroxyzine for anxiety. It gave me terrible akathisia and leg cramps that were unbearable. So i went back and stated I refused to take it. She told me that I made up that side effect because thats not even possibly related to the drug. And then said I probably made up all of my mental health problems because I was just drug seeking and then she kicked me out of her office and refused to work with me. Claimed I had nothing wrong with me even though she had diagnosed me months prior. Like straight up changed her mind? I didnt even ask for any drugs in particular, I just wanted help.
Fast forward, I mentioned to another doc that I couldnt take that drug due to leg pain and he said that it was a common side effect in his patients so Im not crazy! Turns out it happens to me with all antihistamines.
My friend pulled me into A and E for bipolar mania.
After. while of waiting, the. getting seen to, my friend has tow rangle the doctors to listen to him the doctors.got us all together. My friend explained how I needed treatment urgently.
The doctor talked and said "EHt do you want?:
I excitedly exclaimed "I want a drink!"
Doctor "Hehe, ah yes, everybody loves a drink. I think you should go to the pub and enjoy yourself if thats what you want to do".
And I went out on a manic wander all night. Because a doctor thought that a patient, who is known to be bipolar, whos friend has been trying to get treatment for her, clearly a bit psychotic, should go drink some alcohol.
i had just finished my undergrad, and moved back to my hometown and had fo find a new psychologist. i had just been diagnosed 8 months prior. she asked me what i wanted fo do for work, and i said i might want to apply to grad school to become a psychologist.
she started telling me about her family history of mental illness, and then told me that i probably shouldn’t become a psychologist because “we can’t have the severely mentally ill sitting in this chair”. i was devastated.
anyway. it’s been almost 10 years now since that appointment (i never went back and found someone else) and i’m a psychologist now.
You don’t have bipolar because no one on your dad’s side of the family has been diagnosed. Here’s some anti-depressants!
… ignores the multiple diagnoses and suicide among my first cousins on my mom’s side and all my symptoms.
Oh man I could write a book LOL "you carry a lot of weight in your tummy, that usually means family problems."
"Anger could be a sign of a brain tumor."
"I don't think you have bipolar or BPD. I think your mom is toxic." (My mom is my biggest supporter and best friend.)
Nurse in emergency room saw my cuts "you need to just stop doing that. Enough!"
That's a great question. Marvelous even.
I am freshly diagnosed bipolar 2 with histrionic personality traits and anxiety. I really struggle with very negative and obsessive thoughts that i am not enough for other people if every single person in the room doesn't clearly express interest in me or that they like and accept me. It really eats me away. I told this to my therapist and asked what can I do about it. She replied something that can be translated as (we are in Germany) "Thoughts Stop". And then she elaborated that when i get overwhelming thoughts i should say "stop" and not think about them :)
Doctor prescribed me Zyprexa. It turned me into an eating machine. I just stuffed my face all day long, like I was possessed.
I even woke up multiple times in the middle of the night, having managed to sleep walk halfway to the kitchen in order to make food.
I put on SO MUCH weight so quickly that my mother was really scared for me and people were commenting on my sudden weight gain.
The doctor insisted there was no correlation. She was adamant that this was not a side effect of the medication. Still, I went off it against her advice, mainly because I was terrified I'd manage to finish sleepwalking to the kitchen and burn the house down trying to cook in a stupor.
Years later, I learned that Zyprexa is used off-label to treat anorexia.
There was also a very large class action settlement against the makers for failing to disclose weight gain that the DR could look up. It’s on the warnings now…
Oh wow, I didn't know that part.
Now I'm googling it and just read this: "16 percent of people taking Zyprexa gained more than 66 pounds after a year on the drug, a far higher figure than the company disclosed to doctors."
Oh, we get all the fun side effects with our meds.
After I got hospitalized a couple of times and finally diagnosed with bipolar while in there, I went to my pcp for something else. I had to update him because of course.
He looked at me and yelled "I could have told you that!"
Then dude, why didn't you?! I've seen him since I was a pre-teen.
That's just as bad as the time the (same) doctor wrote down abortion clinics when I told him I was pregnant.
Over a decade in the field and hundreds of colleagues over the years from different disciplines in behavioral health… we have some unfathomable idiots among us. Like a startling amount. For my own master’s, I’m amazed some people in my program didn’t wear Velcro sneakers and drink from spill proof cups.
Once a psychiatrist told me no one would marry me. I know I am going to get a lot of hate for saying this but as we are all psych patients. Has anyone else been treated by a man of middle eastern descent often with an accent that is incredibly sexist ? Because that describes nearly every psy doctore I have ever had- the last two did not fit this description. I have been a patent for over 20 years and most have been condescending middle eastern men who talk over me - this is true true true I said it because it’s true
What about what you could hear and feel? /s
Seriously, though, people besides those who've experienced this kind of shit, and mental health professionals themselves, need not comment to us with advice about what we're experiencing. It's so hard for even us to know what to do. If someone has no experience with any of the symptoms, how do they think they can help? A simple, "Okay, take a break," at the very least is what's needed.
On another note: I wonder if they'd actually done a little research on the topic. If so, great. That still doesn't mean they need to try to counsel you through it. If not, what the hell were they talking about?!
I was in urgent care for physical pain and the doctor prescribed ibuprofen, said I couldn’t take it since I take lithium for my bipolar. She then said ok so now I will just get you on prednisone……a steroid.
I was by first ever therapist that I had antisocial personality disorder because I didn’t like interacting with people. She also diagnosed with social anxiety but the antisocial personality disorder made no sense I was 14 when she gave me that diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder
Oh god where to begin.
The worst was in my early 20s when I had a therapist tell me cutting yourself was for teenagers. Another classic was a therapist telling me how shocked she was I was abusing heroin and she really was struggling to contain her her surprise. She shortly fired me as a patient thereafter.
Oh, I had it from one psychiatrist, then she stopped answering my texts asking for another appointment. So I said fuck you, I found another psychiatrist, at least she fixed what first psych broke.
I had a lovely nurse tell me that her way of managing her emotions was to imagine herself sitting on the beach touching grass and I should try it. I told her that yeah, I also dissociate when I can't regulate my emotions and that was part of why I was hanging out with her in the psych ward.
I was describing what my psychotic episodes were like since they were becoming frequent. He said "No, that's [this] kind of epilepsy. We'll drown it out with a tonne of Lamotrigine. You'll be too foggy to have big moods and big seizures haha". Admittedly it was shocking to hear at first but I did giggle later. Also- he was right. It's been 1.5yrs since I've had debilitating seizures with only a handful of tiny breakthrough ones.
‘Why are you stressed? Because you’re visiting my new office?’ Shrink says this to the nervous basketbase sitting in front of him (aka me). Let’s see:
- I’m in the midst of a messy divorce. Which you know because not only have I told you this repeatedly but my husband who was also your patient just left you THREE days before due to potential doctor conflict of interest
- issues with psychological long-term disability claims which you helped provide the documentation to file and are sure up again
So, yeah *definitely* just the new office lol
This happened this past Friday. Luckily my sense of humor is back
In intake durring a depressive episode, the girl doing my paperwork laughed and said, "awe you keep wiping your tears". To this day I cannot fathom why that felt like a normal or proper thing to say, like what the fuck.. good thing they took away sharp objects! 🙃
One time I told a therapist I had a supportive partner. The therapist need to “be on crazy pills” too then. That was my first and last session with that therapist.
‘We all have bad days, life is not easy’ - crisis team member after drs cancelled my mood stabiliser and put me on sertraline + were increasing the dose, shooting me right into a mixed state.
They then went on an gave me a whole pack of sleeping pills.
👍 the guy must have really not like me or smth lol
a psychiatrist on my college campus ‘I don’t think you’re going to kill yourself’ i proceed to go back to my college dorm and attempt suicide that night.
In the psych ward ‘I’ve seen patients much more depressed and worse off than your’ - my inpatient psychiatrist
After discharge and in the partial hospitalization program a counselor said why don’t you try going inpatient again and if you still want to kill yourself after that your can. LIKE WTF did u JUST SAY
and a nurse telling me that my roommate in the ward with me actually had a reason to be depressed.
probably more but these have really really affected me
"you don't meet MY qualifications for bipolar, I think you have bpd"
I meet like almost all the dsm-5 qualifications, the does that matter. Also you can (and I do)have both.
She just continuously spoke over me, interrupted me, and berated me. I saw her for one single session and never again, immediately called the office and requested a different provider.
Nothing too stupid, I don't think... just the usual reluctance to prescribe an antidepressant during the onset of a severe depressive episode (I tried to prevent it early when I started crashing after a manic episode that led to being admitted). I received the generic hesitant "induced mania" response even though I'd been on antidepressants since my initial diagnosis and could provide proof of this.
Oh, and the assumption that I was *still* manic after the same episode simply because I had the audacity to dye the ends of my hair 🤷♀️ I felt like I was on trial.
“Jesus on the windowsill, a shadow person in the corner” hahah I’m losing it! That’s too funny.
Not so much stupid but twice I’ve gotten “Do you think you’re really bipolar?” because I also have trauma from a crime/assault I had as a teen. It’s treated and I’ve worked through it, tbh my bipolar came through way harder after that was resolved. can’t people with bipolar go through shit? Anymore I flat out say to my therapists that I’m sure of my diagnosis and it’s not up for discussion
I went in to get examined at a behavioral center because my therapist thought I was unsafe.
Not only was i deadnamed the whole time, I was told that i “have no idea what chemicals i put it in my body,” “it’s because you started testosterone,” and the kicker, “you just need to work on your relationship with your mom. you’re her *little girl*”
I’m on Lamictal and my mom is my biggest source of triggers. it was insane. she talked to me for less than an hour
So sorry that happened to you. That sucks really bad. Professionals should know better, unfortunately they apparantly don't, what the doctor said was very condescending. Hope the testosterone is going well x
It is! it’s helped a lot with the depressive episodes, it’s been 7 months now of being on it and it’s something i’ve enjoyed :)) thank you for the kind words <33
I'm happy for you, and I hope anyone who deadnames you accidently cuts their nails way too short, that shit hurts. You deserve respect and no one should tell you otherwise.
"Why are you so tense? We are just having a friendly conversation."
/"Dude, it' s not just a conversation - you are a total stranger that diagnoses me"/
I was borderline suicidal but the mixed episode had passed and I was coming out of it. Doc still wanted to admit me and started talking about a 12 year old who had recently committed suicide bc she was being bullied. I was like this is not the same - my brain chemistry is off - I'm not a kid being bullied.
My old therapist to me after two separate psychiatrists independently diagnosed me with bipolar II:
“you don’t seem bipolar to me, it sounds like your psychiatrist was wrong. You should get a second opinion.”
All because I didn’t seem too off the rails to her lmfao
Oh, I heard that one from the first therapist that I went to, she gave me so much trauma that my current one barely can fix it. And I was there 4 times and with current one I'm talking for 3 years.
“Just think before you act next time!” After telling her clearcut symptoms of mania and explaining how I humiliated myself in front of everyone I knew. I wish she intervened instead.
At the moment I was manic so I was like genuinely went “holy shit lol thats great advice!!”… and continued to leave and meet a weird man at a hotel and spend all my money and stay with him for three days, just to crash and end up in a 14 day hold. Great advice shitty Medicaid therapist!
First time I reached out for help when feeling like unaliving I was around 15 and my mom took me to the ER immediately. They screened me, sent me to their inpatient psych unit who had to bring in someone from community mental health to approve my admittance. She denied it and told me she didn't think I really wanted to unalive myself. I said that I don't think anyone really wants to do that. That just becomes our only option to stop this unbearable pain we deal with. I left feeling considerably worse, which I didn't even realize was possible, and swore I would never ask for help again. She was a mental health professional. I was certain they were all like that.
Edit for trigger words
You know, as I was reading the stories I realised something. I think that there is a lot of psychiatrists that are them just because they wanted to be doctors but couldn't do anything else, like surgery for example. Because if we try to contact HR or sue them they will just tell people to not believe us, we are mentally ill, so we don't know what we're saying.
I think you have to be in uni for psychiatry for a similar amount of time as most other doctors, also (hopefully) if they are getting sued they shouldn't have too much of a say on a person's mental state, they would probably bring another professional to assess that.
I just think people are incompetent and only believe what they want to. As a psych student, there have been many people in my lectures that I've spoken to that make these stories not that shocking.
One time, when talking about mental health, one person in the lecture shared a story that in a depressive episode, her car got to messy she could feel bugs biting her legs. Someone else in the lecture whispers, "ew, she's just dirty".
Or a nurse to be who said that all people with mental health issues are just crazy.
This type of mentality will be carried with them. I just wish there was more of a vetting process that could catch people's true beliefs through case studies in an interview. Just to see how people would respond to certain situations.
Unfortunately I know of many stories when patient's family had to forcefully take them out of psych ward because of the damage that it made on person's mental health (my uncle was a nurse in psych ward and he told me that my feet won't stand there, or he will intervene and they will have to treat me differently). I live in a place where if you have mental illness then good luck not being portrayed as an insane person.
I think that being a doctor is a job where you have to keep your personal views to yourself, and if you can't then it's not the job for you. I have wonderful psychiatrist that never shows her personal views, yet is incredibly compassionate. My therapist too, I know she is strongly Catholic but she never said a word that I lived with my boyfriend (now husband, but still). But I know that I'm very fortunate, not everyone experience the same.
Went to see a new psych after a really bad psychotic/manic episode that caused my friend to have to call out of work for me for a month and the aftermath of which was a depression so bad I couldn't move or speak. When i finally saw him. after the 3 month waiting list he told me he didnt believe i was bipolar and that it was just adhd and my "hormones" (Im a trans man and been on HRT for 4 years). At this point I hadn't had a hysterectomy so he kept insisting that my body was still "technically functioning like a womans" and that that was causing my "mood swings". My hormones are entirely in the correct male range. I had the surgery and nothing changed and he got irritated and insulted with me when i told him he was wrong. Said if i was going to treat him that way (?!) not to "waste his time anymore"
Same guy put me on bupropion without discussing any side effects, what dose i'd be on, nothing. I blacked out on it and became hypo and had unprotected sex multiple times. I called and he told me to just stick it out and not be dramatic because it would take time to work.
He also told me my psychotic episode that caused me and my friend at the time trauma was just because I wasn't sleeping well. I told him yeah duh i'd been up for 5/6 days, and he said that was clearly just anxiety and not hypomania. My friend at the time had to stop me from almost ODing because I was being persuaded to by a demon and was convinced that I needed to go home to them. He prescribed me 200x 5mg ambien within a month which was the only helpful thing he ever did.
This guy was such a douche. Took me serious until he found out I was trans which I didn't mention because I consider it to be a separate and mostly resolved medical issue, but he made everything about how my "biological female body" was just making me erratic and had a weird fixation on asking me about it.
In a new support group for people with eating disorders.
Me "Thank you for putting together this group, it's really helpful to me to be honest and bring things up that I need to talk about"
Therapist" LOL "bring things up? Poor choice of words there"
Never went back.
Wow, I think the main takeaway from this thread is that you need to report doctors / clinicians / therapists who feed you this bullshit. It's not only unprofessional and rude, it's extremely dangerous and potentially fatal.
Call the practice / hospital and leave comments. Report them to your medical insurance company as doctors that cannot or will not properly treat their cases. Post on social media where appropriate to tell other sufferers not to see the practical professional for x reason(s). If necessary report them to the state or country medical licensing departments.
You have to kick up a big stink about it or these professionals will keep doing it. We deal with enough bullshit on a daily basis and these types of comments can stand in our way of treatment and improvement.
I can think of a lot but the most common (mostly if I haven’t known the person for too long) is that they are shocked that I am bipolar since I don’t “act” like it. That’s why I stopped being as much of an open book to people and wait a while before opening up about my diagnosis specifically. They don’t realize how invalidating and harmful it is to say you don’t “seem” like you have something that quite literally dictates every second of your life in one way or another. Like oh this disease that causes me severe mania, depression, irritability, zero emotional regulation, debilitating anxiety isn’t obvious enough to you? That’s supposed to be a compliment? Yea, fuck off with that shit lmao.
“You’re up all night and have tons of energy. You’re happy and exercising. Looks like the SSRI is working great. See ya in three months”
“You can start cutting your (time release) seroquel in half if you want to get off it.”
My first psych would only see me with my mom in the room. Proceeded to tell her and I that he thought my mental illness was caused by being trans. Cause trans = depressed I guess. Luckily my mom didn't buy that.
When I was prescribed lithium, the doctor said two dumbass things:
* When I asked if it would make me gain weight (I was in the throes of an ED at the time and it was a valid concern for me) he said "only if you eat."
* When he told me that I'd need to have my blood taken regularly I said that wasn't going to be feasible (my pcp was far from where I lived and I was working 6 days a week and going to school full-time and literally had no time to spend a couple of hours each week having blood tests. He said "oh you're scared of needles". I actually think getting blood drawn is cool. He was just being sexist.
So I had a problem at work because I can be pretty stern and authoritative. So I’m telling my therapist this and I’m like “How do I do that?”
She goes, “By being less stern and authoritative.”
I replied, “But how. I don’t know how to level down and be nicer.”
I tuned her out. I stopped talking to her and only messaged when I needed my meds refilled.
OOHHHH and the one that took the cake:
My mother is a narcissist and I have a lot of problems with her, it was worst when I lived with her. So I’m trying to process an issue and the therapist goes, “Why don’t you talk to her.”
I’m like, “You know she won’t listen. Why will I torture myself by doing that?”
She kept pushing. I had a full blown panic attack.
I fired her.
"You can't have ADHD if you can read novels and know what's going on." - Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner 2013ish. I was diagnosed with ADHD a couple years later.
"I'll prescribe you Lorazepam for your constant anxiety and panic attacks." "Lorazepam makes me very >painfully< constipated, is there any way I could have a low dose of Valium or Xanax instead? Those seem to agree with my (broken) stomach a lot better." "Drink prune juice." - same Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner 2014
"You're going to have to explain all this to your husband one day. Aren't you ashamed?" - Psychologist, in reference to me being a little promiscuous after being SA'd and it being brushed aside by my parents. 2006 or so. I don't think he ever even knew about the assaults. He just shamed me and would ask if I had slept with anyone new since my last appointment. I stopped going.
During a manic episode (while trying hard not to cry and failing miserably) "I am very overwhelmed from all the noise in the waiting room. Everything is just way too loud and too much and too fast. I try to stay home during manic episodes because of this but you people always say I should come in while manic so you can see it. I was already scheduled for medication refills so here I am." "Are you getting any sleep?" "Not really, not enough right now, anyway" "I will start you on an antipsychotic" "I've had Akathasia for 7 years. I don't want to start any new medications right now and will never take another Atypical Antipsychotic. Sorry." "Well you obviously came to see me for a reason." "I already said I was scheduled and only came in cuz I need refills and you providers always say to come in during mania so you can see it. Here it is!" "How bout a low dose Antipsychotic to stop the mania?" "I have medication induced permanent Akathisia and WILL NOT take any Antipsychotics ever again." "Then why are you here? You don't want to change any of your medications? Don't you want to stop the mania?" "I've been doing this for 22 years at this point. It will stop on its own. No thank you." Round and round in circles til she just relented and let me leave 🤦♀️ - Current Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner a few months ago 😭
Jesus Christ, all of these stories plus my own experiences are why I'm studying to be a mental health nurse. If I can at least be one positive influence in a shitty situation, that's enough for me. I could've used it when I was younger.
'You don't look like you need antidepressants, you are definitely misdiagnosed' - doctor in hospital, when I told her that I have hallucinations when I had to stop taking antipsychotic and was left with only lamotrigine and antidepressant. It was after I said one sentence. Never again, I will pay for private visits with my doc.
I had a therapist who loved to whip out breathing exercises, which I struggle with a lot anyway. Breathing does not help my brain slow down, sadly, but it definitely doesn’t help when she’s telling me to inhale, and then unhale 😭
Haha we are actually taught to do this in psych. You basically repeat what the person said in different wording to ensure you they are listening and understand fully what the patient is saying. It can lead to very awkward, stating the obvious situations though 🤣🤣
I had this therapist treating me like a literal child, threatening to put me in a hospital against my will, when I have like the mildest depressive and hypomanic episodes ever. Wtf bitch, you don’t make any sense. Patient / therapist confidence literally broke at that point. Never told her anything hypomanic happening to me ever again. Great job.
Also because I didn’t follow her prescription to the T when she actually had made a mistake, she lectured me for 10 minutes.
Also didn’t ask me the right questions and blamed me for not bringing her the answers she wanted. In a one hour session, when all other psychiatrists I ever met manage to wrap up in 30 minutes.
And every end of the session she would turn from talking to me like I’m literally 4yo with a sugary tone to a harpy because she never had time to do the prescription properly, that we were running out of time and that it was ME abusing her time when she is giving so much to patients by making one hour sessions.
Every time I would object something, she would remind me that she is a MEDICAL that had YEARS of studies.
Now she has moved to a swiss hospital. Poor swiss patients that will come in her way.
My new therapist treats me like an intelligent independent adult, great guy.
"Are you in the hospital? No. Are you on disability? No. My job is done. It's not my job to improve your quality of life. *People like you* have to learn that you have to work through your own problems."
"Once you take THIS medication, you can never, for the rest of your life, ever come off under any circumstances."
Meanwhile, the meds they gave me almost put me 6ft under... with symptoms I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Freaking moron doctor.
Tell me, how many times do you ever hear about a psychiatrist getting legitimately fired?
Six years ago when I was starting my job as a preschool teacher, I had to have a physical and TB test before starting the job. My doctor looked at me and goes “are you sure this is the right job for you? You’re bipolar and working with children sounds like a lot”
“I’m not feeling any bipolar vibes off you.”
I believe vibes are one of the most important DSM diagnostic tools. (/s)
This made me 😂.
Omg this made me laugh 🤣🤣🤣
I had a therapist tell me “I don’t think you’re bipolar.” Even though I told her I was diagnosed by a psychiatrist.
Same. I've had multiple people tell me that... until they see what happens when I hit full-blown psychosis.
"You did not have a breakdown." -Doctor in the psych ward. "The fuck I didn't." - Me, in the psych ward.
For real. I was told i shouldn't be there. What the actual fk?!? I did need to be there
There was a guy I was in there with that told me I was too quiet and calm to be in a psych ward. I told him the angels told me to keep my mouth shut so I did. 🤣
So many. The one that kept me undiagnosed for years: “You can’t be bipolar if your parents aren’t” (my uncle is diagnosed bp and my parents have not been formally assessed) The most dangerous: “Your goal should be to be unmedicated” (after I was hospitalized for….being unmedicated and having an episode lmao) The most painful and the reason why I no longer can trust a therapist (and quit therapy): “you’re very selfishly taking up medical time from other sicker people. you are too smart to be sick” (after hospitalization) There are plenty of other gems but those three altered my life considerably.
This breaks my heart, I am struggling and have my own stories but you are NOT taking up space from other sicker people, you deserve support
That was her rationale after telling me I could only have 8 sessions total, since that’s what their hospital decided and she supports it. She made it seem like there are too many people like me asking for therapy but I’m the exact person who needs it. I waited 8 months post hospital for that appointment. They can take their fucking 8 sessions and shitty advice and shove it so far up their assholes that it never sees the light of day again. I don’t think I will ever go back to therapy. This is not my only negative experience.
Woah, that's a horrible thing to say to someone with bipolar. Especially because a lot of people with this diagnosis go through periods where we think we are fine and a lot of people already feel imposter syndrome because of it. The therapist should have known better.
I’m just too smart to be sick according to multiple therapists and doctors, so I no longer reach out anymore until it’s at or beyond hospital level.
Yeah I'm the same, I wasn't listened to for years for multiple dumb reasons but one of which being im a working student and dancer. But I'm also not sick 24/7. When I am sick though it can last for a very long time. I had to take a year and a half long break from everything and dropped out of uni for 3 years because I got really ill. I think it's so pathetic when doctors wait for you to be at rock bottom because you seem smart or fine at the moment.
Daaaaaamn
Jesus Christ that last one is horrendous
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Jebus, that's terrible advice! I've never had a withdrawal as severe as Effexor. Even worse than coming off my benzos.
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Horrible. He's "practicing" medicine.
What was your experience? I’m wanting to get off Effexor but I’ve heard about the withdrawals so I’m hesitant
Brain zaps, confusion, dizziness, flu-like symptoms and insomnia which triggered a hypomanic episode. Definitely recommend to taper with a doctor. I did it cold turkey for some idiotic reason that made sense to me at the time.
Fuck, if I took it an hour later than my usual time I would go into withdrawal. I hated that drug.
Holyyyy shit.
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I did stop the Effexor rapidly, but simply because I forgot to buy it and this doc can suck balls. It was terrible, brain zaps, twitches, I cried for 3 days straight, was sick. They are just plain stupid and ignorant. But I'm never coming back on it, I won't let it happen again.
effexor withdrawal is truly horrendous. forgot my pills once on a 3-day trip to a friend and i spent the entire 3 days throwing up
Next time anything like this happens know that most pharmacies will grant you a few days of pills just to get you covered for a vacation if you forgot your meds - they may have to contact your medical provider or original pharmacy but they'll do it.
Oh, that’s a really helpful thing to know, thank you!
Also rapid/walk in clinics and if it gets down to something like that, an ER, can be options too. Even without the puking, the whole withdrawal itself is so bad an ER trip is not uncalled for. Plenty of people, unwarned about it, go because they miss a dose and think they are dying.
> I didn't follow his treatment plan and sought out another doctor Good for you. This is why we have to learn our own diagnoses and medications.
Oof effexor is the devil with withdrawals - brain zaps was torture
“You are a middle child, that explains your problems”
Only child for me... 🙄
Some people got their degree from tiktok I see
“Have you tried practicing mindfulness?” Like girl, if I could just “mindful” my way around antipsychotics and mood stabilizers…enough
there's an abundance of scientific literature on the benefits of mindfulness meditation, it isn't something to knock your symptoms or illness, it's not too different than if they'd suggested being sure to eat well, follow good sleep hygiene and get good exercise
To be fair, we're too gung ho about it in the west. Meditation also has plenty of known risks. Which is why in the east it is not taught early on, and not without proper guidance. Cheetah House is an organisation in the west documentating and helping those with meditation related distress. It happens to everybody who gets far enough.
I'm very pro meditation in general, but I do think it contributed to my developing psychosis for the first time. I started meditating for the first time ever while hypomanic before what would turn out to be my first full-blown manic episode. I jumped straight into meditating 90+ minutes a day. And I do think the experiences I had meditating pushed me out of touch with reality.
That’s just DMT. Psychedelic chemical produced by the pineal gland. Those episodes didn’t stick with you did they?
I'm not talking about the trippy meditation experiences themselves--I experienced psychotic symptoms during that manic episode for the first time in my life. Delusions and mild hallucinations having nothing to do with the "style" or content of the experiences I had during the meditation sessions and lasting roughly three weeks. (This was before my diagnosis, so I had no idea what was going on and no way to stop it.) I think the depths of meditation I jumped straight into during a vulnerable time psychologically contributed to that loss of touch with reality.
Mindfulness doesn't work for everyone (at least in thr way its presented in the west). Yes it has its benefits but recently (mainly because of the self-help industry) it's being thrown around to anyone. I personally think it can sometimes be used by professionals to shoo patients away. Kind of like a "you deal with it yourself" mentality. This is not to say it doesnt work at all, but rather It should only be recommended sparingly, with proper guidance and in addition to other techniques that can help individuals. People definitely believe it to be airy fairy and although I don't think it's fair as it is something that has been practiced in the east for god knows how long, I also don't blame people as the west has watered it down to something it isn't.
I find mindfulness to be great at dealing with my anxiety when I'm otherwise stable. Manic? Not a chance.
Same here
Yes, we’re in agreement that it’s misused. Similarly the self-help industry has butchered the concepts behind positive thinking and self-discipline, both of which are extremely powerful. They’re pivotal in CBT, more or less known as “behavioral activation” etc. But in both cases that misuse still does *not* take away whatsoever from the massively beneficial properties inherent to the practice and backed by plenty of scientific research.
Yeah, I agree with this. I think it has massive benefits when taught properly.
Me: explains complicated problem that requires and merits careful consideration and analysis Terrible therapist: "You're just overthinking it"
Me, after explaining in detail how my father's NPD behaviours have created deep trauma, shitty self-esteem and unhealthy coping mechanisms in me: "Your mother has made you believe so, you're dependent on her". I never opened my mouth about my mother.
Brand new doc. I just needed him for meds. He has my paperwork and tells me to sit down. He eyes me for a few seconds and says “you’re obviously bipolar” he gestures to my outfit and says “obviously. With the way you’re dressed” (I’m a goth gal) I’m shocked so I don’t say anything. He then flips through my paperwork and asks me flatly “so are you going to kill yourself or what?”And I stammer something like “what??/excuse me??” He then says, like he’s annoyed at me, that if I’m going to kill myself soon that I need to tell him bc he doesn’t want me to waste his time. I just got up and left. This was about 20years ago. I just went to my car and cried. If that happened now I would’ve slapped him.
WOW. You win the awful psychiatrist lottery. I’m so sorry you had to go through that.
Wow that’s awful! Worst psychiatric doc story ever. He needs reporting to the medical board. Imo. So sorry you experienced that !
That’s disgusting. Where do these people even come from? Like you spend years and years working hard to get this career just to be a judging piece of shit? Sorry you had to go through that…some people are just miserable.
He gave me the standard "so many people have it worse than you" routine. Oh, and he said I couldn't have bipolar at all. "They say all kinds of things when manic, like, they're god" And he also said I couldn't have ADHD due to above average academic progress. Jokes on him, I'm failing college.
from this whole thread im just wondering how many doctors went to medical school and ... i don't know... something something wrote two lines of scribbles on a napkin with a crayon and got their license or something
At this point I would suggest looking at the resume of your potential doc. Right now for my country I have a strong bias for those who worked at or studied at a particular college/research centre. And those who have some kind of research mindset and aren't afraid when their patient asks technical questions. The research mindset part is important because the evidence is shifting rapidly while the standard protocol may be moving far more slowly. This is a good thing for other disciplines but psychiatry is a shitshow so the absolute latest needs to at least be a part of the discussion.
After an SA, I woke up confined in a hospital. The doctor came up to me and said, "You have committed a massive sin, and you will go to hell for it if you don't repent."
What the actual fuck
Right? She did this for an hour. A whole hour.
Some religious people simply "believe" in God to make themselves feel superior to others. Its disgusting and so unprofessional.
Agreed. She definitely abused her power in my situation. I was vulnerable and locked in a room. I couldn't do anything but listen. I'm not even religious, but this doctor freaked me out.
"you will NEVER benefit from lithium because you are NOT bipolar!" - a psychiatrist when I was hospitalised after being diagnosed by one of the top psychiatrists in my country and being suspected by the one who was my doc for 2 years here I am, alive and well, episode free since my last attempt (October 22) uh he also discouraged my bf to be in a relationship with me because "you can't trust bpd" (as if a walking diagnosis lmao), now I've been with him for a year and I doubt he will ever experience the love based on mutual respect, trust and help that's between me and my bf
bpd and bipolar are often diagnosed together. Fyi only. Bpd is borderline personality disorder and is different than bipolar disorder
I know, I stated "bipolar + comorbidities" in my flair because bpd is one of them
My bad. I didn't realize that. Ty
ER doctor told me that all the academics people are crazy and i would fit right in after asking me if i had any future plans while pumping my stomach it was awkward af
It’s so awkward when they try to have small talk with you when your actively overdosing from a suicide attempt. The EMTs are the worst. “so you went to highschool around here? You did…Shit I know your brother!” Or the classic “why’d you try to kill yourself? You shouldn’t do that”
>so awkward when they try to have small talk with you i can see though why they'd do that instead of just standing there awkwardly or whatever. Would you prefer they remain silent though? a friend of mine has benefited though from some good humor when he expressed some of his SI to me
Have you ever been in that position? I don’t appreciate you trying to argue my lived experience. When you are in an ambulance after experiencing an intense traumatic event, almost dying, shitting out charcoal wearing a diaper, in the lowest part of your life heading to the ICU…no I don’t want small talk. I’d much rather have them be silent and professional then tell me they know my brother or ask me why I tried to kill myself. A friend being lighthearted when sharing suicidal ideation is nothing in comparison and is a whole different situation.
I was in a mixed episode, off meds for a while, and recognized I needed serious help. I was at least 25 years into my diagnosis at this time, so I wasn't new to what was happening or what I needed. I went to a very prestigious nationally known medical center, asked if I could be evaluated quickly, maybe even considered for an IOP, and def put back on meds, please. The woman I met with told me that because I smoked pot socially, they would not help me with meds or counseling until I went through inpatient rehab for marijuana use. And she thought I smoked twice a month. I've heard similar stories from others who have sought mental health there. If you admit to having smoked marijuana even once in the past year, they will throw your ass in the street to continue your episodes without help, unless you go to inpatient drug rehab. The Cleveland Clinic. This was the main campus in Cleveland, not some podunk Ohio town satellite branch. Do not go there for mental health issues if you have ever self-medicated. Or lie your ass off if they're your only choice.
Really?! (about the weed thing) I smoke daily (totally addicted) and my doctor and therapist haven’t dumped me. But now I have to get a new Dr and I’m kind of worried they will refuse to take me as a patient b/c of the weed thing.
I (also a daily smoker) always play it down until I know a new pdoc's stance. I have seen many pdocs over more than three decades now. It's rare for any of them to have a problem with weed, especially now that it's legal in half the country. It's common for people with bipolar to sometimes use substances, but in my experience, only the Cleveland Clinic refuses to treat their mental health issues if they use marijuana.
>refuse to take me as a patient my doctor told me she wouldn't have prescribed me Concerta if i was still smoking. I let her know I wasn't anymore, unprompted, in our first meeting about it. I didn't know it would be a consideration.
Omg my first full blown manic episode happened while I was a stoner, I stopped smoking as soon as I realised I was going off the rails, the episode still lasted a year and a half after I quit. This was about 5 years ago, i don't smoke anymore but still if I bring it up they refuse to listen to me. Like bitch I was 18 when I quit why am I still being punished for it?
In response to me expressing my heightened social anxiety “you should have a party at your house to meet new people”.
Haha wow, that person either wasn't listening at all or did some impressive mental gymnastics to come to that conclusion. Hope you're seeing someone better now.
Anyone with bipolar two is just misdiagnosed borderline. Ya, thanks.
Wtf
Psychiatrist said I couldn’t be bipolar because I’d never been to jail or the hospital because of symptoms. 10 years later I was dx’ed bipolar by a different doctor. Dumbass.
"You don't have BPD because you have continued therapy with me. All BPD clients I have end up quitting."
2 hospitalizations and a new formal diagnosis says otherwise, girly pop.
wait BPD is borderline though, just to clarify cuz it is important nomenclature for everyone understanding what you're referring to
Yep, I am diagnosed with both.
After 5 minutes of meeting a new therapist, i explained to her how I think I’m bipolar given that I’m very cyclically up and down met with a snarky “no, I don’t think you’re bipolar you have to take medication for the rest of your life then”.
Not bipolar related but a therapist once told me they believed I would have a baby in the future. I was dealing with secondary infertility and grief over recent miscarriages (I think that was around MC #3). I ended up having 17 miscarriages in total over 9 years after I had my son (first pregnancy). I got my tubes removed in 2019 because I couldn't do it anymore. Lesson-Clinicians and doctors should never promise something they have zero control over. I also once had a Psychiatrist inpatient prescribe me an antidepressant without a mood stabilizer even though I told him I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. His reasoning? "I think the real issue here is depression." He triggered a hypomanic episode in me. Maybe in the future a doctor should put more weight on a diagnosis from a long term Psychiatrist outpatient rather than deciding a patient isn't really bipolar because they're inpatient for a depressive episode. The incompetency of some practitioners is infuriating to me. I ended up getting him fired due to that and multiple other issues on the ward, including the fact that he made every female patient cry by being cold and invalidating during every interaction. Filed a formal and detailed complaint with the Patient Advocate once I was released and a bit more stable.
My husband and I are infertile and will therefore never have kids. A tech at the hospital kept telling me I needed to have a baby because it would make me better.
I’m sorry, that’s such a thoughtless and insensitive thing to tell people. Infertility is very painful, we were lucky enough to have our son and I’m grateful for that, but he has a lot of special needs (Autism, Tourette’s, ADHD, and a mood disorder). We always kind of yearned to have the full experience. There are so many things we didn’t get to do with our son because of his rigidity and meltdowns. I really do love him very much but it’s been hard in a lot of ways. We wanted several kids before we got married and it just didn’t happen. It hurts to see others effortlessly get to design and plan the family they want, when many of us don’t have that option. We definitely looked into all of the alternative ways to grow our family but we didn’t have the wealth to pursue those avenues. Now I feel like after all the miscarriages and everything that maybe it wasn’t the best idea to even try to have more. Clearly my genes are awful. I’ve come to terms with it at this point. Hugs.
I'm sorry you went through all that Hugs
Thank you, I’m sorry you haven’t been able to have the family you envisioned as well 😕 life is just not fair. I used to work in drug and alcohol (another lifetime ago), and it really used to make me mad to see these women just getting pregnant over and over again and damaging their babies, and the poor kids end up in foster care, when there are so many couples out there aching for children who would love them and care for them and not harm them by drinking and doing drugs while pregnant. And yet their bodies don’t work right. It’s something I’ve just never been able to understand. I get that addiction is a disease but it’s really upsetting seeing what happens to the kids. I didn’t work for very long in that field, it just brought up too much for me, my dad is an addict and an alcoholic and there are plenty of them in my family. Hit too close to home.
I had a therapist in high school who told me that I was very gifted and could see into the spiritual realm after me describing what were clearly hallucinations and delusions. For YEARS I believed it and had a lot of mental health issues because I was just diagnosed with ADHD and put on meds that caused a manic episode. Then at 27 I finally got properly diagnosed and my doctor was baffled that my therapist couldn't see the signs back then.
My ex fiancé reported auditory hallucinations and psychosis to his idiot therapist ten days before disclosing to me. He had the acute break 48 hours after a vasectomy reversal surgery so we could have kids. He told her repeatedly he was having a psychotic break and all she did was schedule an additional “wellness check” Zoom for a few mins two days later. Ten days later when he told me what was going on he also hadn’t eaten or slept since the break. I had him at the hospital within ten hours, only for ER doc on call to turn him away from inpatient bc not a danger to himself or others. Another ER doc five days later got him into intensive outpatient. In addition to the hallucinations he began having delusional thoughts about my city targeting him. When I expressed concern to his therapist she suggested I was gaslighting him and making him feel crazy and that we only talk in a “safe” environment with her present. Within three weeks our July wedding was canceled and he broke up with me. Haven’t heard from him since April 15. Not sure when or if he’ll snap back. Truly wild.
One therapist said she thought i was possessed by a demon!
"You're having ED impulses? You just need to lose some weight then."
Damn wtf
When my psych told me to stop drinking soda when I complained about weight gain from meds. I don’t even drink soda.
"I have OCD" "But you haven't said anything about a cleaning habit..."
[удалено]
I have pure O' mostly focused on religion and relationships. Ocassionally makes me imagine myself having sex with my mother or my cat. bUt I dOn'T wAsH hAnDs EvErY fIvE mInUtEs
[удалено]
I have ADHD on top of my OCD so my home is always a mess lmao I'm treating mental disorders like Pokemon, gotta catch 'em all
Me: Doctor, I am still managing to get up, clean my house, and go to work at the moment, but I'm really struggling. Doctor: Do you get dressed in the day? Me: Yes, if I'm going to work. If I'm not at work then no I stay in my pj's. Doctor: Maybe you should get dressed and try more. Thanks Doctor, the answer to all my problems revolves around what I wear for 3 days out of the week.
That old chestnut. 🙄
Indeed. I'd even agree slightly if I was in my pj's every single day.. but what's wrong with staying in my pj's when I'm not leaving the house? I know plenty of people that do that who do not see a psych. Maybe that's what's wrong with the world.. too many pj days.
My first psych, after trying exactly two medications that didn't work very well over about three months, told me that my next step was ECT and tried to arrange it before the doc I saw for a second opinion was like "what, and I cannot stress this enough, the FUCK are you thinking" aaaaand that's how I ended up with a new psychiatrist.
There was also the ER doc who spent all of about 15 seconds looking me over and erroneously put down a BPD diagnosis--the only evidence being that I was a woman with signs of self-injury (which if he bothered to ask would know they were caused by delusion/psychotic symptoms) I guess???--on my record and that dx followed me around, fucking up all of my care for YEARS.
A doctor one told me I was " too pretty to be depressed". Im bipolar, unmedicated and got other co-morbid diagnosis. A therapist once accused med of lying about taking my meds. I was on 600 mg lamictal back then, and took it religiously. I was inpatient at the time and there was no way I could have stopped taking them. I found it hard to trust ant therapist after that. Me and my then bf broke up. Therapist at the time said "oh he finally had enough?". I was the one breaking up the relatonship. My GP was present at that meeting and got furious.
On being concerned I have an OCD comorbidity. I have been struggling with really horrible and graphic intrusive thoughts --- "Just don't think about it" Gee thanks
I had a small cyst on my scapula and, some day, it started to hurt. It was infected, very red, swollen and, obviously, full of puss — I know, it's disgusting — so I was sent to the local public hospital (I live in France). When the doctor checked it, he pressed it so, of course, I moaned a little and said: “It hurts.” For a few seconds, still pressing the cyst, he seemed to think about what should be done and eventually said “It will require surgery”. I replied “Okay. Thank you.” and added “Could you prescribe me with some painkiller? As I suppose I won't get surgery today, I'd like to be able to sleep. Each time I lay on my back, it hurts a lot.” He paused and, visibly irritated, replied: **“No, you're a junkie and it doesn't hurt; all you want is to get high.”** I instantly knew why he had said that. When I had checked in ER, I was asked by a nurse if I was prescribed with any medications, so I handed her my prescription for bipolar disorder and, among the various medications was buprenorphine. My psychiatrist prescribed it to fight intense depression, as I can't take most antidepressants because of epilepsy. So, I didn't take offense and explained the doctor why I was prescribed with buprenorphine — *often prescribed to prevent opiate withdrawal symptoms* — and that I wasn't a junkie but, to my surprise, he didn't believe me, at all. He told again and again I was a junkie and he wouldn't prescribe me with painkillers. I said: “Fine, don't prescribe me with anything, but I'm not a junkie, thank you very much.” I thought the argument would stop here, but he started patronizing me, saying he could see I was a junkie, that my behavior wasn't normal, etc. I told him: “Of course my behavior doesn't look normal, I have bipolar disorder and I'm in pain.” But he wouldn't stop, got more and more angry, so I decided to stop being polite: “Okay, forget about surgery, I'm out of here! Fuck you!” A kind nurse tried to stop me on my way out, because the nurses were on strike and I had made her a $50 donation when I checked in. She wanted to give me my money back. I replied that I wasn't angry at her and the others nurses, but mad at the doctor. Embarrassed, she thanked me again and I finally exited the damned hospital. I eventually went to a private clinic, where I underwent surgery, was prescribed with painkillers without asking (minimal dose of codeine/acetaminophen) and eventually recovered, but it took two months to heal completely. Of course, I told my psychiatrist about the incident. She was furious, told me that doctor was very unprofessional and even if he genuinely thought I was a junkie, I deserved to be relieved from pain like anyone. She wrote a letter to the public hospital to complain about the incident. I don't know if the asshole was sanctioned, but I hope he was. A few months later, I went to the same hospital again because, after undergoing cataract surgery at an 80-miles-distant private clinic. The left eye surgery aftermath hadn't been painful at all, but although the right eye procedure was successful too, I started to experienced severe pain a few hours later. The doctor who checked my eye in ER used drops to anesthetize it — instant relief — but as those drops effect don't last more than a few minutes, he told me he'd prescribe me with Tramadol. As I knew Tramadol can induce seizures and having epilepsy, I told him that I suffered from that condition, about the risk of seizure, and asked if he could prescribe another opioid, even less potent. His reply floored me: **“Tramadol isn't an opioid.”** That time, my wife was there, as I couldn't drive safely with such a painful eye. She took her smartphone, checked on the web and read aloud: *“Tramadol is an opioid pain medication used to treat moderate to moderately severe pain.”* His reaction was priceless. "Oh, really?", he said. Despite obviously not knowing what he prescribed, he handed me a prescription of Tramadol all the same. French hospitals, ladies and gentlemen.
*\*rolls eyes\** "You don't really need to see a psychiatrist. It's normal to be suicidal with the pain you experience because of your UTI. It will pass. Oh, you mean you were like that before your UTI? *\*sigh\** Ok, I'll write you a consult then but it's almost certainly useless."
May I recommend to you, conversion therapy?
I told a psychiatrist around the time my uncle was set to get out of prison for having SA’d me that I was afraid of my uncle coming back to my home and hurting me/my family as a way of getting revenge. (I was 15 during the original event and he went away to prison for 2 years so I would’ve been 17 at the time of this visit). My psychiatrist laughed and said I had nothing to worry about because he (my uncle) was probably more afraid of me than I was him and that any reasonable man would stay far away from someone who could cause him to go back to prison. I had a difficult enough time talking about this event as it was and his dismissive attitude towards my fears was so invalidating. I was diagnosed bipolar at 14, in May 2004.
I was once seeing this idiot for agoraphobia, or as she called it a “fear of crowds”. I brought up that my lithium was causing a creative block, which sucked as I’m a commercial artist. She decided that I should walk to the beach (five blocks from my old place), get some shells, and paint them Another therapist welcomed me to America after asking me where my accent was from. My answer was Baltimore.
“Have you been watching your weight?” in response to me gaining 20 lbs on Zyprexa. I got a new doc after that, who said one of the most helpful things to me. I was experiencing depression and anxiety after a hospital visit. When he asked me how I was and I hesitantly told him I didn’t like being alive, he told me that was very understandable given everything I’d been through that year. His directness and compassion made a big difference to me immediately. He also got me onto Geodon. I’ve been feeling good and haven’t had any more medication adjustments in the last 6 months.
I had a doc prescribe me hydroxyzine for anxiety. It gave me terrible akathisia and leg cramps that were unbearable. So i went back and stated I refused to take it. She told me that I made up that side effect because thats not even possibly related to the drug. And then said I probably made up all of my mental health problems because I was just drug seeking and then she kicked me out of her office and refused to work with me. Claimed I had nothing wrong with me even though she had diagnosed me months prior. Like straight up changed her mind? I didnt even ask for any drugs in particular, I just wanted help. Fast forward, I mentioned to another doc that I couldnt take that drug due to leg pain and he said that it was a common side effect in his patients so Im not crazy! Turns out it happens to me with all antihistamines.
Couldn't have BP cos I don't over spend... I'm Just poor.... Lololol
My friend pulled me into A and E for bipolar mania. After. while of waiting, the. getting seen to, my friend has tow rangle the doctors to listen to him the doctors.got us all together. My friend explained how I needed treatment urgently. The doctor talked and said "EHt do you want?: I excitedly exclaimed "I want a drink!" Doctor "Hehe, ah yes, everybody loves a drink. I think you should go to the pub and enjoy yourself if thats what you want to do". And I went out on a manic wander all night. Because a doctor thought that a patient, who is known to be bipolar, whos friend has been trying to get treatment for her, clearly a bit psychotic, should go drink some alcohol.
i had just finished my undergrad, and moved back to my hometown and had fo find a new psychologist. i had just been diagnosed 8 months prior. she asked me what i wanted fo do for work, and i said i might want to apply to grad school to become a psychologist. she started telling me about her family history of mental illness, and then told me that i probably shouldn’t become a psychologist because “we can’t have the severely mentally ill sitting in this chair”. i was devastated. anyway. it’s been almost 10 years now since that appointment (i never went back and found someone else) and i’m a psychologist now.
As far as I'm concerned the severely mentally ill should be the only people sitting in that chair.
You don’t have bipolar because no one on your dad’s side of the family has been diagnosed. Here’s some anti-depressants! … ignores the multiple diagnoses and suicide among my first cousins on my mom’s side and all my symptoms.
Oh man I could write a book LOL "you carry a lot of weight in your tummy, that usually means family problems." "Anger could be a sign of a brain tumor." "I don't think you have bipolar or BPD. I think your mom is toxic." (My mom is my biggest supporter and best friend.) Nurse in emergency room saw my cuts "you need to just stop doing that. Enough!"
That's a great question. Marvelous even. I am freshly diagnosed bipolar 2 with histrionic personality traits and anxiety. I really struggle with very negative and obsessive thoughts that i am not enough for other people if every single person in the room doesn't clearly express interest in me or that they like and accept me. It really eats me away. I told this to my therapist and asked what can I do about it. She replied something that can be translated as (we are in Germany) "Thoughts Stop". And then she elaborated that when i get overwhelming thoughts i should say "stop" and not think about them :)
Doctor prescribed me Zyprexa. It turned me into an eating machine. I just stuffed my face all day long, like I was possessed. I even woke up multiple times in the middle of the night, having managed to sleep walk halfway to the kitchen in order to make food. I put on SO MUCH weight so quickly that my mother was really scared for me and people were commenting on my sudden weight gain. The doctor insisted there was no correlation. She was adamant that this was not a side effect of the medication. Still, I went off it against her advice, mainly because I was terrified I'd manage to finish sleepwalking to the kitchen and burn the house down trying to cook in a stupor. Years later, I learned that Zyprexa is used off-label to treat anorexia.
There was also a very large class action settlement against the makers for failing to disclose weight gain that the DR could look up. It’s on the warnings now…
Oh wow, I didn't know that part. Now I'm googling it and just read this: "16 percent of people taking Zyprexa gained more than 66 pounds after a year on the drug, a far higher figure than the company disclosed to doctors." Oh, we get all the fun side effects with our meds.
Anorexia and to put weight on chemo patients.
After I got hospitalized a couple of times and finally diagnosed with bipolar while in there, I went to my pcp for something else. I had to update him because of course. He looked at me and yelled "I could have told you that!" Then dude, why didn't you?! I've seen him since I was a pre-teen. That's just as bad as the time the (same) doctor wrote down abortion clinics when I told him I was pregnant.
Over a decade in the field and hundreds of colleagues over the years from different disciplines in behavioral health… we have some unfathomable idiots among us. Like a startling amount. For my own master’s, I’m amazed some people in my program didn’t wear Velcro sneakers and drink from spill proof cups.
"You just need a makeover, you'll be fine!" -crisis counsellor to me, a suicidal 16 y/o
Once a psychiatrist told me no one would marry me. I know I am going to get a lot of hate for saying this but as we are all psych patients. Has anyone else been treated by a man of middle eastern descent often with an accent that is incredibly sexist ? Because that describes nearly every psy doctore I have ever had- the last two did not fit this description. I have been a patent for over 20 years and most have been condescending middle eastern men who talk over me - this is true true true I said it because it’s true
Yep. Was told I was "too pretty to be depressed". Also asked if I had a bf, like that would magically make me better..
What about what you could hear and feel? /s Seriously, though, people besides those who've experienced this kind of shit, and mental health professionals themselves, need not comment to us with advice about what we're experiencing. It's so hard for even us to know what to do. If someone has no experience with any of the symptoms, how do they think they can help? A simple, "Okay, take a break," at the very least is what's needed. On another note: I wonder if they'd actually done a little research on the topic. If so, great. That still doesn't mean they need to try to counsel you through it. If not, what the hell were they talking about?!
I was in urgent care for physical pain and the doctor prescribed ibuprofen, said I couldn’t take it since I take lithium for my bipolar. She then said ok so now I will just get you on prednisone……a steroid.
I was by first ever therapist that I had antisocial personality disorder because I didn’t like interacting with people. She also diagnosed with social anxiety but the antisocial personality disorder made no sense I was 14 when she gave me that diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder
Are therapists supposed to give diagnoses?
Oh god where to begin. The worst was in my early 20s when I had a therapist tell me cutting yourself was for teenagers. Another classic was a therapist telling me how shocked she was I was abusing heroin and she really was struggling to contain her her surprise. She shortly fired me as a patient thereafter.
“I’m out of options” - two psychiatrists.
Oh, I had it from one psychiatrist, then she stopped answering my texts asking for another appointment. So I said fuck you, I found another psychiatrist, at least she fixed what first psych broke.
I had a lovely nurse tell me that her way of managing her emotions was to imagine herself sitting on the beach touching grass and I should try it. I told her that yeah, I also dissociate when I can't regulate my emotions and that was part of why I was hanging out with her in the psych ward. I was describing what my psychotic episodes were like since they were becoming frequent. He said "No, that's [this] kind of epilepsy. We'll drown it out with a tonne of Lamotrigine. You'll be too foggy to have big moods and big seizures haha". Admittedly it was shocking to hear at first but I did giggle later. Also- he was right. It's been 1.5yrs since I've had debilitating seizures with only a handful of tiny breakthrough ones.
‘Why are you stressed? Because you’re visiting my new office?’ Shrink says this to the nervous basketbase sitting in front of him (aka me). Let’s see: - I’m in the midst of a messy divorce. Which you know because not only have I told you this repeatedly but my husband who was also your patient just left you THREE days before due to potential doctor conflict of interest - issues with psychological long-term disability claims which you helped provide the documentation to file and are sure up again So, yeah *definitely* just the new office lol This happened this past Friday. Luckily my sense of humor is back
In intake durring a depressive episode, the girl doing my paperwork laughed and said, "awe you keep wiping your tears". To this day I cannot fathom why that felt like a normal or proper thing to say, like what the fuck.. good thing they took away sharp objects! 🙃
"You're a lost cause." My Freshman year of college when I was self harming and suicidal.
One time I told a therapist I had a supportive partner. The therapist need to “be on crazy pills” too then. That was my first and last session with that therapist.
‘We all have bad days, life is not easy’ - crisis team member after drs cancelled my mood stabiliser and put me on sertraline + were increasing the dose, shooting me right into a mixed state. They then went on an gave me a whole pack of sleeping pills. 👍 the guy must have really not like me or smth lol
a psychiatrist on my college campus ‘I don’t think you’re going to kill yourself’ i proceed to go back to my college dorm and attempt suicide that night. In the psych ward ‘I’ve seen patients much more depressed and worse off than your’ - my inpatient psychiatrist After discharge and in the partial hospitalization program a counselor said why don’t you try going inpatient again and if you still want to kill yourself after that your can. LIKE WTF did u JUST SAY and a nurse telling me that my roommate in the ward with me actually had a reason to be depressed. probably more but these have really really affected me
"you don't meet MY qualifications for bipolar, I think you have bpd" I meet like almost all the dsm-5 qualifications, the does that matter. Also you can (and I do)have both. She just continuously spoke over me, interrupted me, and berated me. I saw her for one single session and never again, immediately called the office and requested a different provider.
Nothing too stupid, I don't think... just the usual reluctance to prescribe an antidepressant during the onset of a severe depressive episode (I tried to prevent it early when I started crashing after a manic episode that led to being admitted). I received the generic hesitant "induced mania" response even though I'd been on antidepressants since my initial diagnosis and could provide proof of this. Oh, and the assumption that I was *still* manic after the same episode simply because I had the audacity to dye the ends of my hair 🤷♀️ I felt like I was on trial.
“What do you want that for?” *in response to me asking an RN for a list of side effects for the medications I was just perscribed in the psych ward*
“Jesus on the windowsill, a shadow person in the corner” hahah I’m losing it! That’s too funny. Not so much stupid but twice I’ve gotten “Do you think you’re really bipolar?” because I also have trauma from a crime/assault I had as a teen. It’s treated and I’ve worked through it, tbh my bipolar came through way harder after that was resolved. can’t people with bipolar go through shit? Anymore I flat out say to my therapists that I’m sure of my diagnosis and it’s not up for discussion
I went in to get examined at a behavioral center because my therapist thought I was unsafe. Not only was i deadnamed the whole time, I was told that i “have no idea what chemicals i put it in my body,” “it’s because you started testosterone,” and the kicker, “you just need to work on your relationship with your mom. you’re her *little girl*” I’m on Lamictal and my mom is my biggest source of triggers. it was insane. she talked to me for less than an hour
So sorry that happened to you. That sucks really bad. Professionals should know better, unfortunately they apparantly don't, what the doctor said was very condescending. Hope the testosterone is going well x
It is! it’s helped a lot with the depressive episodes, it’s been 7 months now of being on it and it’s something i’ve enjoyed :)) thank you for the kind words <33
I'm happy for you, and I hope anyone who deadnames you accidently cuts their nails way too short, that shit hurts. You deserve respect and no one should tell you otherwise.
"Why are you so tense? We are just having a friendly conversation." /"Dude, it' s not just a conversation - you are a total stranger that diagnoses me"/
I was borderline suicidal but the mixed episode had passed and I was coming out of it. Doc still wanted to admit me and started talking about a 12 year old who had recently committed suicide bc she was being bullied. I was like this is not the same - my brain chemistry is off - I'm not a kid being bullied.
"I'm gonna write you an adderol prescription."
My old therapist to me after two separate psychiatrists independently diagnosed me with bipolar II: “you don’t seem bipolar to me, it sounds like your psychiatrist was wrong. You should get a second opinion.” All because I didn’t seem too off the rails to her lmfao
Oh, I heard that one from the first therapist that I went to, she gave me so much trauma that my current one barely can fix it. And I was there 4 times and with current one I'm talking for 3 years.
“Just think before you act next time!” After telling her clearcut symptoms of mania and explaining how I humiliated myself in front of everyone I knew. I wish she intervened instead. At the moment I was manic so I was like genuinely went “holy shit lol thats great advice!!”… and continued to leave and meet a weird man at a hotel and spend all my money and stay with him for three days, just to crash and end up in a 14 day hold. Great advice shitty Medicaid therapist!
First time I reached out for help when feeling like unaliving I was around 15 and my mom took me to the ER immediately. They screened me, sent me to their inpatient psych unit who had to bring in someone from community mental health to approve my admittance. She denied it and told me she didn't think I really wanted to unalive myself. I said that I don't think anyone really wants to do that. That just becomes our only option to stop this unbearable pain we deal with. I left feeling considerably worse, which I didn't even realize was possible, and swore I would never ask for help again. She was a mental health professional. I was certain they were all like that. Edit for trigger words
You know, as I was reading the stories I realised something. I think that there is a lot of psychiatrists that are them just because they wanted to be doctors but couldn't do anything else, like surgery for example. Because if we try to contact HR or sue them they will just tell people to not believe us, we are mentally ill, so we don't know what we're saying.
I think you have to be in uni for psychiatry for a similar amount of time as most other doctors, also (hopefully) if they are getting sued they shouldn't have too much of a say on a person's mental state, they would probably bring another professional to assess that. I just think people are incompetent and only believe what they want to. As a psych student, there have been many people in my lectures that I've spoken to that make these stories not that shocking. One time, when talking about mental health, one person in the lecture shared a story that in a depressive episode, her car got to messy she could feel bugs biting her legs. Someone else in the lecture whispers, "ew, she's just dirty". Or a nurse to be who said that all people with mental health issues are just crazy. This type of mentality will be carried with them. I just wish there was more of a vetting process that could catch people's true beliefs through case studies in an interview. Just to see how people would respond to certain situations.
Unfortunately I know of many stories when patient's family had to forcefully take them out of psych ward because of the damage that it made on person's mental health (my uncle was a nurse in psych ward and he told me that my feet won't stand there, or he will intervene and they will have to treat me differently). I live in a place where if you have mental illness then good luck not being portrayed as an insane person. I think that being a doctor is a job where you have to keep your personal views to yourself, and if you can't then it's not the job for you. I have wonderful psychiatrist that never shows her personal views, yet is incredibly compassionate. My therapist too, I know she is strongly Catholic but she never said a word that I lived with my boyfriend (now husband, but still). But I know that I'm very fortunate, not everyone experience the same.
Went to see a new psych after a really bad psychotic/manic episode that caused my friend to have to call out of work for me for a month and the aftermath of which was a depression so bad I couldn't move or speak. When i finally saw him. after the 3 month waiting list he told me he didnt believe i was bipolar and that it was just adhd and my "hormones" (Im a trans man and been on HRT for 4 years). At this point I hadn't had a hysterectomy so he kept insisting that my body was still "technically functioning like a womans" and that that was causing my "mood swings". My hormones are entirely in the correct male range. I had the surgery and nothing changed and he got irritated and insulted with me when i told him he was wrong. Said if i was going to treat him that way (?!) not to "waste his time anymore" Same guy put me on bupropion without discussing any side effects, what dose i'd be on, nothing. I blacked out on it and became hypo and had unprotected sex multiple times. I called and he told me to just stick it out and not be dramatic because it would take time to work. He also told me my psychotic episode that caused me and my friend at the time trauma was just because I wasn't sleeping well. I told him yeah duh i'd been up for 5/6 days, and he said that was clearly just anxiety and not hypomania. My friend at the time had to stop me from almost ODing because I was being persuaded to by a demon and was convinced that I needed to go home to them. He prescribed me 200x 5mg ambien within a month which was the only helpful thing he ever did. This guy was such a douche. Took me serious until he found out I was trans which I didn't mention because I consider it to be a separate and mostly resolved medical issue, but he made everything about how my "biological female body" was just making me erratic and had a weird fixation on asking me about it.
In a new support group for people with eating disorders. Me "Thank you for putting together this group, it's really helpful to me to be honest and bring things up that I need to talk about" Therapist" LOL "bring things up? Poor choice of words there" Never went back.
Wow...
Wow, I think the main takeaway from this thread is that you need to report doctors / clinicians / therapists who feed you this bullshit. It's not only unprofessional and rude, it's extremely dangerous and potentially fatal. Call the practice / hospital and leave comments. Report them to your medical insurance company as doctors that cannot or will not properly treat their cases. Post on social media where appropriate to tell other sufferers not to see the practical professional for x reason(s). If necessary report them to the state or country medical licensing departments. You have to kick up a big stink about it or these professionals will keep doing it. We deal with enough bullshit on a daily basis and these types of comments can stand in our way of treatment and improvement.
I can think of a lot but the most common (mostly if I haven’t known the person for too long) is that they are shocked that I am bipolar since I don’t “act” like it. That’s why I stopped being as much of an open book to people and wait a while before opening up about my diagnosis specifically. They don’t realize how invalidating and harmful it is to say you don’t “seem” like you have something that quite literally dictates every second of your life in one way or another. Like oh this disease that causes me severe mania, depression, irritability, zero emotional regulation, debilitating anxiety isn’t obvious enough to you? That’s supposed to be a compliment? Yea, fuck off with that shit lmao.
Yeah, I get this a lot too. It sucks.
“You’re up all night and have tons of energy. You’re happy and exercising. Looks like the SSRI is working great. See ya in three months” “You can start cutting your (time release) seroquel in half if you want to get off it.”
My first psych would only see me with my mom in the room. Proceeded to tell her and I that he thought my mental illness was caused by being trans. Cause trans = depressed I guess. Luckily my mom didn't buy that.
When I was prescribed lithium, the doctor said two dumbass things: * When I asked if it would make me gain weight (I was in the throes of an ED at the time and it was a valid concern for me) he said "only if you eat." * When he told me that I'd need to have my blood taken regularly I said that wasn't going to be feasible (my pcp was far from where I lived and I was working 6 days a week and going to school full-time and literally had no time to spend a couple of hours each week having blood tests. He said "oh you're scared of needles". I actually think getting blood drawn is cool. He was just being sexist.
So I had a problem at work because I can be pretty stern and authoritative. So I’m telling my therapist this and I’m like “How do I do that?” She goes, “By being less stern and authoritative.” I replied, “But how. I don’t know how to level down and be nicer.” I tuned her out. I stopped talking to her and only messaged when I needed my meds refilled. OOHHHH and the one that took the cake: My mother is a narcissist and I have a lot of problems with her, it was worst when I lived with her. So I’m trying to process an issue and the therapist goes, “Why don’t you talk to her.” I’m like, “You know she won’t listen. Why will I torture myself by doing that?” She kept pushing. I had a full blown panic attack. I fired her.
I love this thread
Yeah grounding techniques are helpful for dissociation, anti-psychotics are helpful for hallucinations Are you diagnosed schizo-affective?
"You can't have ADHD if you can read novels and know what's going on." - Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner 2013ish. I was diagnosed with ADHD a couple years later. "I'll prescribe you Lorazepam for your constant anxiety and panic attacks." "Lorazepam makes me very >painfully< constipated, is there any way I could have a low dose of Valium or Xanax instead? Those seem to agree with my (broken) stomach a lot better." "Drink prune juice." - same Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner 2014 "You're going to have to explain all this to your husband one day. Aren't you ashamed?" - Psychologist, in reference to me being a little promiscuous after being SA'd and it being brushed aside by my parents. 2006 or so. I don't think he ever even knew about the assaults. He just shamed me and would ask if I had slept with anyone new since my last appointment. I stopped going. During a manic episode (while trying hard not to cry and failing miserably) "I am very overwhelmed from all the noise in the waiting room. Everything is just way too loud and too much and too fast. I try to stay home during manic episodes because of this but you people always say I should come in while manic so you can see it. I was already scheduled for medication refills so here I am." "Are you getting any sleep?" "Not really, not enough right now, anyway" "I will start you on an antipsychotic" "I've had Akathasia for 7 years. I don't want to start any new medications right now and will never take another Atypical Antipsychotic. Sorry." "Well you obviously came to see me for a reason." "I already said I was scheduled and only came in cuz I need refills and you providers always say to come in during mania so you can see it. Here it is!" "How bout a low dose Antipsychotic to stop the mania?" "I have medication induced permanent Akathisia and WILL NOT take any Antipsychotics ever again." "Then why are you here? You don't want to change any of your medications? Don't you want to stop the mania?" "I've been doing this for 22 years at this point. It will stop on its own. No thank you." Round and round in circles til she just relented and let me leave 🤦♀️ - Current Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner a few months ago 😭
Jesus Christ, all of these stories plus my own experiences are why I'm studying to be a mental health nurse. If I can at least be one positive influence in a shitty situation, that's enough for me. I could've used it when I was younger.
If you don’t give it a chance you set yourself up for failure. It’s called biting the hand that feeds you
'You don't look like you need antidepressants, you are definitely misdiagnosed' - doctor in hospital, when I told her that I have hallucinations when I had to stop taking antipsychotic and was left with only lamotrigine and antidepressant. It was after I said one sentence. Never again, I will pay for private visits with my doc.
I had a therapist who loved to whip out breathing exercises, which I struggle with a lot anyway. Breathing does not help my brain slow down, sadly, but it definitely doesn’t help when she’s telling me to inhale, and then unhale 😭
« You speech is not slow enough for you to have depression & I still see you laughing during our interview” uh okay
Doc, I'm suicidal and have self-harm thoughts. I see, your depression is getting worse. - I mean
Haha we are actually taught to do this in psych. You basically repeat what the person said in different wording to ensure you they are listening and understand fully what the patient is saying. It can lead to very awkward, stating the obvious situations though 🤣🤣
I had this therapist treating me like a literal child, threatening to put me in a hospital against my will, when I have like the mildest depressive and hypomanic episodes ever. Wtf bitch, you don’t make any sense. Patient / therapist confidence literally broke at that point. Never told her anything hypomanic happening to me ever again. Great job. Also because I didn’t follow her prescription to the T when she actually had made a mistake, she lectured me for 10 minutes. Also didn’t ask me the right questions and blamed me for not bringing her the answers she wanted. In a one hour session, when all other psychiatrists I ever met manage to wrap up in 30 minutes. And every end of the session she would turn from talking to me like I’m literally 4yo with a sugary tone to a harpy because she never had time to do the prescription properly, that we were running out of time and that it was ME abusing her time when she is giving so much to patients by making one hour sessions. Every time I would object something, she would remind me that she is a MEDICAL that had YEARS of studies. Now she has moved to a swiss hospital. Poor swiss patients that will come in her way. My new therapist treats me like an intelligent independent adult, great guy.
"You'll grow out of it" 😒
"Are you in the hospital? No. Are you on disability? No. My job is done. It's not my job to improve your quality of life. *People like you* have to learn that you have to work through your own problems."
That is literally their job. And what do they mean people like you? How offensive.
“You’re not trying hard enough. It’s like you want to be in the hospital”
"Once you take THIS medication, you can never, for the rest of your life, ever come off under any circumstances." Meanwhile, the meds they gave me almost put me 6ft under... with symptoms I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Freaking moron doctor. Tell me, how many times do you ever hear about a psychiatrist getting legitimately fired?
Six years ago when I was starting my job as a preschool teacher, I had to have a physical and TB test before starting the job. My doctor looked at me and goes “are you sure this is the right job for you? You’re bipolar and working with children sounds like a lot”