If your world is so devoid of light and you can think of nothing else but how much you wish it would end, and you even go so far as to think of ways of ending ending it, see a psychiatrist. But soon. While I could go on and on why you should see a psychiatrist, and quite frankly most of us could sue one now and then, but who among us can afford It?
What we can do, however,is try to understand its priciples and its reasonings. When you catch yourself being ludicrous, childish, and deliberately being mean or spiteful, ask yourseld why. The possible answer could be you have formed bad habits that need to be changed. It could also be true that you are having chemical problems that cause you to think they way you. First, you take care of the physical part by having a good checkup from your doctor an asking them to help you clean up your emotional health. Do it without medicine if at all possible.
Depression is normal sometimes and is annoying but when it becomes an illness, it is beyond your means of control. If you begin to think in ways you know is abnormal and is not the way you normally think, and you cannot turn the thoughts off, and they recur frequently, then see a psychiatrist.
If your daughter is in her early teens and came home from school with a terrible attitude and is demanding her family do this and do that and roams around at night and cannot sleep, you get her to a psychiatrist. You are almost sure she has inherited your sister;s bi-polar illness. Hers, too, started in much the same way. It can be controlled very well by medication.
You need to see a psychiatrist if you harbor dangerous thoughts toward others. You know these are wrong but you cannot control them.It is far better to seek help than harm others, or yourself.
Actually, small behavior patterns happen all along life, but a normal person with a little rest and a good talking to by self, or a minister, or a good friend, will do wonders, and when they do not, search out professional help. If you are not satisfied with the one you select, then find another.
For minor personality changes, a psychiatrist may not be necessary, but when a sufferer cannot climb out of the pit by extra effort, then professional help will be necessary. Sometimes, ‘going to a shrink’ is not something some people are proud of, but it says more to me about the strength of the person that is able to admit when they need help, than to those who is so afraid of what others will say, that they suffer needless agonies.
Psychiatric counseling can be freeing. It could mean the difference between a wasted life and a life live with purpose. And just for the record, prayer and your belief in a ‘higher power’ can work wonders, too.
