Druidry and mental health

[Aigeann]

Because the correct balance has not yet been found. More work needs to be done by you and your care giver/healer.

Meant in deep caring.

It's a chemical imbalance and I know that anti-depressants are supposed to correct that imbalance...but why don't they work?
[b]

[Heddwen]

Not forgetting also that these things take time to work. For anti depressants they can take up to 8 weeks to have any effect. That and getting the dosage right can produce good effects towards healing.

[ideagirl]

I guess I haven't been so lucky in my doctors then.

Yeah, maybe not. Whenever I need a new doctor, or am looking for one for someone else, here's what I do--just mentioning it because so far I've found a lot of good doctors (western, holistic and Oriental/Chinese) and good therapists, so you could try this too:

- First, I check what doctors in that specialty are in my area (or the person's area that I'm looking for a doctor for)
- Then Google the doctors to see what I can find out about them, specifically:
* Look for reviews of them on websites like RateMDs.com and Healthgrades.com (and Angie's List in my area, since I'm an Angie's List subscriber but can only view providers in my area);
* Look for photos of them--it's amazing how much of a sense you can get about a stranger just from their photo; I can always tell if it's someone I can talk to vs. someone arrogant, for instance.
* See where they went to medical school and did their residency, and where they work (like do they have hospital privileges at a good hospital?);
* If they're a western doctor, see what studies they've done or what articles they've published.
* If they're a therapist, see what type of therapy they specialize in so I can figure out if it's something that's likely to work for my problem (for instance, if I'm depressed, it would make no sense to see a psychoanalyst--that's basically been proven not to work for depression; a cognitive therapist is a much better bet for most types of depression. Or if it's couples therapy, I might look for a gestalt therapist. And so on... and also I've been in a few kinds of therapy so I have a sense of what works for me personally).

And then when I go to them, I trust my gut. I once went to a doctor with my husband, and this doctor had been recommended by my doctor, who's great. He had some decent reviews, but I couldn't find a photo of him online, which bugged me. At the appointment he seemed okay, except that it really felt like he was on autopilot, not really present or paying close attention to my husband as an individual person (as opposed to the latest in a long series of patients). This doctor said my husband was fine, but I just didn't feel like the doctor had been thorough, and the thing we were there for was not just a cold, it was something potentially important. So I persuaded my husband to see another doctor (whom I'd found by following the steps above), and whose photo I really got a good feeling from. And guess what? This other doctor found CANCER that the first doctor had missed. It was so early that it was really easy to treat, no problems. And he found it! While the first doctor didn't! And the appointments were less than two weeks apart!!!!

So you've got to trust your gut. If you have a bad experience with a doctor, or an experience that just leaves you with a nagging sense of "that wasn't quite what I needed, he/she didn't really get it," or whatever, don't just tell yourself "oh well, doctors can't help" or "doctors suck"--trust that your gut is telling you about THAT doctor, not doctors in general! Then use your gut, and your intellect, to find a better one.

Good luck!