Handling Anxiety during Appointments

The fear and anxiety you feel over your first session with your [FURL=http://www.murdochpsychiatry.org/]psychiatrist[/FURL] might convince you that therapy sessions are difficult to pull through. The truth is, in a real sense your mind is playing games with you and making you think you have a lot of problems to handle.

Nonetheless, your therapist will start slow with you by focusing on one or two problems you are facing and further develop from there. If you walk into your therapy room fully prepared during your first appointment, it will help you manage your anxiety so you can focus on solving your real issues.

Take some time to get set for Your First Appointment

You’re new to this, it’ll definitely build up some tension. Take a day or two before your scheduled appointment with your psychiatrist to reflect on your thoughts and all your challenges. Create a list of all the questions you have for your psychiatrist and all the challenges you are facing. Your list should include triggers and all the details surrounding it and how it affects the way you live your life.

If you have a foul temper, you need to list not just the expression, but the things that spark up your temper and its impact on your life.

Watch the Labels

Stay clear from labeling your triggers or feelings. It’s the job of your psychiatrist, let them do that. By putting up labels on your feelings or triggers, you can alter your diagnosis as your psychiatrist could be inadvertently influenced. Labeling reduces the chances of obtaining a clearer result as your feelings come into play and can misguide the psychiatrist.

When writing down your list, if you start feeling anxious, stop and take a break. Ensure you are expressing yourself fully and not making attempts to link patterns or find explanations.

Why you need to make a list for your First Appointment

It can be tasking to try to figure out all the challenges you are facing on the spot with your psychiatrist, this will build up tension in the air as you struggle to scan through your brain to express yourself. When you make a list beforehand, it goes a long way to assist your doctor to fully understand you and draw a conclusive diagnosis from your session. Having a list handy will nonetheless make your therapy session go smoother and your doctor will appreciate your commitment towards your rehabilitation.

What to Do After Your First Appointment

Once you get home, you can add more notes to your list while the session is still fresh in your mind. This will go a long way to increase your progress as you become able to address more in-depth sections of your life you couldn’t address during the first visit. Take a moment to assess your just-concluded session, ask yourself if you feel comfortable with the session, or id you would like to change your psychiatrist.