Not All Mental Health issues Need a Medical Doctor Part 2

This is in follow-up to the previous essay. It is meant to help you triage where to go for your emotional difficulties before involving a doctor, to ensure you are getting the support you need. Because I am most familiar with Ottawa, many of the resources here are specific to this location. Please look for their equivalent in your area. Many resources can be found online and at your local health clinic.

If you are struggling with emotional difficulties to a stressful situation, please consider the following questions first before seeing your family doctor:

1. Are you looking after yourself?  This means minimizing recreational drugs and alcohol, looking after your physical health and your sleep?  If not, take the time to do this first.
   1. Do you have hobbies?  Things you enjoy?  Please make it your responsibility to find healthy activities and coping mechanisms for yourself.  If you do not know where to begin, use google, AI or your local community recreation center for ideas.
2. Do you have friends and family to lean on?  Talk to them about the issue to see if this helps.  None of us are meant to handle difficult things alone.
   1. You may not want to talk about it and that is ok.  Family and friends are there also to do things with you to take your mind off of something difficult.  These healthy relationships are there to remind you that you are more than the stressor.  Watch a movie, play a boardgame, cook something together, are some examples of connectedness without having to talk about something uncomfortable.  Do you see how a physician is not able to do this for you?
   2. If you currently do not have family or friends to lean on, it is never too late.  I would seek out a community for yourself around an interest you have.  A community centre or the public library is a great place to start and to get ideas.  Meetup.com is also a good website to look for a community.  If you have a history of addictions or ongoing addictions, I recommend finding a Alcoholic/Narcotics anonymous group and a sponsor as a place to start for safe, sober community.  Religion and cultural centres can also provide these experiences.
3. Have you considered a therapist?  These are the people actually trained to provide emotional support.  If cost is an issue, some therapists offers a sliding fee scale to match your income.  The website, Psychology Today, offers local listings of available therapists and allows you to choose different filters to better tailor the search results to you. Another way to get affordable therapy is to seek it out from therapists-in-training. These would be available at a local college or university offering a psychotherapy certification.
4. Are you in crisis?  Do you need help right away?  If you are worried about harm coming to yourself or another, please call the police or go to the emergency room of your local hospital.  If you are experiencing emotional distress requiring urgent attention, but have no safety concerns, consider calling a crisis line that is available in many jurisdictions.  The number in Auckland is 0800800717.  

My most commonly used community resources suggestions (applicable to Ottawa, Canada):

AccessMHA.ca - this website is open to all, does not need a physician referral and is the main access point to the most affordable publicly-funded community resources for any mental health symptoms you may have.  If you need a psychiatry assessment, you can access this here also, though wait times are long.  It is also the main website to access addictions support in the city.

1click1call.com - the pediatric (ages 0-18) version of AccessMHA.ca

Psychology today - a website that offers the most comprehensive list of therapy providers in your area.  Each therapist has a photo, a description of what therapy is offered and prices.  The website also has filters that allow patients to be more specific in their search (e.g. gender, therapy modality).

https://www.cdcapacitybuilding.com/online-group-link - This website provides free online group therapy in modalities like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy.  There are also groups that offer virtual peer support and groups more geared to addictions recovery.

Dialecticalbehaviortherapy.com - a website offering free weekly emails that teach you one dialectical therapy skill at a time.  The skills teach mindfulness, interpersonal effectiveness, emotional regulation and distress tolerance.

Alcoholics/narcotics/marijuana/overeaters Anonymous - we all benefit from a safe, judgement-free community and peer support in recovery.

https://walkincounselling.com/ - same-day/same-week-one-session therapy.  Meant to provide a safe space to talk while offering support and connection to other resources to aid in recovery.  Available, both in person and virtual.

When to see a doctor?

See your doctor if how you are feeling seems disproportionate or inappropriate to the situation and if the symptoms are causing significant dysfunction in your life where you are unable to maintain your previously held responsibilities.  Some people will notice they are eating less, unable to sleep even when they practice good sleep habits and feel more hopeless or anxious.  See a physician if there is a clear and significant change from your baseline.  Keep in mind that therapy and medication is more effective than medications alone for most mental illnesses including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), depressive disorders and anxiety disorders.

A physician assessment is also recommended for individuals experiencing psychosis or mania.