Content

• Steps
• Tips
• Warnings

For a variety of reasons, you may be faced with the need to obtain psychological diagnostics, which means that you will need to take tests and, depending on the result, treatment may be prescribed by a psychologist or similar specialist. Luckily for all of us, mental illness is no longer considered something to be kept secret, so if it can help, it's better to do it. Unfortunately, your possible illness (you do not yet know if it really takes place) can become an obstacle to making the right decision. Ideally, you will feel better already at the stage of passing the diagnosis, as you will either make sure that everything is absolutely fine with you, or establish a specific diagnosis for your condition. If you remain positive, you may want to take this step because it's always best to know for sure.

Steps

1. 1 Before you begin, if you can, try to enlist the support of someone you trust. This could be a family member, doctor, teacher, or priest. Let them help you make a decision.
2. 2 If your supportive person suggests that you are better off getting diagnosed by a specialist, you will need to make a decision whether to follow this advice or not, which is a very personal decision. The decision to get tested is already a big step on your part.
3. 3 Study a little the topic of psychological problems (this is always useful if someone is seriously ill). There are several basic categories of mental health problems:
   • (A) Emotional - This is very clear; it affects people whose reaction to the situation is manifested in such an excessive degree that, thereby, worsens it even more.
   • (B) Behavioral or behavioral - These are complex multifactorial problems associated with habits manifested in behavior.
   • (C) Developmental delay - This category describes problems arising from physical disabilities that affect mental development. Often, even a person with mental limitations himself can say that he / she is different from his / her peers. A slight degree of difference is not a deviation from the norm, but only a specialist can tell.
   • (D) Physiological - This is a category of problems related to the functioning of the brain and caused by physical problems in the functioning of nerves and muscles.
4. 4 Don't make your situation worse by feeling alienation. This is a word that is often used to describe feelings of loneliness. You may start to think that you are the only one with this condition and that everyone will think you are strange and not so... But this is definitely not true.
   • Most common problems, such as depression, are exacerbated by feelings of loneliness. Just be aware that many of these problems very widespread, and this very awareness will help you in the fight against the problem. But more often than not, intervention is required; that is, the problem will not disappear on its own, treatment is necessary. But you shouldn't be upset about this at all. Those who have experienced this for themselves can help you understand what is happening to you and how you can deal with it.
   • Find out which good doctor or medical center is best for you. They are NOT the same and you should trust the person who will take care of your treatment, be it a medical center doctor or a private counselor. If you are uncomfortable with one specialist, this is not a problem, just find another. This is a very important treatment and you should be comfortable with someone who is helping you.
5. 5 Know what to expect. So what happens in the psychological assessment process?
   • (i) As a rule, at the very beginning you get an appointment with a professional who just sits opposite you and asks you to explain a variety of things. Typically, this conversation lasts about an hour. If the decision is made that you need psychotherapy, similarly: a meeting-conversation, during which you are offered various ideas and options for how to cope with this or that aspect of your problem. The conversation can go about physical problems, genetic problems (did your parents or grandparents have ...?), parenting environment (Have you ever faced violence, constant noise, hostility, constant moving or changing schools ...?), educational issues (did you have any difficulties at school with ...?)
   • (ii) The conversation can go about your feelings and reactions to a wide variety of events that have ever happened to you. To this end, it may be good for you to write down in advance everything that upsets and worries you, and take these notes with you to the conversation.
6. 6 Don't be discouraged; lay out everything in front of the therapist (doctor, professional), do not be embarrassed. This is absolutely confidential; there are laws that prohibit them from discussing information they receive from you with anybody outside of this session.Nothing you say will surprise them; most likely they have heard a lot of similar things from other patients. It may surprise you how easy it will be to open up once you take the first, hardest step and say something truly confidential.
7. 7 Take all your medications honestly.It is important... One of the main problems that doctors face is that patients stop taking medication as soon as they feel better. This is especially true for people suffering from manic depression (accompanied by an abrupt change climbs and recessions mood). Medicines keep you from especially depressed states, but they also reduce the level of elevations. You cannot have everything at once; you need to be able to give up a certain amount of euphoria in order to avoid the depths of depression; it's a deal.
   • Organize your medication so that you don't forget about it. (Many people start a special organizer with small compartments for pills to drink daily or several times a day. Only once a week is it necessary to take the time to fill the necessary compartments with the necessary medicines, and further administration becomes easier.
   • If you notice any side effects, tell your doctor.
   • If, however, both you and your trusted friend or other supporter have come to the conclusion that your doctor’s prescribed medication is clearly not working, find another professional and change your medication, but ONLY UNDER THE MONITORING OF A NEW DOCTOR. If you have any doubts about the motives of the previous doctor, find another one who has nothing to do with the first one. But anyway, do not try to prescribe your own medication.
   • Unfortunately, it has recently been discovered that some doctors have been prescribing certain medications for no good reason. But whatever decision you make, try talking to someone you trust to come up with a plan of action, especially when it comes to changing your doctor.
   • In general, it is better to find a doctor who prescribes fewer drugs than one who prescribes tons of them. Your condition can to need in a serious amount of medicines. But there are definitely doctors who prescribe too much, and it is difficult to say how to deal with them and how to make sure that you are prescribed too much. That is why, if possible, you should always keep a friend or advisor by your side. Choosing what to do with a drug overdose is not a question opinions, but approval.

Tips

• Be confident in yourself. You are taking a bold step towards better and trying to do something that will make you feel better in life. This is admirable and if you don't stop, you have every chance of living a fuller and happier life and achieving much greater goals.
• Observe for alarms. If, after a month of taking your tests and starting your medication, you don't feel any better, tell your doctor. He can only help if you monitor your condition and talk to your doctor about it.
• Don't expect instant healing. If life offered us all instant relief from any kind of disease, be it physical or mental, no one would suffer. But life is such that recovery is a process that requires a certain amount of time. Compare this to cancer disease this way: Chemotherapy is a very difficult treatment and is rarely brief. You need some help, and you can accept it, but you need patience.
• Be as open as possible, no one here will laugh at you or judge you. You can solve a lot of problems simply by letting them finally sound out. It won't be long before you can talk openly about what once bothered you so much.

Warnings

• Try to avoid behaviors that can provoke a painful condition. A person suffering from manic depression should, for example, avoid things that make them feel unworthy and self-pitying. You have the power to choose even when you feel powerless.
• Don't shut out people who are trying to help you. Being alone with your illness is a terrible burden, try to avoid trying to cope with it alone.
• Ignore anyone who tells you that you just need to "get out of this habit." Obviously, such people have no idea what mental illness is, and therefore cannot make a correct judgment. You cannot "get rid" of heart disease, and accordingly, you cannot "get rid" of the chemical imbalance that is the cause of your psychological state.