I am confused about what I need and am so mentally tired thinking about it

@Astel

Being torn between two perspectives like that is really hard. I get not wanting to use medication as a bandaid if there’s something else that needs to be addressed and I get baulking at the cost. At the same time, I think in some circumstances medication can help us so that we have more capacity to invest in the other things that will help us (lifestyle/therepy/etc.) and in some circumstances medication is actually the solution because the problem is a chemical one (like how a diabetic who needs extra insulin). Obviously I’m not a medical professional and I don’t know what symptoms you’re dealing with, but I think that if medication acts as a support to help you make and maintain the life changes you think will help, then that’s still valuable.

Regardless of whether they prescribe medication, the appointment with a psychiatrist might also help you get some clarity on what’s contributing to the disorganisation/confusion/not feeling present/parts yelling at you. If they help you identify what’s at the root of that (whether that ADHD/ dissociation/ both/ something else) that will give you a lot more information about what’s most likely to help.

I find it often helps me to go into an appointment with a list of what I want to know and what I’m experiencing. If I’m really struggling I’ll talk to someone (e.g. BeyondBlue or someone from the SANE recovery club program) to help me work out how to explain what I’m struggling with and what questions I have.

Hope that helps 😊

Hi @Astel,

I second what @Wintersweet said about talking to Beyond Blue https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/talk-to-a-counsellor

Is there any background to being referred to a psychiatrist? As Wintersweet indicated, there are a range of possibilities. It's sounding more like you are seeking meaning and purpose in life, and it's not uncommon to have trouble discerning that at a young age (or any age really). Personally, I think such reflections are not immediate issues for a psychiatrist and its not a matter of balancing out some chemical - there is a lot of debate in psychiatry about this and I believe research evidence does not support it being that simple. Even then, most psychiatric drugs only treat the symptoms and people usually need talk therapy to address the root causes of their distress.

An example of this debate is this project out of Adelaide Uni https://notbrokenproject.com.au

Confusion can come from over-analysis - I call it "paralysis by analysis". There is a saying I like: "you don't think your way into a new way of living, you live your way into a new way of thinking". In other words, you have to go try things and get new experiences to inform your thinking from new perspectives. If what you try isn't for you, that's still progress - you've crossed that particular thing off the list.

We learn in life from our experiences, both good and bad - that's how we gain wisdom over the years.

To me, it's about enjoying the daily journey of life not forever seeking a future destination.