Before we open up to someone about your mental health issues, there is a lot of confusion, doubt, some cluelessness, and a lot of fear. But when any kind of mental health issue lasts long enough to make us miserable and affect our career, physical health, and social life, we must seek help. So, how to make the right start? Here are some tips from a renowned Psychiatrist in Coimbatore to help you not make the mistakes others made, so that you may find the right place quicker than some.

Here are some Tips

1. Leave judgement aside- In this case, we are talking mostly about judging yourself. People with mental health issues like depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, BPD, and others tend to be too hard on themselves. They are obviously not doing well at present. Their career, bank balance, personal relationships, and many other things might be going downhill.
   But before we speak to someone else about our mental health issues, we need to be sure that we are not our own enemy. Be kind to yourself. Know that you are doing your best even when all you are doing is wondering what to do!
2. Maintain a diary to record events and feelings-People tend to fabricate memories and embezzle events when they are living with some mental health issues. And many people they speak to, just assume or suspect they might be doing so. Maintaining a journal to record life events, their effects on your mood, and what people who matter did or said, with the date, will help you be sure what really happened. This way, when you talk to someone, you will know you know your events right.
3. Choose your audience carefully- Friends, parents, even some professional therapists might turn out to be judgmental or just clueless about what you are going through. But do not let that not reach out at all. Talk to people and gauge how empathic they can be. If you really think there is nobody you want to open up to, go for a professional. Call a good psychiatrist in coimbatore for an appointment.
   A common tendency is to open up to anybody who is going through mental health issues themselves. This can either turn out very well or very badly depending on whether the person in question is empathic and helpful or totally lost in their own troubles and will end up projecting their issues on you.
4. Don’t sweat it if you realize you made the wrong choice- It is not possible to always make the right judgement about people. You might try your best to figure someone out. You may even be close but just when you start trusting someone, that person might let you down. Do not sweat it. They just don’t get you. Even those who usually do might sometimes fail to. Don’t let their mistakes put you down. Just find someone else and you will be surprised to find that people who understand and uplift you are not that difficult to come across.
5. Open up slowly- Everything you heard about ‘never hide anything from your therapist’ is wrong. Don’t hide an addiction, don’t hide suicidal tendencies, don’t hide the problems that need to be addressed. But you are in no way obligated to open up yourself completely to a stranger, even if it is a professional therapist. Take your time to decide how much you would like to share with someone.

6. Talk to multiple professionals- It is always good to get a different perspective. Even if your original therapist is the best in the city, go talk to someone else as well. Talk to two or three different approachable professionals so that you can get some perspective and decide for yourself. Depending on just one person makes it highly likely for you to start looking at you the way that person looks at you.
   And again, even professionals don’t manage to be 100 percent objective. So, don’t believe everything one person says unless you hear it from another person too. Unless, of course, your introspection game is good enough to know when your therapist gets you and when they don’t.
7. Talk to a few close friends- Friends don’t know you in a way you know yourself. But they know more than a therapist. Unless of course, you have been visiting your therapist for so long that you became friends with them. Opening up to a few wisely chosen close people is important because that keeps you in touch with your social circle and your deepest feelings. While you do it, always remember, don’t sweat it if you happened to make a few wrong choices. You will find true friends as long as you keep trying.
8. Don’t let others tell your story- A huge mistake people make is go to a therapist, talk to them, for an hour, about the person who is supposed to be the one talking. If you are the one seeing the therapist, you need to do the talking. Parents or whoever it is, will tell their story about you and it will always be laced with their presumptions about your problems. A good therapist will easily see through it. But being the first one to talk to your therapist will help them get the story right the first time.

When in doubt, do something

Once again, what you know about not taking action when in doubt, is wrong. Only in this case though. If you are confused about whether you really need a therapist, whether you are really suffering from a mental health issue, don’t wait until it messes you up enough just to be sure. Go talk to someone as soon as you find yourself wondering “I might need some help with this.”

Everybody has a different story, different set of problems, and different pathways that work to solve them. Have faith, and find yours. Start with seeking professional help with a reputed psychiatrist in Coimbatore.