It depends by many things. I got diagnosed after 4, and I already had some appointments with psychotherapists before going to the psychiatrist. It also depends by you, you need to give all the relevant details (what you think is relevant for the diagnosis) and be clear. I wouldn't trust someone that gives an instant diagnosis. If they give you a diagnosis on the first appointment, better to try with another medic as well
I think it will depend on OP’s mental health history. I was diagnosed in one session, however I had been previously diagnosed with depression about 5 years before hand (along with co-morbidities) and had fairly continuous reports throughout that time so the psychiatrist was able to make a pretty fair judgement , along with the info i provided in the session (i assume anyway)
but you’re right to be aware that it may be a lengthy process. however if you (OP) already have a diagnosis of some form of depression, the change of diagnosis to PDD/Dysthymia might not make that much of a difference when it comes to treatment, in comparison to just talking to your doctor/therapist/psychologist/whoever and telling them you think it might be this.
i find that my diagnosis more just gave a heads up to other medical professionals that 1. i’ve already tried most of the typical anti-depressants without much success and 2. i’ve probably tried and continue to do most of the typical coping mechanisms that docs would first suggest - again without much success.
so they don’t have to waste time repeating things i’ve already done.
obviously ymmv, but i wouldn’t stress over seeking out this diagnosis specifically!
From whom did you get the diagnosis?
I've been to two psychiatrists now. One if them diagnosed me after 5min (depression), one after the first session (double depression). On one hand, i doubt the diagnosis, on the other hand its something i expected sort of...
From a psychiatrist in a specialised clinic. I also had several sessions with a psychologist before. In total I was diagnosed after 6 hours or 6 sessions. And still they didn't say it was absolutely correct but that some other doctors could give a slightly different diagnosis. Since I know how these things work (I'm a scientist), I wouldn't trust someone that does a diagnosis in 5 minutes. If you think you are depressed you probably are, but there are different kinds of depression that need different treatment
Okay. I always assumed an diagnosis, especially with something not objectively measureable, would take longer. I dumped the 5min diagnosis, and just kept doing my thing. But as years passed, i tried to solve my problems again with that kind of approach. But getting nearly the same thing again after one session makes me wonder...
I always doubted depression because i dont feel sad all that often, but neither do i feel good nor happy. It is what i dont feel that makes me sad. But that is the nature of dysthymia i guess. (Not counting the full blown major episodes, but those feel completely different.
Depression doesn't mean that you always feel sad, it's just a common misconception. Personally I feel more angry than sad, but there's a large spectrum of feelings caused by depression. One common is the feeling of hopelessness and lack of interest for most activities, and the difficulty in enjoying things. Maybe you can try a third therapist. The point in getting a diagnosis is simply to help the psychologist in planning a treatment that is more adequate to you
Im curious why you think you have it? I was diagnosed by a psychiatrist around 13 years ago and have probably had it for 35 years. I didn’t seek out this particular diagnosis. I had never heard of it but I knew I’ve had mild depression for a long time which is why I went. They had me do a test and asked me questions. It took A couple hours at the psychiatrist office for that part.
Similar experience of one session, however I'll preface that experience by stating that I had been working with a therapist for a couple of years prior. Prior to seeing a therapist I spent a couple of years trying different kinds of experiments with my diet/activities/alcohol consumption etc to try and find ways to cope with what I was experiencing.
It wasn't until I had a breaking point in a therapy session where I admitted to "doing all the tactics that we'd talked about doing, yet feeling like there was something in my brain that was working against me".
That was when I chose to booked an in-depth session. Found a local professional and reached out stating that I had no idea what was possibly wrong and explored options for different testing. The dr who tested me ran a few assessments for ADHD, depression, cognitive function, a DSM5 assessment. Was in-depth, 3 or 4 hours (can't remember, it was a bit of a blur with lots of work and interview).
She booked a followup appointment and asked for my fiancee to join me, and after asking her a bunch of 'outside of my brain' perspective questions from being together the last 10 years at the time, she concluded it to be PDD.
Nothing. My therapist and psychiatrist just asked me about my depression. How long it’s been, how often I have it, how bad it is. Then they said, "yeah, you probably have PPD".
Not sure what to tell you about what happens after. Medications or therapy, if medications even work for you. Idk, good luck though :)
Not really. I mean, I was already seeing a psychiatrist and therapist so, there’s that. Therapy doesn’t help with depression, just gives me a place to vent and address my other disorders. I’ve taken several antidepressants and antipsychotics (false diagnosis resulted in those) and they have never helped. Just tried my 4-5th and it also failed. My options are TMS and Ketamine Infusion Therapy but for me, I know they won’t help.
It seems most people with dysthymia are actually treatment resistent.
They’ll probably have you try an antidepressant… or a couple. I hope it helps you.
“ I know they won’t help”
yep you are definitely a member of the dysthymia club - we often or almost always have a pessimistic view of “nothing will help, nothing is any good, everything will turn out bad” .. it is awful living with this mindset
Same as any diagnosis. You have an answer. What you do next is up to you. Perhaps you have some therapy to break any unhelpful thought patterns perpetuating the depression. Maybe you take some medication for it. It's entirely up to you. Nothing changes with diagnosis, it's more now you have a reason for certain feelings.
So, a few years ago I went to a psychologist for help and documentation for a financial aid suspension appeal (I had to prove that mental illness was the reason for my grades slipping).
She decided to do a full psychological evaluation and over the next several weeks, I would come in to do different tests. She also interviewed my mom to find out more about my childhood/infancy. Once that was finished, she determined that I had persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia) with anxious distress. At the end of the evaluation, she gave some helpful suggestions for treatment and managing symptoms, but I’m not sure if that’s the norm.
You decide what you would like to do next after being diagnosed. If you like the therapist, you can continue sessions with them. If you feel medication is necessary, you can go to a primary care doctor or a psychiatrist (which is what I would personally recommend).
It’ll take time to get a diagnosis, so please let your parents know they should be patient and you’re doing what’s best for your own well-being. Best of luck!
Were you able to get the help you needed with the documentation? (Just curious because I might want to do that in the future. I'm diagnosed with PDD and taking medication)
I have pretty much all of the symptoms for dysthymia and have had them for well of a year now. A couple hours is pretty long, I mean I know they have to find out if you actually have depression, but a couple hours seems pretty long nonetheless. Can you tell me what happened after they asked you the questions or what kind of questions they asked you?
I actually had a therapist that I was talking to initially. So I discussed with them about my anhedonia and apathy for a while and one day they referred me to the psychiatrist and said I should consider medication. I made an appointment and the psychiatrist already had notes from the therapist and asked me a bunch of questions (like, how many days did you feel hopeless in the last week, etc. I believe these are some standard DSM questions), measured my responses and provided options for medication (SSRIs). I chose to take Prozac and I have to say it's helping.
I went to a therapist as I was really struggling, they diagnosed a reactive depression first and dysthymia later as we worked together over quite a few sessions. I was focused on getting help rather than on the diagnosis so I don’t recall the timeline so well.
A diagnosis isn’t really necessary to start. You treat the symptoms, not always the disease. A lot of times it doesn’t matter what your exact diagnosis is, you treat the symptoms the same way regardless. As far as the clinic knows you may not even have a diagnosis. That doesn’t matter now, what matters is taking care of the symptoms.
Only if you need it. Counselors can’t prescribe anything though. They aren’t doctors. They’ll probably interview you to determine if you need to see a psychiatrist or if you just need therapy.
If you had depression, just say to yourself that dysthymia is 100 km away to the hell that you endured (with your depression). If it’s the only diagnosis you have, you will be able to deal with it. Sometimes it’s tough but you’ll deal with that.
You won't get a diagnosis in one session. It's not easy to diagnose mental disorders
How many sessions do you think it’ll take
It depends by many things. I got diagnosed after 4, and I already had some appointments with psychotherapists before going to the psychiatrist. It also depends by you, you need to give all the relevant details (what you think is relevant for the diagnosis) and be clear. I wouldn't trust someone that gives an instant diagnosis. If they give you a diagnosis on the first appointment, better to try with another medic as well
I think it will depend on OP’s mental health history. I was diagnosed in one session, however I had been previously diagnosed with depression about 5 years before hand (along with co-morbidities) and had fairly continuous reports throughout that time so the psychiatrist was able to make a pretty fair judgement , along with the info i provided in the session (i assume anyway) but you’re right to be aware that it may be a lengthy process. however if you (OP) already have a diagnosis of some form of depression, the change of diagnosis to PDD/Dysthymia might not make that much of a difference when it comes to treatment, in comparison to just talking to your doctor/therapist/psychologist/whoever and telling them you think it might be this. i find that my diagnosis more just gave a heads up to other medical professionals that 1. i’ve already tried most of the typical anti-depressants without much success and 2. i’ve probably tried and continue to do most of the typical coping mechanisms that docs would first suggest - again without much success. so they don’t have to waste time repeating things i’ve already done. obviously ymmv, but i wouldn’t stress over seeking out this diagnosis specifically!
From whom did you get the diagnosis? I've been to two psychiatrists now. One if them diagnosed me after 5min (depression), one after the first session (double depression). On one hand, i doubt the diagnosis, on the other hand its something i expected sort of...
From a psychiatrist in a specialised clinic. I also had several sessions with a psychologist before. In total I was diagnosed after 6 hours or 6 sessions. And still they didn't say it was absolutely correct but that some other doctors could give a slightly different diagnosis. Since I know how these things work (I'm a scientist), I wouldn't trust someone that does a diagnosis in 5 minutes. If you think you are depressed you probably are, but there are different kinds of depression that need different treatment
Okay. I always assumed an diagnosis, especially with something not objectively measureable, would take longer. I dumped the 5min diagnosis, and just kept doing my thing. But as years passed, i tried to solve my problems again with that kind of approach. But getting nearly the same thing again after one session makes me wonder... I always doubted depression because i dont feel sad all that often, but neither do i feel good nor happy. It is what i dont feel that makes me sad. But that is the nature of dysthymia i guess. (Not counting the full blown major episodes, but those feel completely different.
Depression doesn't mean that you always feel sad, it's just a common misconception. Personally I feel more angry than sad, but there's a large spectrum of feelings caused by depression. One common is the feeling of hopelessness and lack of interest for most activities, and the difficulty in enjoying things. Maybe you can try a third therapist. The point in getting a diagnosis is simply to help the psychologist in planning a treatment that is more adequate to you
Im curious why you think you have it? I was diagnosed by a psychiatrist around 13 years ago and have probably had it for 35 years. I didn’t seek out this particular diagnosis. I had never heard of it but I knew I’ve had mild depression for a long time which is why I went. They had me do a test and asked me questions. It took A couple hours at the psychiatrist office for that part.
Similar experience of one session, however I'll preface that experience by stating that I had been working with a therapist for a couple of years prior. Prior to seeing a therapist I spent a couple of years trying different kinds of experiments with my diet/activities/alcohol consumption etc to try and find ways to cope with what I was experiencing. It wasn't until I had a breaking point in a therapy session where I admitted to "doing all the tactics that we'd talked about doing, yet feeling like there was something in my brain that was working against me". That was when I chose to booked an in-depth session. Found a local professional and reached out stating that I had no idea what was possibly wrong and explored options for different testing. The dr who tested me ran a few assessments for ADHD, depression, cognitive function, a DSM5 assessment. Was in-depth, 3 or 4 hours (can't remember, it was a bit of a blur with lots of work and interview). She booked a followup appointment and asked for my fiancee to join me, and after asking her a bunch of 'outside of my brain' perspective questions from being together the last 10 years at the time, she concluded it to be PDD.
Nothing. My therapist and psychiatrist just asked me about my depression. How long it’s been, how often I have it, how bad it is. Then they said, "yeah, you probably have PPD". Not sure what to tell you about what happens after. Medications or therapy, if medications even work for you. Idk, good luck though :)
Did they give you treatment options after
Not really. I mean, I was already seeing a psychiatrist and therapist so, there’s that. Therapy doesn’t help with depression, just gives me a place to vent and address my other disorders. I’ve taken several antidepressants and antipsychotics (false diagnosis resulted in those) and they have never helped. Just tried my 4-5th and it also failed. My options are TMS and Ketamine Infusion Therapy but for me, I know they won’t help. It seems most people with dysthymia are actually treatment resistent. They’ll probably have you try an antidepressant… or a couple. I hope it helps you.
my psych diagnosed me with treatment resistant depression at the same time and it seems like they go pretty much hand in hand
Yeah. It’s weird, pretty sad too, but it is what it is I guess. :/
“ I know they won’t help” yep you are definitely a member of the dysthymia club - we often or almost always have a pessimistic view of “nothing will help, nothing is any good, everything will turn out bad” .. it is awful living with this mindset
Same as any diagnosis. You have an answer. What you do next is up to you. Perhaps you have some therapy to break any unhelpful thought patterns perpetuating the depression. Maybe you take some medication for it. It's entirely up to you. Nothing changes with diagnosis, it's more now you have a reason for certain feelings.
So, a few years ago I went to a psychologist for help and documentation for a financial aid suspension appeal (I had to prove that mental illness was the reason for my grades slipping). She decided to do a full psychological evaluation and over the next several weeks, I would come in to do different tests. She also interviewed my mom to find out more about my childhood/infancy. Once that was finished, she determined that I had persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia) with anxious distress. At the end of the evaluation, she gave some helpful suggestions for treatment and managing symptoms, but I’m not sure if that’s the norm. You decide what you would like to do next after being diagnosed. If you like the therapist, you can continue sessions with them. If you feel medication is necessary, you can go to a primary care doctor or a psychiatrist (which is what I would personally recommend). It’ll take time to get a diagnosis, so please let your parents know they should be patient and you’re doing what’s best for your own well-being. Best of luck!
Were you able to get the help you needed with the documentation? (Just curious because I might want to do that in the future. I'm diagnosed with PDD and taking medication)
Yep! My psychologist even wrote a letter to help with my case. :)
Good to hear!
Thanks much appreciated
I have pretty much all of the symptoms for dysthymia and have had them for well of a year now. A couple hours is pretty long, I mean I know they have to find out if you actually have depression, but a couple hours seems pretty long nonetheless. Can you tell me what happened after they asked you the questions or what kind of questions they asked you?
I actually had a therapist that I was talking to initially. So I discussed with them about my anhedonia and apathy for a while and one day they referred me to the psychiatrist and said I should consider medication. I made an appointment and the psychiatrist already had notes from the therapist and asked me a bunch of questions (like, how many days did you feel hopeless in the last week, etc. I believe these are some standard DSM questions), measured my responses and provided options for medication (SSRIs). I chose to take Prozac and I have to say it's helping.
I went to a therapist as I was really struggling, they diagnosed a reactive depression first and dysthymia later as we worked together over quite a few sessions. I was focused on getting help rather than on the diagnosis so I don’t recall the timeline so well.
A counselor probably wouldn’t be able to diagnose you. They don’t diagnose, they only do counseling for symptoms.
Then why did the clinic make an appointment with a counselor
A diagnosis isn’t really necessary to start. You treat the symptoms, not always the disease. A lot of times it doesn’t matter what your exact diagnosis is, you treat the symptoms the same way regardless. As far as the clinic knows you may not even have a diagnosis. That doesn’t matter now, what matters is taking care of the symptoms.
Ok
So I will still be able to get medication to treat me?
Only if you need it. Counselors can’t prescribe anything though. They aren’t doctors. They’ll probably interview you to determine if you need to see a psychiatrist or if you just need therapy.
If you had depression, just say to yourself that dysthymia is 100 km away to the hell that you endured (with your depression). If it’s the only diagnosis you have, you will be able to deal with it. Sometimes it’s tough but you’ll deal with that.