HELP! I need a good psychiatrist!
Is what my friend, the OR nurse, thought I’d emailed her about. (I’d sent an email message to a couple of my nursing friends, because I
figured that they are the ones on the front lines and know the good vs bad
doctors.)
My friend responded via email. “Very good news that your cardiac issues have been resolved, and about
the referral, I am at a bit of a loss. I work in the OR, so I don’t
work with any psychiatrists, but I know that the hospital does have a
mental health division. I can look into it more if you still need me
to.”
What I’d actually wanted a recommendation for, was a PHY-SI-A-TRIST. Not a mind doctor*, but rather a doctor who deals with optimizing the body as a whole. All the bits and pieces together: bones, nerves, muscles. A physiatrist is your go-to doc, to get your body back on track when it’s fucked up beyond all measure (dealing with post-stroke victims, pain management etc), but regular specialists (?!?) still can’t figure out what your deal is.
What’s really awesome, is how completely blasé she was about my having been labeled a hypochondriacal fucknut, and then subsequently abandoned by a broad spectrum of the medical profession (which is kind of how I feel a lot of the time). I’ll bet that if I had asked if she knew anyone who could help me get rid of a body, she’d have said “When does it need to disappear?” She’s good people.
*ps – By the by, seeking out help for any illness (mental or physical) is one of the bravest things that you can do. I don’t happen to need a shrink right now, but when my existential angst kicks back in, I just might, and I hope to God that I’m brave enough, if/when that happens, to get the help I need.
