i really need help.

I feel like I really need help, i have problems and am very embrassed by my hair to an extend where i’m always obesesing about it, and cant really live a normal life, … its like kinda of like aneroxia, except i’m always thinking about hair, and never happy with my results…what should i do? please help me.

Are you getting laser or electrolysis at the present time? With either modality, you need to be patient and keep pushing forward. I’m not sure what your situation is at this time???

If you are obsessing about your hair problem this much, so as to describe your feelings as being on the level of someone with anorexia nervosa, you may need to seek professional help. We all get depressed and feel negative emotions at times and it sounds like you could use a helping hand.

I have no grasp of how badly you feel, Roma. Is there someone close to you that you feel comfortable talking to?

i’m getting both laser ,and electrolysis. its not just like an occasional depression, this has been going on for about a year… i’ve missed work, school, family and friends gathering over this, its so bad that i cant even take a shower with out crying ,i try not to look at my problem areas like my stomach which has very bad scarring( from ingrown hair),but its impossible, its always on my mind. I always compare myself to everyone. when i see someone the first thing that i analysis is their skin and how much hair they have, i feel like i’m crazy sometimes. yes i do have someone to talk to, but they tell me to snap out of it. my sister always tell me that i’m not that hairy, and laser and electrolysis are working for me, but i just dont feel that way…its like as soon as i get one treatment done i have another area that I worry about.its like an never ending story…and no one takes me seriously because it seems like such a small problem to them.

I’m not a therapist,psychologist or psychiatrist, but I am very aware of the psychological downs that people like yourself feel. In view of what you described and the amount of time that these negative emotions have been a consistent part of your daily life, maybe you should ask for professional help now. I’m not a big proponet of throwing medication at any problem, but I have seen miserable and fearful people make a miraculous turn around within weeks when they are prescribed certain types anti-depressants. Many people take anti-depressant and they are totally different people able to function and love life with all it’s problems and joys. I think you can be helped and it is obvious that you don’t want to feel this way anymore.

Do you feel like you can take action tomorrow to call your doctor? Or maybe ask your sister to call? You are already addressing your unwanted hair problem, so that’s a good step you’ve taken. Why not get some relief for your depression as well? There is nothing wrong with taking care of our brains be it a depression or other organic problem. What do you think?

I totally agree, at first i was very shy about this, but now i want to stop it, i want to live a normal life, i want to wakeup everyday and not worry about this stupid problem that preoccupying my thoughts.i just dont know how to get help, what kind of specialist should I contact?

Well, if you have a family physician, I would say that is your first step and probably last step. Family physicians prescribe anti-depressants every single day. Anxiety and depression are probably the most common problems they encounter in their office practices. Often times,people who have had major surgery need short term anti-depressant help and there are many other common situations where anti- depressants are helpful.

If you are not an established patient of a family physician, just calling and asking for the soonest available appointment because you’re depressed and need help may speed things up. Ask someone you trust who they use and what their “bedside manners” are like. You certainly don’t want to encounter a cold robot type of doctor. You need some TLC right now as well.

My electrolysis practice is in a busy family physician office, so I happen to observe a lot going on. Most of the drug reps that come in are advising the doctors on why their medication is better for depression than brand “X”. Family physicians know about depression.It’s not a tough problem to assess.

I would say that you might want to see a specialist regarding this as there are psychological conditions that make you concentrate on sometihng about yourself and think it’s worse than it really is. There is therapy that can help. It’s similar to obessessing about weight, food, etc.

Uh, no. Antidepressants are a crutch - and a DAMNED USEFUL AND NECESSARY CRUTCH - but they do not actually treat the problem, just like a normal crutch doesn’t make a broken leg set. They support the patient long enough that healing - from therapy - can begin.

A (made-up-on-the-spur-of-the-moment) definition of a psychological problem is ‘something that interferes with normal functioning or causes suffering’. It sounds like exactly this, roma18. If you have a regular doctor, ask for a referral to a therapist and/or psychiatrist (the latter can prescribe psychiatric medication, like those antidepressant crutches). If you do not have a regular doctor, check the phone book for a therapist in your area; if they can’t help you, they should be willing to refer you to another therapist who can.

Come to think of it, if you have health/medical insurance, you might be able to get any anti-hair treatments covered by the insurance, because it is obviously causing you a major psychological problem.

Anything that makes you cry and miss events is something that needs, for the sake of your happiness, to be treated. People should not be in pain all the time, in body or in mind; it’s worth fixing, and very very often fixable.

I disagree with you Skreem. Short-term anti-depressant help is totally appropriate if someone is missing work, avoiding friends and family, crying in the shower and feels like they are going crazy for one year. There are many good drugs to choose from to get people over the hump so they can go about their business. The drugs don’t cure the problem, they only make it easier for the person to approach their problem in a different light.

I am personally against running for medicant help whether it be internally or exrternally. But if someone is talking this low, the antenna should go up. Haven’t you witnessed any one around you who has been helped by anti-depressants? Post-surgery patients, depressed people,in general? I’ve heard this crutch thing many times and can agree with you to a point, but there are situations in people lives where they are stuck in a deep hole and they need a ladder to climb out. It doesn’t take a psychiatrist and a therapist at their prices to help someone like roma for an unwanted hair problem. She’s not that far gone. At least that’s my impression, but only her family doctor can assess that and it is totally appropriate to start with a family physician (cheaper, too). Psychiatrist? Good luck getting an appointment in a timely manner. Hopefully, she has worked things out for herself by now. Many do, for free,just by having someone to talk to who cares about them.

Dee