dk1701

I (33M) start seeing a psychiatrist next week for the first time in my life after a traumatic and abusive childhood/teenaged years. It scares the living shit out of me. I hate opening up to people about my struggles, and feel like a burden when I do.

How do I overcome this with a therapist?

Thank you for your advice. It's very much appreciated. I'm completely intimated by this entire thing. And it's good to know that I can set those kinds of boundaries with them. There are certainly things that will need to be waded into slowly. :)

Also to clarify, I'm going to be meeting with a psychiatrist at a clinic (who will adjust and manage my meds), and then assigned a therapist at the clinic that works with (for?) the doctor. At least that's my understanding of what's going to happen. Sorry for the confusion.

I've worked for a very large hospital system for right at a decade now, working closely with psychiatric patients (we're non-clinical, but very involved). I'm also a certified crisis intervention and de-escalation instructor (and I take pride in my abilities there). The more I work with clinical and therapeutic staff in dealing with the patients. Between my work with them, and my own personal struggles with mental health, I've taken an interest in the field. I like to joke that if I didn't hate people so much I'd be really interested in becoming a therapist! lol

Anyway, thanks for your time! I've dropped a sub to your podcast as well. I love my pods when I'm on the road (which is often).