After 3 Years, I am Finally Switching Psychiatrists

Dear Readers,

First off, thanks for reading this. This was not easy to write by far, but I knew that I needed to post this.

As of 2019, I have had over 7-8 manic episodes. I have gone through different medicine regimens and I have gone to countless appointments. I have kept the same psychiatrist over the past 3 years and for once in my life in the range of mental health, I have given up on someone that is supposed to be part of my support team: my psychiatrist. 

Before I go any further in this post, I realize that this is no one's fault. It's not my fault that my the medication combination the psychiatrist gave me did not work. And it is not my psychiatrist's fault, either. But I know that it is time for a change.

Here's why:
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1. My Psychiatrist's Faith in Me and my Faith in Him: When my psychiatrist switched hospitals, he did not want me to follow him and even recommended that I get a new psychiatrist. I decided to follow him anyway because I thought that he was my best option.
2. My Psychiatrist's Support in My Goals: I am still determined to return to Dartmouth to finish my undergraduate degree, but my psychiatrist wanted me to stay in Houston and finish at UHD or HCC. Though I like both of these schools and have visited them, my heart longs for Dartmouth. I was just surprised that my psychiatrist did not believe that I could thrive again in an ivy league environment.
3. My Psychiatrist's Decision to Give me a Choice: While I was hypomanic, my psychiatrist gave me a decision on whether or not I wanted to go to the hospital or not. I feel like that is where he made a mistake. He should have hospitalized me then and there, but he did not. In fact, I felt like my hypomania intimidated him! Looking back at it now, I could not believe that things happened the way they did.

All in all, this is why I have decided to switch psychiatrists. I will post an update when I meet my new psychiatrist in January.

Much love,

Gisele
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