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Comment by adriand | Hacker News Reader

> By then I realized that these episodes were panic attacks. I read up on the topic and basically went through a lot of cognitive self-therapy and after a year or so I was able to drive without issues and life was good again.

My advice (not that you asked for it, but I feel strongly that you should consider it): seek help from a qualified professional, like a psychologist. You don't deserve to suffer like this and it is not something that you should be trying to solve on your own. You may not believe that someone like this could help you, but consider how much better you would feel if they did.

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(author of the article here) Probably you're right, but knowing people in the psych field and having read several books on the topic ("Monkey Brain" comes to mind) it's also a very hit-or-miss process. Often you can go to a therapist for years without much improvement.

One irony of mental health services is that the people who most need the help are often not in a position to use the services optimally; it is perfectly valid to break up with your therapist if they're not helpful. In fact, it should be encouraged, but doing so can be really stressful.

This is not to tar the professionals with some kind of pseudo-Scientology crackpottery; they exist somewhere in the n-dimensional space of competence, authority, ability, &c. as everybody else; but that there can be dissonance between the treater and the treated is not a reason to give up on the whole idea.

Another irony is, the act of seeking mental health services can, in some cases, be used against you in future medical, legal, and employment situations. This might also explain why so many people, while being supportive of professional mental health services, seek alternatives.

This

this is both ridiculous and, unfortunately, true. If it is a concern for you, you can ask that your therapist not take notes, then there is nothing physical to subpoena.

I have not heard that suggestion before. I have heard to not use your medical insurance, or credit cards, and avoid a formal diagnosis. I believe the service provider is required by law to keep records for their legal liability, but that will depend on the laws covering your area (e.g. state and federal laws for US).

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