The quotes around “real” didn’t fit into the subject line. By real, I mean separate from psychological conditions such as anxiety and (!!??) delusions.
Anyway… I’m having a meeting soon with three attendees not counting myself; a psychiatrist, a (looks in dictionary) welfare officer(?) who works for the doc, and a representative from the government agency that gives me money for not being able to work.
So far, everyone I’ve talked to is mostly or entirely convinced that the dizziness (or motion sickness, rather), migraine etc. can be cured using things like exposure therapy, CBT, etc… because they think it’s all anxiety, panic attacks and agoraphobia that has progressed to this state. While I do need help with my anxiety, probably in part with their ways, my opinion is that I cannot be helped that way in my current state. I have literally not been 10 meters from my home in three years. Seriously, no exceptions.
Keep in mind that I’ve never talked to a doctor knowledgeable about dizziness; only my GP who basically only knows BPPV (and thinks migraine can never be chronic) and the psych guys… so it’s my word, not a certified doctor’s, against theirs…
So, my problem is this:
I need the money, since I do have expenses. However, they are quite strict about that since the “new” government changed things (new since I got my doctor’s sick-certificate (is that a word?) three years ago), and I’m reasonably certain that the doc and welfare officer will make sure I have to go through their therapy to get a dime. Don’t get me wrong here, I’m not saying my ultimate goal is to get money without doing anything! My goal is to get the money, get the dizziness treated PROPERLY, and then start the therapy for the anxiety, when I am ABLE to!
The reverse is impossible - I can’t do the anxiety therapy first, since I can’t leave my home. Period. The MAV needs to be priority #1, and as such, they need to recognize that it is a separate entity, and not try to treat it with VRT-like ways that seem to simply not work for us!
Enough rambling. I hope you understand what I mean properly (hint: see the “I’m not saying my ultimate goal is to get money without doing anything” part) - if not, by all means, please ask. As I said, my goal is to first treat the MAV, then use their help for the remaining anxiety.
I was thinking about bringing up/printing out the MARD (Migraine/Anxiety Related Dizziness) article - any other suggestions? Perhaps even a suggestion I shouldn’t bring that up? (I haven’t read it in a while, but will soon.)
Help is greatly appreciated, as there are two future scenarios:
- The meeting goes badly, and I have to choose between torturous therapy for anxiety which only worsens my MAV symptoms (which are 95% the cause of my disability), or no money at all; or
- The meeting goes well, and I get the continued financial support I need, and can treat the MAV properly, and move on in order of priority.
I don’t believe I can ever get well in the #1 scenario. The #2 is hard, but possible.
Time is kind of of the essence, too; I have two weeks to prepare, but that doesn’t take into account that I might want to contact the doc BEFORE the meeting, which usually takes about the time I have until the meeting takes place!
