This might sound like a strange question, but I’m probably writing this out of despair. I’ve been diagnosed with CPTSD, and I’m not a professional. I also don’t know much about critical psychology. Only a little having read some articles about critical psychology etc

My question is difficult to put into words, but I’ll try.
I live in a country with a relatively stable social system (whatever that really means). However, I have to obtain a Krankschreibung (a sick note from a doctor) every four weeks.

At the moment, I’m not getting these sick notes from a psychiatrist because all three psychiatrists I’ve seen so far have been somewhat subtly reproachful towards me. Comments along the lines of, “How come you’re not well enough to work after so many months?” have left me feeling judged rather than supported. I haven’t found a therapist for Cptsd after contacting 60 therapists.

There also seems to be an underlying expectation that you should take antidepressants because they’re often presented as the go-to solution for everything. And there’s this strange power dynamic in which I, as the patient, am expected to agree with the professional rather than have too many opinions about my own situation.

It’s difficult to explain, but I hope you understand what I mean.

I’ve now given up on psychiatrists altogether and will be going to a rehabilitation centre, not for addiction treatment (I don’t have addiction luckily) but because of my exhaustion and trauma-related difficulties. They call it medizinischer Reha here.

However, I’m afraid the same thing will happen there. I often get the impression that professionals don’t particularly appreciate you standing up for yourself or expressing your own perspective, especially when you don’t simply agree with everything they say. That doesn’t mean I’m thinking „Nope I’m not doing anything, I’m just being stubborn and not trying anything.

Please don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against medication, and I know that not every professional is like this. I’m describing my own subjective experience.
But it’s incredibly frustrating to be in a position where you need professional support and, at the same time, feel that you have to defend yourself against the very people who are supposed to help you. They read my past assessments and see I’ve been experiencing domestic violence from the time I was born, violent father, and abuse for years.. except treated with kindness I tend to get this strange attitude where ppl are suspicious.

Now anyone could say „oh that’s a trauma response you are generally suspicious about authority“ but that’s not it.

I’m exhausted by this dynamic, and I honestly don’t know how to navigate it anymore?

I wonder if that’s my own selective perception

Originally posted by u/ProfessionalEbb911 on Reddit.

Top comment by u/HELPFUL_HULK

Many people report such paternalizing and dismissive attitudes from psychiatrists - in my experience and personal opinion, psychiatry of all the psy fields tends most toward dehumanization, which is in part a structural issue. Needless to say you're not alone in experiencing it, even if your own perception is at play to some degree.

I've also had many experiences of doctors becoming offended when faced with any degree of pushback on their sense of authority and 'professional opinion'; but I've also had psychiatrists who were quite humble and open-minded. I have found myself learning to stick up for myself in strategic ways that do not offend the egos of the practicioners I'm navigating the system with, which has come from years of experience of being dismissed; but also from years of experience of trial and error with various psychiatric meds. (In the UK, it also generally requires acknolwedging that they are often bound by cost-effective systems which require patients moving through "first-line" treatments before trying other ones.)

I'd imagine there's a significant chance you'd experience different treatment in a recovery centre, but that's impossible for me to affirm at large as it varies per culture, per centre, and per practitioner. It is a constant issue in any given healthcare system, but it is also one that (IMO) varies per different fields within health systems, as it intersects with structural issues and people's varying investments and tendencies as practicioners.

Perhaps worth searching for and connecting with survivor support networks in your area, or online. Peer support can be life saving in navigating these systems.