The difference between me accepting my issues in the past versus now is just patience. Every time my mental well being makes a turn for the best, I get to reset my rejoicing, as much as I return to feeling hopeless when I am emotionally attacking myself for what feels like the 1000th time.

I never fancied myself a doctor, not without earning it through years of intense schooling. I never pretended to know more than I do. I was ready to discount everything I knew from experience. How could it matter if an accredited university hadn’t double checked all of my work at some point? 
Cover Photo by: by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Due to the chronic nature of my illnesses, I have seen many doctors. Over time, I have learned what kind of care works best for me. I am not here to admonish any one specialty, but rather celebrate those doctors that stand above the rest, to provide great care and fulfill their Hippocratic oath thoroughly.

To help you wade through and shorten the process of finding the right care for you, I have put together a helpful list of what to avoid and what to embrace in a doctor. 

With 6.9% of Americans reporting to have suffered a depressive episode in 2012 alone, we shouldn’t be saying things like, “what now all millennials are depressed” or “you just need to think positively more”. Instead, maybe we can research the problems and find a way to help those who need it, become comfortable receiving help. Not doing so, leaves people waiting longer to get better. And for those of us who do get help, it feels like you’ve joined a club so secret, even its members don’t know who’s in the club with them.