"GP acted condescending and careless"

GP was acting condescending and careless when reluctantly giving mental health advice.

The last time I contacted my GP I was left very upset. I had initially arranged to have a telephone consultation with my Dr about migraines. For the previous few weeks I had been getting bad migraines every day to the point of not being able to eat. Before this I only had a migraine every few months.

The telephone consultation began fine. The focus was my migraines. However after a couple of minutes the Dr suggested that the cause was my anti-depressants. At this point I had been taking them for more than a year so was surprised that they could be having side effects at this point. While we were discussing this I tried to ask about coming off my antidepressants. I had been on medication for a couple of years and had no idea how long I was supposed to stay on them. I didn't feel that things had improved particularly but was concerned about the effects of taking medication long term and was interested in the impact of coming off the medication.

Upon bringing this up, it appeared that the Dr either didn't know how long I should be on this medication/ long term effects or wasn't telling me. I couldn't get a clear answer despite trying to ask multiple times.

Instead, they seemed to be encouraging me to stay on it. They said 'lots of the students I see are fine on their medication' and assumed 'you haven't had any incidents'. At this point this person hadn't even asked how my mental health had been. It felt like we were going round in circles, and I was getting frustrated and upset but was trying really hard to keep calm and not show it.

Then they paused and asked whether knew, no one had ever committed suicide under their care. I was shocked and upset by this and just amazed at the lack of sensitivity. I don't even know how the Dr intended me to respond to this.

Eventually they began to explain what coming off my medication would look like. Randomly they asked me what I studied at University. I told them it was Biology, and the Dr began talking through half life calculations out loud to me. They started talking me through how much I was supposed to take week by week.

At this point I was upset and overwhelmed. I interrupted and explained that I have Dyspraxia and that I would require these details to be written down as I struggle with verbal instructions. They responded by calling me a clever girl, saying I'll be fine.

This upset me further. Condescension aside, it made me anxious. It takes a lot for me to explain my specific learning difficulty and it is horrible when this is ignored.

Overall I left this appointment feeling hopeless. I have been reluctant to speak to my GP since this appointment and now have very little faith in the prospect of getting help for my mental health. I was encouraged to complain by family and friends but simply wanted to change GP and move on. It was only today when I spoke to someone with a similar story that I realised that it would benefit others to do something.

This doctor should have listened and allowed me to feel heard and understood. They should have refrained from making assumptions and from trying to persuade me of anything before they had even asked any questions. They should be aware of the impact of their words and lack of sensitivity. There is a lot of improvements to be made that must be made. Luckily I do not suffer from suicidal feelings. That comment wasn't dangerous in this case but could have been.