Think of your doctor as your mate while you’re figuring out the best treatment plan for you. And remember to be upfront and honest. Your doctor needs to know exactly what’s up so that they can help you create the best plan of attack, and this means being really honest about things you’re taking, if you’re having a cheeky drink or two, and anything else that might be happening, inside and outside your relationship.

When you’re treating anxiety and depression, the options fall into three broad areas:

Psychological treatments

These options all revolve around talking. These therapies take a lot of forms, from counselling and groups through to seeing a psychiatrist or trying a residential program. You can do these face to face, or try one of the online options.

Therapies work in different ways but broadly aim to help you think or react differently to situations. Therapists use different kinds of treatment, such as CBT or Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, IPT or Interpersonal Therapy or Behaviour Therapy, and just like it’s important to make sure that you’re comfy with your therapist, it’s good to try a few types of therapy or talk through the options before you begin to make sure you’ve got a good fit.

Medical treatments

It might sound great to have a pill to fix things, but your doctor will quickly let you know that medicine is always used in conjunction with psychological treatments- so it’s not that simple to get out of talking about it.

There are lots of different types of medication available and they all have different pluses and minuses. It might take some tinkering to find the right one for you.

Support

Getting through a mental illness isn’t a solo effort and it’s also not just about your treatments. You’ll need to have a look at all aspects of your life and maybe make a few changes. Your diet and exercise (and yep, drinking and drugs too) will be really important and you might need to make some tweaks. Tell your support network what’s going on, and you might think about trying a more formal support group, either on or offline.

Want to learn more about your options for treatment? Our mates at beyondblue have you covered. Remember, you can always call the beyondblue Support Service 1300 22 4636.