Dear Stefan:

You mentioned four days ago that you were afraid to see a psychiatrist because he or she may diagnose you as gay, and I told you that there is no such diagnosis (sexual orientation is not considered a disease or a disorder, not anymore).

There are three main diagnostic manuals used to diagnose mental disorders:

(1) The ICD-10 published by the World Health Organization (WHO), which is used worldwide.

(2) The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, currently the fifth edition (DSM-5), produced and published by the American Psychiatric Association, the main diagnostic reference in the United States and is also used worldwide

(3) The Chinese Classification of Mental Disorders, produced by The Chinese Society of Psychiatry.

The Institute of Mental Health in Belgrade, established in 1963, is the first social-psychiatric institution in Southeast Europe, and it includes psycho-pharmacology and psycho-therapy of mental illness. The institute servers as a teaching facility for the Belgrade Medical School and several other schools in Belgrade. In Nov 2009, the Institute of Mental Health in Belgrade received a nomination to be inducted into the WHO collaborative Centre for Mental Health care by Serbian Minister of Health, Tomica Milosavljevic. This nomination was approved by WHO, and Belgrade’s Institute of Mental Health also publishes articles on behalf of the WHO.

This means, I am guessing, that, at least new psychiatrists in Serbia are likely to be using the WHO’s diagnostic manual, the ICD-10, which will be what your studies will  be based on if you become a student in The Institute of Mental Health in Belgrade.

Do you think that you might be a student of The Institute of Mental Health in Belgrade?

anita

Dear Stefan

I hope for the best too. You wrote that professional psychiatric mental health is not available to you. I want to repeat that a daily routine of exercise and guided meditations can help, as well as maybe a yoga practice that you can do at home. You can point the computer cursor at BLOG, top left of this page, and scroll down to Mindfulness & Peace. Mindfulness is a very popular movement in psychotherapy that helps a lot in managing anxiety and stress.

Headspace. com offers tools and resources to help mental health during the pandemic.

anita

Dear Stefan;

You slept very little last night, you have to get some sleep so that you can feel better. I highly recommend that you get your aunt, or another adult family member, to get you to see a family physician, a doctor, or a nurse, as soon as possible, so to prescribe you medication that will help you sleep better and which will give you relief from your anxiety and OCD.

anita

Dear Stefan:

I don’t do social media other than this website.

“I really need someone to talk to”- I thought you were talking to me. Is there a specific topic that you want to talk about that you haven’t? If so, what is the topic?

anita

Dear Stefan:

It is 2:10 am your time, way too late at night/ early in the morning for you to be awake. What can you do to relax right now: a hot bath or shower? Herbal tea? Calming music? Maybe one of Mark Williams guided meditations that you can download online?

Or just lie there, don’t try to solve your problems, don’t try to figure it out, just lie there, not trying anything. Can you do that?

anita

Dear Stefan:

Good to get your note, and please do see a psychiatrist today, and let me know how it goes, will you?

anita

Dear Stefan:

Thank you for the update, good to read that you were busy, and that you are going on a vacation. I hope you experience some relaxation and even fun on your vacation. Glad you asked your aunt to arrange for you a meeting with a psychiatrist when you return from your vacation.

anita