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Right now, before you do anything else, stop and take a slow breath. Just pause. You can do this. The very first thing that you need to do in the search for a good psychiatrist is to treat your problem and yourself with the same respect and care that you would if the issue were cancer, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, glaucoma, hydrocephalus, hearing loss, broken leg or heart attack. Each and every one of those would yield the quizzical but well intentioned "woah - can, can I help at all?". Okay, not the heart attack or broken bone - those would warrant "CALL 911!" - or at the very least "Honey, get the car! Shhh.... Mr. Jones and I are taking you to the doctor. Yes, your mommy will meet us there."

As a matter of fact, treat yourself and your mental health with the same dignity and DILIGENCE that you would if you were doing so for a dear friend.

*NOTE*! It should go without saying that if you are experiencing a psychiatric emergency - such as feeling suicidal - YOU TOO SHOULD DIAL 911! IMMEDIATELY!*

Now onto the pragmatics. You really don't want to just open up the Yellow Pages and look under Psychiatry. Then again - why not? This CAN be a component of the process, but your research - and that is what this is initially - must be thorough and multi-tiered. Oye! No pun intended there, believe me!

You can also try going to ask.com and typing (without quotes) How do I find a good psychiatrist? You will find that once you start typing it - the full question may appear anyway. There are all kinds of links that pop up from that query - including healthgrades.com, RevolutionHealth.com, and www.mindspring.com just to name three.

Actually, the first contact I would make, whether your HMO insists upon it anyway or not!, is to your primary care physician. And if you are at all reluctant to bring this sort of MEDICAL problem (and THAT'S what it is!) to her/his attention, then I would ask yourself two questions straight away: "Why not?" and "Do I need a new PCP?!"

'Cause if you cannot tell your own doctor about a problem that is *NOT* your fault, how in the world are you going to be able to report that you're smoking again, or that you didn't know what to do with all the leftover Halloween candy and thus your blood sugar has been over 200 every day for the past week, and over the last two, you've gained 6 pounds that you're better off without?

I am not juxtaposing those things on a fault/no fault continuum. I am instead REALLY trying to emphasize that reporting that you're feeling

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