Q: I am 25 years male, electronics and telecom engineer working with a MNC as a customer support enggineer. I have seen many family problems since my childhood including financial breakdown. My problem is that sometimes I feel very energetic and very confident but most of the times I feel very nervous and afraid of talking to others. I deliberately try to focus my mind on positive things but most of the times I just can't. I am quite emotonal too and most of time I just keep thinking (my mother also suffering from this i.e just keeps thinking). Also, I am very ambitious and want to refine my personality. Am I personality conscious or am I suffering from depression? Kindly suggest what to do - should I go to a psychiatrist or a psychoanalyst?

A:It would be difficult to be able to confirm a diagnosis based on the short description you have given, so to say whether it is depression, a personality problem or something else is difficult. But the thought process of uncontrollable coninuous thinking that disturbs you is suggestive of brooding or rumination, which is commonly seen in anxiety disorders. And when you say your mother is also having a similar problem, is because this tends to run in families. My suggestion is that take a psychiatrist's opinion, and go through proper comprehensive treatment.