I trust the ones I’ve had for a long time. We’ve been through a lot together. New ones I approach with healthy skepticism until they prove that they can understand someone like me who has so much going on. We’ve all had doctors act like we were making stuff up and it sucks so I wait to see how seriously a doctor takes me before I take them seriously.

Once you get to know a provider you can trust they have good knowledge, but after a while and learning, you might know your own body a little better and be able to make strong suggestions yourself. Generally check with them first, but you might be able to adjust your treatment plan to a little bit finer degree. A recent example for me was telling me to take a new antidepressant at bedtime, even though I knew right away this would work better for me in the morning.