Lived Experience Forum

[DefiantPanda]

@Appleblossom Oh okay thanks for telling me about that - I might search the forums and see if I can find that post. Might be good to read through it especially seeing as it's a perspective from the other side.

[Peter_Pan78]

My diagnosis of social anxiety disorder and depression were useful in that i no longer felt weird about being scared of people or ashamed for having "weird" feelings. I was able to access medication and CBT. However, my additional diagnosis of bipolar disorder at aged 30 after a medication interaction caused me to have a manic episode was not hekpful. Despite my protests I was branded bipolar even when there was evidence to support my claims of a medication interaction causing the one off state.

[NikNik]

Thanks for sharing @Peter_Pan78
Has this diagnosis of bipolar changed your treatment?

[Peter_Pan78]

Yes. I underwent Electro Convulsive Therapy (not scary as it sounds) which I felt made no difference (I felt my bipolar was not the issue). I was put on medication for the highs (i'd had ONE dubious episode) which made me feel flat. I fought for a reduction in my dosage and eventually got my medication changed to a less toxic drug.

Personally my recovery has been more due to working in a job I love, reading and researching about mental illness and writing about my experiences.

[Former-Member]

I've just been diagnosed 4 days ago with Bipolar. I've been fighting with my self about seeing someone with my issues for a while now. But it got to the point that it was stressing my husband out and actually affecting his work. It also got the point where I had no control of my life and had to be monitored and not allowed to be left alone. So I took the big plunge when I was having a good day and saw someone.

I'm finding the diagnoses really difficult to deal with. I obviously knew there was something wrong with me but know it's actual medical fact I'm not well. I'm now left with a massive feeling that I'm a failure and I'm a freak. I just want to be normal so badly and now I know I'm 100% not normal. But there is a small 1% about getting diagnosed that has given me relief. I know what I have. I can now do research on why I do what I do. I can now connect with people with the same issues and not feel alone. It helps knowing there are people with the same thoughts as me. I feel not so isolated now.

It's such a weird feeling at the moment and all I can hope that it pasts because I'm really tired of fighting.

[Baboo]

Loulatthecat,

Sorry to read that you feel a bit yuck about your diagnosis.

On a positive note, a diagnosis means you can use tried and tested methods of support while you manage your day to day life 🙂 So i hope that you can maybe find this aswell " oh thank goodness, now i get get some better control or understanding"

i hope this helps- just a suggestion

Baboo

[Appleblossom]

The failure, freak, abnormal words have beem floating around in our culture for a while .. its hard to get rid of them.

Please dont accept them as the same thing as a MI vulnerability which may or may not last.... also note that medical facts have changed a lot over the years ...

Good Luck

I hope it works out as @Baboo suggested.

[Peter_Pan78]

If there's one thing I've learned about mental illness is that though we may feel alone, we are not alone. These forums are proof you are not weird or a freak. You have come to the right place to understand your illness. Those who don't understand you will label you but don't buy into it. Acceptance is powerful. Once you understand that bipolar is who u are not what you are, u will be more caring about your own feelings rather those who criticise what they don't want to understand or don't want to understand. SANE Forums is a shelter from a cruel world. Let us shelter u so u may become stronger

[Pooh_bear]

Personally, I am in the camp where a diagnosis is not actually helpful. Let me explain that one. Thus far all of my diagnosis have been different from each other. How could they be otherwise, when you present to an ER depatment and have maybe 10-20 minutes with a clinical psychiatrist or one of their students? So for me, there is no cohesion to my diagnosis and personally I feel reticent to ever seek out such services again, regardless of how low I may get in the future.

I am taking med's for my symptoms, which are working to an extent and I practice Mindfullness techniques as much as that can assist me in my daily life. The real work is being done within me, by not accepting my life-challenges as molding who I am, just accepting they are a part of me and that I can actually live a full and rich life if I seek it out. I'm not there yet, but I'm heading off down the road to it, with a definite tiddly-pom to my step!

I view a diagnosis as a label or badge for the clinicians to make their tasks easier, not as something for us to hang our hats upon. Others will without doubt have different experiences, as it is a very subjective topic/answer that will be drawn out from each of us really.

[Appleblossom]

aye aye @Pooh_bear

My skepticism re diagnoses is due to many experiences and observationsw of many people over a few decades ... I think it is good the way you described it as making the doctors' jobs easier without ... blowing it up into acceptance or denial  issues......boo to the dualist thinkers ... there is a middle path ... oops I am sounding a bit mahayana now ... and am mindful I may be preaching ... lol