Your Diagnosis

So, you’ve gotten a mental health diagnosis. Stop. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Your diagnosis is not the end – it’s not even the beginning of the end. What you may not realize is that your mental health treater needs to put a label on your condition to bill insurance.

The best mental health professionals I have worked with have been careful to point out that they treat my symptoms, not my diagnoses. To them, a diagnosis is not what is important – what IS important is ME, the person, not me the diagnosis.

It's important to note that your preliminary diagnosis may or may not remain your diagnosis going forward. You may receive additional diagnoses – or you may wind up with a temporary diagnosis. When all is said and done, most mental health diagnoses tend to be somewhat pejorative. 

Hell, I’m not thrilled with mine (though I do agree): Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and Schizoaffective Disorder, Bipolar Type. There are those who discount my PTSD because I have not served in the military (note: a history of military service is NOT required for a PTSD diagnosis)

There are also those who argue that I’m not Bipolar, since I am rarely manic. Umm … I take meds for Bipolar, and they work – should I not take them so I can “prove” I’m Bipolar? Now THAT’S some screwed up logic.

Some diagnoses are harder to live with than others – I speak from personal experience on this. For a time, way back in the day, I was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Borderline is incredibly stigmatized – the best comparison that I can make to a physical health condition with a comparable amount of stigma is diabetes, which only happens to lazy, fat people, am I right??

I dealt with a lot of stigma, perhaps most interestingly, from some of the psychiatrists and therapists who were tasked with helping me get well (who ostensibly should not have been treating me with obvious disdain based on my diagnoses). I wish I could say that all mental health professionals treat the person, not the diagnosis. I also wish I could say that they are free from stigma. They are not.

If you ever feel like your doctor or therapist is not treating you as a person first, diagnosis(es) second, it’s at least time to have a frank discussion – and quite possibly time to seek out someone else, someone who can hold your heart in their hands and not pigeon-hole you.

Now, back to BPD. I’ve read that it’s the condition that mental health professionals stigmatize the most – even to the point of some refusing to treat those with the disorder. Am I saying working with BPD is a walk in the park? No.

Thank the lord that I no longer qualify as having it – it occurs most often in young women, and the really good thing about it is that many (most?) individuals outgrow it as they age. The caveat is making sure they don’t suicide in the meantime.

Interestingly enough, my longtime therapist consulted with another therapist who knew me well regarding whether I had BPD. I still love his answer: he said I was about the least Borderline person he knew. I felt equal parts vindicated and amused at being stripped of the diagnosis.

Just please promise me that you won’t put too much stock in your diagnosis(es). They may change, they may resolve, they may be inaccurate. I would urge you to see them as an insurance tool and little more. And if you ever feel like you are being treated as a diagnosis(es) and not a whole person, talk to your treater(s), and if it doesn’t resolve, I would advise thinking about making a change.