Discussion Did your mental health diagnosis come as a complete shock to you or did you have some sort of idea?

[Azzy69]

Before I was even diagnosed with bipolar disorder I knew I had it and my diagnosis didn't startle me one bit.

 

[BPD_LE]

I came across BPD aged 17 and knew it was me. They broke it to me gently aged 18, lol.

 

[mathieu]

It was not a shock at all. I had been fucked up for years when I was diagnosed. Depression/anxiety, then ADD, BPD then Bipolar. Now it's schizoaffective or schizophreniform in addition to others.

 

[charlottewilts]

psychology is a pet interest of mine like astrology and etymology, so i've done quite a bit of research on it. i was expecting my diagnosis of BPD (even though it shouldn't have been diagnosed at my age as i was too young)

 

[Azzy69]

psychology is a pet interest of mine like astrology and etymology, so i've done quite a bit of research on it. i was expecting my diagnosis of BPD (even though it shouldn't have been diagnosed at my age as i was too young)

How old were you at the time? I have heard many stories where a child was diagnosed with a mental health condition... But I guess in your case it may have been different back then, hence why you said "I shouldn't have been diagnosed at my age as I was too young". We have entered a new era where professionals are beginning to recognise mental illness in children...

 

[charlottewilts]

How old were you at the time? I have heard many stories where a child was diagnosed with a mental health condition... But I guess in your case it may have been different back then, hence why you said "I shouldn't have been diagnosed at my age as I was too young". We have entered a new era where professionals are beginning to recognise mental illness in children...

i was diagnosed as "emotionally unstable" at 4 years old... then at 16 i got the BPD diagnosis. i think it's really harmful to diagnose children at such a young age and label them during their entire childhood. my parents treated me differently because of that, and i think my peers rejected me largely because my parents socialised me according to the label i was ascribed.

 

[Azzy69]

i was diagnosed as "emotionally unstable" at 4 years old... then at 16 i got the BPD diagnosis. i think it's really harmful to diagnose children at such a young age and label them during their entire childhood. my parents treated me differently because of that, and i think my peers rejected me largely because my parents socialised me according to the label i was ascribed.

I'm sorry for your experience. It is virtually impossible for everyone to be on the same page about mental health - even professionals... this will never change.... However I also am a bit iffy about diagnosing children with mental health conditions even now. It impacts on everything, you know, and the child asks, "why am I being treated differently to everyone else?".

 

[TearyEyedQueen]

Not really, I've always felt there was something wrong with me and I acted differently from other kids. I actually felt relieved when I got the diagnosis because now at least "that" has a proper name and isn't some vague concept.

 

[Squiddy]

My bipolar came as a bit of a shock as I thought it was just depression, but my BPD didn't