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WKK417J t1_jbwem2n wrote

Clinical psychologist here (UK). In my practice, I avoid the 'rush to diagnosis' as much as possible, prefering to talk to clients about their individual experience of suffering—a more or less direct translation of the Buddhist 'dukkha'. For the majority, this helps them avoid the stigma attached to diagnostic criteria, and it frees me from the onerous task of ascribing a label that may, at best, be only a rough fit.

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WenaChoro t1_jbwxmx6 wrote

Lets remember that forcing a diagnostic label in mental healt is firstly a requirement from the US insurance system

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OpenMindedShithead t1_jbxkvyt wrote

This is a fact. My girlfriend is going to school at northwestern to be a counselor and she said they only get paid if they diagnose a client. So basically if you see a counselor you’re gonna get diagnosed with something.

Idk, seems off to me.

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mrcsrnne t1_jc1hdro wrote

Perverse incentives. I wonder how much of worlds problems could be solved just by adjusting incentives a little bit…

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WKK417J t1_jbx04md wrote

Hi, I know. I'm so grateful for not being yoked to that system.

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WhittlingDan t1_jbytlmk wrote

There are categories called other than or not otherwise specified type which basically means we are calling it X but also labeling that you don't me the normal criteria for the diagnosis. I have some diagnosis like that. I tend to smile and get chatty when meeting people and I am also well spoken, polite and with good manners so I don't present as someone with chronic Major Depression amongst some other stuff. Its basically a combination of long time masking of my mood and how my anxiety presents itself. I smile a lot and get very talkative and "social" but its anxiety. I also isolate a lot so I get fairly lonely and when I am in a situation I have to interact with people all the above happens.

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WenaChoro t1_jbz8g8a wrote

yea but that NS categories are even more of a clinician thing, because its too easy to put everything into that "non specified" bag

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Amphy64 t1_jbx1mjx wrote

UK as well, no longer a patient having been discharged despite needing help. How does that work with how limited to non-existent resources are, are you a private practitioner? What about the patients for whom there is a diagnosis that would be a clearer fit?

I have OCD, and finding out about it, while studying psychology, was an entirely positive experience, suddenly I had an explanation of what was going on with my mental rituals, and there were strategies to cope. My first panic attack, before my mum explained what it was and that she had them too, was an utterly petrifying experience as well. The stigma comes from prejudiced and ignorant people, not the patient themselves (I know I'm not alone in finding getting a diagnosis hugely positive), and the labels can be a way to educate them. The prejudiced also tend to think all mental illnesses are the same, and have an image of violent paranoid schizophrenia. I don't think patients benefit from being lumped together like that.

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TheGermanCurl t1_jbxbsrr wrote

I got diagnosed with autism as an adult and I second your experience. It has been super-helpful to know what is going on. Especially since I am very repressed and an internalizer, so I spent my life struggling in silence, which sometimes made me gaslight myself about whether I even struggle at all.

I personally don't disclose to people who I assume wouldn't understand, but I don't feel ashamed by the label itself at all. I do feel ashamed by some of my autistic personality traits because of the negative feedback I got, but that happened BEFORE anyone, myself including, knew I was autistic. Because the stigma isn't (just) about the label, it is about the manifestations of the differences/struggles I inevitably do present and worked so hard to keep under the lid.

Personally I would feel so patronized for not getting the truth because my diagnostician decided I couldn't handle it. A friend got diagnosed with borderline personality disorder recently, or so she thought - turns out her former psychiatrist had already diagnosed or strongly suspected, without informing her. She scrutinized her after receiving the diagnosis from the new person, found out that former provider had known all along, was understandably upset and only now got to access specialized group therapy, which it turns out, helps her tremendously - more than any other form of treatment she had received. Because these labels make you eligible for more targeted support and allow you to connect with people in similar situations. And especially finding community has proven helpful in almost all documented cases.

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