Quote:
Originally Posted by dizgirl2011
Hey,
some therapists don't really like labels, they see it as a way of avoiding what might be really causing the behaviour and instead of looking for reasons why you behave a certain way, you may just say "it's my bi-polar."
As you said, Therapists don't diagnose, only a psychiatrist can say that you have bi-polar or not. others may be able to suggest or ask you if you feel you have it but that's about it. You are only describing one incident that may suggest a manic episode, but it could also suggest just a boost in confidence or feeling good about being where you are at the time, a diagnosis of any sort couldn't be made from this.
If your therapist was to say " i think you have bi-polar" and then you went to a psychiatrist who said " no you dont" you may end up feeling mad that your therapist told you that you did!
As you said your T is not dismissing the possibility but perhap he hasnt seen any other behaviours that warrant him to think you have bi-polar anyway and that he's not hidding anything from you? You are presuming he is.
When he asked what you would get from a formal diagnosis, I think what he means is, if someone told you tomorrow that you had bi-polar, would it change how you feel, how you act and behave etc? No it wouldn't,you would be the same person you are today only with a label.
I understand how having a diagnosis can at least shed some understanding on the subject but if you really want to be assessed for it then you need to go and see a psyhiatrist.
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I have read a book called something like "Why Am I Still Depressed" and it described symptoms that may indicate BP II - I can realte to many of these as it is presented in the book - switching from overly confident and thinking that great things are destined for me to feeling so low and suicidal; I usually have a million and one jobs on the go at any one time and never finish any as I am always side tracked onto something else - My brain does work really fast and sometimes I can't think straight as there is so much going on up there, other times it feels like I am wading through mud. I can go from being very witty and the life and soul to really shy and closed down, I have constant anxiety. I have about 20 mental helath / psychotherapy books by my bed that I am reading - haven't finished any of them and switch from one to another I am prety sure my T is aware of these. Recently I have experienced peoples faces as strange to look at and I have also just remembered being depressed quite a few years ago and I met someone who I concluded was Jesus
However I do understand the difficulties with diagnoses - actually that book I read was great at explaining how very difficult it is to give accurate psychiatric diagnoses and they are really based on likelihood of having symptoms that many others with the label X also experience.
How would a label change things for me? In some ways it would explain so many of the difficulites and oddness I have experienced for as long as I can remember. I have always felt a bit different and it would be a relief to know that it was due to something other than my inner being. However I also think I might find this particualr label quite scarey, particularly as I have intrusive thoughts most days and have read there is a risk of acting of them.
In terms of talking to my T about trust, I feel I am damned if I do and damned if I don't. If I do ask him, it would mean trusting him and therefore as I am having some doubts re: trust I am not sure what that may achieve.
