Right - we're people. Having a diagnosis doesn't make you a different person, but it can make some differences in your life. Actually, having the symptoms that lead to the diagnosis would probably be more accurate. Hmm. Well, I actually trace my depression back to the age of 9 if not earlier than that. So, in my case it isn't something that appeared suddenly at some point and changed my life. Still, my life would probably be different if not for the depression. My T says that if I had been raised to have self-esteem and confidence rather than always told that I couldn't do things and would fail, I would have had a graduate degree and a professional career a long time ago. I also might not have gotten into so many hobbies, I think, as all the hobbies were something I needed in order to develop some confidence.

Getting a diagnosis does have an impact too. The first time I went to counseling at 19 years old and that counselor told me that I was just homesick and that getting married would solve all of my problems, I knew that something was missing but didn't have the confidence to trust my own instincts. The next one diagnosed personality disorders, and I still felt like he was missing the boat. Finally finding one who diagnosed depression was validating. The social anxiety diagnosis led me to look up more information on that and make changes in my life to work on it. The most recent thing that was mentioned was the possibility that I might be bipolar. That idea makes me want to know what it's like to be manic, although I'm not sure if I have been or not. So a diagnosis can also lead you to act in a way such as to be appropriate to that diagnosis.

<font color=orange>"Everyone has a need for significance; and if we can't make that possible, or even probable, in our society, then it will be obtained in destructive ways." -Rollo May</font color=orange>