Quote:
Originally Posted by Secretum
Questionable things that have been said to me (by mental health professionals, nonetheless!):
From the psychiatrist who diagnosed me, when I told her that having a bipolar diagnosis scared me:
"Don't worry. Bipolar Disorder doesn't sound nearly as scary as the old term, Manic Depression".
From the same doctor, a few months ago when I was really, really struggling:
"I can't help you. You need to find a doctor outside of the university, because if I treated you I might not be able to help you when you needed it. It can be really difficult to get an appointment here around finals."
My thoughts: So you're going to let me drown now so that I can be saved later?! And who sees a psychiatrist because s/he is stressed over finals?!
From another psychiatrist I've seen:"Being bipolar is a good thing. It'll make you more creative." Seriously.
From my therapist, when I told her that I wanted to be a physician: "I think that pathology and diagnostics are the best specialties for bipolar physicians to go in to. That way they don't have to interact with too many people."  |
Wow. That's disturbing.
I had an evaluation by a Behavioral Health intern (a psych PhD student) who told me that the side effects of mood stabilizers suck and most people don't like them. In a 10-minute phone call, she said, you have ADHD and bipolar, and here are your 3 treatment options, and we won't do anything more for you (i.e. rx's) at the university health center until you start therapy. The first thing the therapist did was send me to a proper pdoc office to get a diagnosis and mood stabilizers!