I agree. But do you know everyone here personally and know what diagnosis they have or have not been given by a professional? I feel like things are getting mixed up here with one person blaming symptoms of depression on their AvPD and another person saying they're self-diagnosed.

If my mother went to the hospital with a bruised knee and said she has cancer, I doubt the doctors would just take her word for it and put her in a hospital bed without doing any tests. The same goes for therapist (at least if they're any good), if you show up and say "I have AvPD" they're still going to talk to you and test you, and come up with their own conclusion.

And it's not about getting a label and giving up, thinking nothing can be changed. It's about a label that helps you better understand yourself, that there are other people like you out there. A label that stops you from feeling like a failure when anxiety therapy didn't work for you, because what you have goes deeper than that. And that doesn't mean nothing can ever change, but it may need a different approach.