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Old Oct 31, 2015, 09:54 AM
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x123 x123 is offline
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Member Since: Jul 2014
Location: USA
Posts: 738
Quote:
Originally Posted by Row Jimmy View Post
I *used* to feel like that but not anymore. I played the game poorly for 30 years - too much booze, career implosions, anger, paranoia, alienation from all sorts of things.

But my (recent) diagnosis is a blessing to me because now I know that I'm not a natural jerk. There's something churning inside of me that needs to be addressed. So be it. My game is just beginning. I found some new hobbies and made it a point to focus on ME going forward by taking the time to enjoy my life as it is today. Sure, I am up and down (still) but I try to be forward-thinking without letting it consume me. I can't take back the sucky-ness of 1985 - 2015, those days are in the books....and thankfully so.
I was thinking about why having a diagnosis is helpful - especially if there is no very effective treatment. Just last evening I realized that I might have cyclothymia bipolar III. Then I was wondering why having this possibility for a diagnosis made me feel better. I'm not formally diagnosed with cyclothymia and I doubt I will be treated for it. I think it made me feel better, because so often other people dismiss my psychological difficulties - sort of like telling a depressed person to just cheer up. Of course a diagnosis might also make a person feel like a powerless victim of genetics.

What do you think about having a diagnosis? How does it make you hopeful?