I was first diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder (recurrent) and dysthymia. My therapist (LCSW) of 5 years noticed a cycling pattern with me and told me to start tracking my moods. He diagnosed me as Bipolar and my psychiatrist started treating me with bipolar meds. So yes, I started with a different diagnosis.

As everyone has pointed out-- there is a lot of overlap in diagnoses and it makes it kind of tricky to filter out certain ones, especially mood disorders. They commonly co-occur with anxiety disorder and personality disorders. You really need a professional who is well trained to help differentiate.


People can make errors-- they can miss certain aspects of our lives or even events that are critically important. I also see nothing wrong with starting again fresh.