BPforever, it sounds like you are doing well with writing and your grad applications.

I will caution, however, that if you are going for certain medical fields, their licensing requirements often require that you disclose your diagnoses and claim that you have managed them well enough to get licensure at the end of those programs. Sometimes certain programs will outright ask you those questions, though it is unclear whether they legally can for grad school purposes.

I was in a McNair program for a brief time, and they told me NOT to disclose any of my mental illnesses - especially controversial ones like dissociation. I was very disheartened that the examples they gave about disclosing physiological disorders were okay, but not mental disorders. Their reasoning was all over the place - from people inadvertently discriminating against you (even though they are technically not allowed, but it still happens) to you being seen as a "risk" for their profession and/or program, due to it sometimes being a requirement for disclosure when it comes time to apply for licensure (some choose not to for these reasons, but they nonetheless complete their grad program). It upset me that I had this conversation openly with my mentors and peers, and then the age thing came up, where they basically shot me down for my age.

So, in essence, be careful with whom you share your diagnoses with. Perhaps speak with some grad students in other programs you are NOT applying for in order to get a clearer picture on this. You want to be employable at the end of your program, and that's what grad programs are largely looking for - successful graduates who find jobs and careers afterward. Sadly, this reality keeps a lot of us disabled people held behind from ever achieving grad school status. The lack of disability access and accommodations is also disheartening, and I was told to wait until after getting accepted into a grad program before disclosing anything, and then to hopefully wait until after completing your thesis and/or dissertation, which defeats the purpose of getting help through the disability access department altogether - a "catch 22" if you will.

So, that's my two cents.

If you have found a grad program that will accept you with your diagnoses being disclosed in your application materials or otherwise, that's great! It shows great inclusivity from that program and that school. But I was told by even a couple of prominent psychologists to never disclose my DID diagnoses. Oh well, too late, since I had already put that in my undergrad application, and told the programs I was part of, which then became part of my permanent academic record. It's also part of my VA record, in case I get rehab assistance through their VRE program. But I've been personally told not to disclose my specific disorder altogether.

My self-esteem and disabilities worsened after spending time in a research lab dealing with such judgments and changes since I disclosed. I left all of that because I had no support systems in place, and my chronic fatigue worsened to the point where I couldn't concentrate anymore. And now there's this pandemic, which makes competition even higher.

So best of luck to you! But please be careful and figure out whom you can trust with these things.