My T keeps telling me not to get hung up on diagnostic labels, she says they're nothing more than a useful shorthand for communicating with other psych professionals. But I kind of like having a Dx because it gives me a framework for understanding what I'm going through and I feel if I know what I have I can research it and proactively search out help. I still get a little freaked out seeing my Dx's laid out in black and white when my pdoc had to write a letter to the ministry of transportation re my fitness to drive, and having my treatment history spelt out felt sort of weird, an "oh yeah, I really have been through all of that." But the only time I got really freaked out / pissed off by a Dx was when I had to see a temporary pdoc, because my regular pdoc was off on medical leave. I was in his office for all of 10 minutes before he announced I was borderline (I'm convinced simply because I admitted to cutting) he clearly hadn't read my chart that my pdoc had sent over. When I told my pdoc she was really pissed too. And I made a point of going through reviewing my file and making sure that the borderline label wasn't written down anywhere.

--splitimage