Oh my goodness! I agree with all of you but I m having a hard time comprehending the extra suffering you have to go through with your health system. I am in Australia and our public health system is shocking but without it, I may not be here and I have used it for many years as I was dx schizoeffective and bpd 16 years ago and had many hospital admissions. I see a private psychiatrist now and he is not cheap but we get some money back from medicare. He took six months to officially diagnose me with BP type 2. I was on lithium and antipsychotics the whole time mind you as I was a little out of control and had had a 3 week psych hospital admiss. last year in the public hospital system before I had started to see him. I was not happy with the diagnosis of the hospital.(In their infinite wisdom, they said I was suffering "burnout"!). But the meds are working.

Yes, your shrink is working for you. Maybe you could kindly point out that you not only need a diagnosis to better understand your state but that he/she is supposed to be healer and therapist as well. He is not a general practitioner! I have debates with my shrink all the time but he is good at debating the logic and the science which is what I understand the best and if his argument is more logical than mine, I am more likely to go with what he says. But I am not an easy patient, even if he says that our sessions are challenging but entertaining! The important thing is that he asks me what I think about my treatment but is firm when I am irrational or obsessive. Teach your shrink how to treat you. I only wish I had been this empowered years ago.

Don't know if I have helped or made things worse but I would like to see you achieve some peace so you can move on to the healing. Good luck!