Have you been diagnosed?

Avoidants use to avoid looking for help and seek any kind of therapy or going to the psychiatrists bc they find very hard to trust someone enough to open them up to another person and tell about the most prívate stuff.

I went to a therapist for the first time when I was in a desperate situation. I couldn't cope with my issues on my own.
It wasn't up to I was 34 that I was dignosed with AvPD and strong traits of perfectionism.
My diagnosed made the difference for me bc I knew what I have to face to.
I wonder how many of you have been diagnosed or seek for help.

I've been diagnosed only with bipolar 2. My T picked up on my Avoidant traits (as I would never have brought it up myself) but the pdoc I went to was well.... an idiot.... and I hadn't known it was on the table. He asked the most basic questions so I gave him the most basic answers - which were all based upon behaviours which I've changed a lot. So he didn't hear a word about what I think, feel or believe. So no actual diagnosis, but my T thinks I do and that's what we work on at my appointments. I don't really need help managing my bipolar symptoms.

I've been to therapy off an on and seen multiple therapists. My mom took me at 18 because I was so shy and depressed I wanted to drop out of my senior year. I know I'm diagnosed with and medicated for clinical depression & generalized anxiety. Other than that doctors didn't always tell me what I was diagnosed with and I either didn't think or was too timid to ask.

I've read a lot of self help books in my time. e.g. shyness, neurotic, highly sensitive person, introvert. I kind of self diagnosed myself with social phobia. After reading on this site avoidance seems to describe me really well... really well, I've been avoiding things my whole life.

As a rule, psychiatrists and clynic therapists are very reluctant to give the patient a diagnosis. They have a paternalist attitude I don't understand. This or they don't really know what the diagnosis is. I don't dismiss this second option.

To be honest, I had to ask my psychatry for a diagnosis and I had to insist. The same with my therapist. They agreed in the diagnosis although they didn't have any contact with each other.

Yep one of my Dx's is AvPD it was a shock to say the least I didn't even know it was on the table :/

Three times..... Yet after my first session with a new therapist she told me she didn't really see it. I guess I can see that as proof that I have changed a lot in the last years. But it's definitely still there!

I was diagnosed about 4 months ago. I have had quite a bit of therapy before but I never felt it really helped me. I am glad that I finally got diagnosed with avpd which I feel fits.
I am having schema therapy and it makes things a lot clearer for me. Of course I still feel a mess at the moment but I do feel that I am on the right track and I'm trying to stay positive

I have been diagnosed. I did several hours of testing and was diagnosed with AVPD, PTSD, severe recurrent major depressive disorder, and anorexia nervosa. I was also told I could be diagnosed with several different anxiety disorders.

I diagnosed myself with AvPD...I feel like I fit it pretty well. My therapist, who I've been seeing for 6 months, as un-diagnosed me and says I have social anxiety. We argue about this almost every week, lol.

It's hard to see the difference in both. There are always discussions in forums about the topic.

I was diagnosed, but I can't for the life of me figure out why. I definitely agree with the diagnosis and strongly believe that I have it, but it doesn't make any sense how the psychologist knew I had it. I saw him once and most of the time I spent there, he made me do these weird puzzles and tests that had nothing to do with AvPD. I didn't mention a single symptom relating to AvPD and he didn't ask me any questions relating to AvPD yet at the end of our session he diagnosed me with it. I'd love to know how he came to the conclusion that i have it because it doesn't make any sense to me. I heard if selective mutism isn't treated (which is something I also was diagnosed with) people with it can develop AvPD so maybe that had something to do with it. That's the only thing I can think of.

i have been diagnoses with personality disorder not otherwise specified. im very sensible to rejection and therefore i avoid. i can hardly talk in groups. 1 on 1 is ok. when i first saw a psychologist i hardly could speak, now im more open. i need help, thats for sure, im into schema therapy now but it goes slow. in theory, rationally, i know all those things, but my emotions are completely different.

Why dont you just ask him?

Lol! Your psychiatrist could have magic powers and you didn't know it.
You could go to another doctor if you think you could need a new diagnosis.
Mine is reluctant to give me a label and yours give them like sweets.

The most important, from my point of view, is to begin to do some kind of therapy so your therapist will be able to give you clues on what you need to work.

Pearlys, is it bc you display traits of different personality disorders but you don't fit with any of them?

I was first diagnosed as BP II, then reclassified as cyclothymia but unfortunately due to this lifelong affliction I am a scalp picker (OCD), suffer from anxiety and very irritable (especially in my down/depressed) state. I never had a normal day in my life. (since perhaps when I was very young...)

I'm not sure how I would get in contact with him. I only saw him once. It was an evaluation I needed to take for a rehabilitation services place that helps you find a job. I needed to be evaluated by a psychologist to determine what my job strengths and weaknesses would be.

I agree with his diagnosis and I'm very grateful he diagnosed me with this since I feel like I can understand myself a lot better now. I'm just curious how he knew I had it when I didn't share any symptoms that would suggest that I have it.

I think it depends on who you see. My old psychiatrist and the psychologist I saw diagnosed me during my first appointment. My current psychiatrist on the other hand seems to care a lot more and wants to get to know me enough before he's sure of what I have. It took quite a few visits before my diagnosis of aspergers became official. On the other hand, I kind of wish he would care more about diagnosing things because he's told me before that he believes I have dysthymia, but he hasn't diagnosed me with it. My old diagnosis is depressive disorder NOS and I was diagnosed that when I wasn't even depressed. I just didn't talk, so I came off as being depressed. I've been depressed for many years now and my psychiatrist knows that, but my diagnosis hasn't been updated.

Yes, i have traits of a couple of personality disorders but not enough to classify as a single one. Enough however to diagnose me as having A personality disorder.

What I suffer most from is hypervigilance and therefore avoidance. I feel very insecure and my self esteem at the moment is lower than ever.

I have to add that my first diagnosis was avoidant personality disorder with social phobic traits.

I have social anxiety and recurrent depression.
I think we are all a bunch of nuts.

Yeah, recurrent depression too. Someone told me that if a professional hears the diagnosis is recurrent derpession, they already presume some kind of personality disorder. I dont know if that is true. In my case it is.

At this very moment, I don't know if I fit in a whole personality disorder.
I know I always found hard to be with people bc of my feeling of inadequency (I always felt the outsider). You never will see me in a group of people unless I have no way out, in that case, I try to do the very best to be unnoticed. That is: avoidance.

If I look at the past I always could live bc I have someone beside me. Someone I layed on. And I try to look for excuses for my behaviours and others' ones. Dependency.

I can ideolized people in my life and being terrible disappointed by them. You know, noone can fix to an idea. Borderline.

So, much to work on here. But, it doesn't matter. I already lived with it for many years and I'm not gonna put my hands down now.

I know we're covering old ground here, but I believe a majority of us have a few symptoms of multiple PD's, probably very few of us fit perfectly in 1 single PD. A lot of these mental "illnesses" overlap their symptoms. It's guesswork for even the most experienced professionals. Like you said, we have to keep on keeping on.

I have..
(agrees with the above re guesswork )

Hey Azul,

Good question!

I recently received an Avoidant PD diagnosis in combination with Borderline and Dependent, and I absolutely did NOT trust the psychologist or anyone for that matter. Essentially I was forced to do a psychological assessment in order to determine my psych profile. (Long story) Keep in mind - this is after I was abandoned by my DBT therapist - whom I DID trust... I thought the psychological assessments would brand me with something terrible - but after getting it - it makes perfect sense.

I don't know a whole lot about Avoidant PD - but I do know it would make perfect sense that someone with Avoidant PD would be much less willing to open up. I would be interested to see some statistics about Avoidant PD sufferers willingness to seek help compared to other illnesses.

I know that for myself - therapy was very hard and even a joke. My parents tried to force me to go to a therapist when I was a teenager but I didn't open up because my parents saw the same therapist! As if I would open up. Especially since most of my issues pertained to them. The irony is - after being tossed around for several years and being misdiagnosed - I ended up seeing a therapist whom I really bonded with and I suddenly saw the merit to therapy for the first time. This when my borderline traits really came out.

Right now - after being abandoned for the third time - I am VERY hard pressed never to trust another therapist ever again. But I know that my need to attach is going to override any lack of trust that I have...

thanks,
HD