talking about your diagnosis with a doctor

I have never had to bring up my condition when getting diagnosed. I guess I'm a real obvious case. lol

However, I saw a suggestion to bring your ideas to the doctor in writing, or even to email them, if that's a possibility. You can go to the appointment with a print out and say, I saw this, it's hard to talk about but I can really relate to this, and I think it should be explored further.

The first thing the doctor will do is assume you are depressed and prescribe a medication. They're doctors - that's what they are trained to do! Try the pills - why not - they might help. But also ask for a referral for a psych eval.

That's the easiest way to talk about it without talking about it.

It's really a good idea.
Nontheless, I have a problem. I identify myself myself with some avoidant traits. Or perhaps I have an avoidant life style to run away from other problems.
What should I do? Go there with the traits I think I have in the different a PDs. I don't know. I'm confuse.

In my country, I think that the psychiatrists and clínicas psychologists are the one who diagnosed. I unknow if there is an specific place where they make you an specific evaluation.

Then, there is the other problem. Therapy. If I need do the Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, I have to rush into the right professional.

I'm very hopefull bc I checked about this kind of therapy and it is having right results.

I think your avoidant behaviors stem from your borderline traits. Like avoidant people who become depressed because they are lonesome, you avoid people because your borderline impulsiveness and lack of boundaries make people seem unsafe. I bet if you work on your borderline issues, the parts of you that seem to be avoidant will diminish on their own.

You have to get to the bottom of the problem. If you treat the symptom instead of the problem you will never make progress.

Very interesting, this theory.
Now, I think I am finding explanation for several things that have been an enigma along this time.

I'm now a bit scared bc I can recognise some behaviour in the most part of criteria for Borderline but in a very low grade. So, I'm afraid of once I release from my avoidant part, the borderline symtons increase in degree.

I read yesterday that borderline is a condition that increase along the time.

I think I'm anticipating things though.

Its fruitless to try and join the dots to who you are without first a professional diagnoses.

Borderline traits increase over time - when they are untreated.
With treatment, they improve, and much more than avoidants.
It's silly to be afraid of getting a correct diagnosis. If you had cancer, would you rather do nothing and keep getting sicker, or go to a doctor so you can get better?
I think you're looking for excuses.
Like you said, you can get away with bad behavior now.
You're going to have to take responsibility for yourself one of these days.

I think you shouldnt diagnose ck... thats for the pysch to do.

I'm not making excuses. I want a correct diagnosis and overcome my issues. I'm not afraid. It's at this moment when I can figure out that I could be a different thing. I'm not afraid. And I'm not gonna be sticked to a label, either.
I gave you the wrong impression. Lol!

Very true.

Guy!
I already have the appointment with the psychiatrist. Next Tuesday.
I will do what you suggested, take a paper with the symtons I think I have. I will be so honest as I can. I'm a bit confused about all the symtons though.
I will ask him for a complete evaluation. I hope he knows what he does bc I'm too old to be wasting the time.

To be honest. I haven't got any carefull for my label of avoidant. When I was diagnosed like that, it was a released for me bc I could put a name to all I was suffering along the years.

Watch out for the "what you think you have" part of it. Remember, this is an outside evaluation. You don't have to tell a story about your life, or try to convince him of anything. And you won't be able to tell if he's good or not, so don't worry about judging his abilities during the evaluation.

What would help is a list of dates, approximate times when you had depressive episodes, medications you have taken, hospitalizations, things like that. You'll be asked about your work history, your romantic history, how many friends you have had and when, and of course a lot about your family and growing up. You can explain how you got your diagnosis before, what lead up to you getting your diagnosis, especially if you feel it was not a thorough evaluation.

I had another psych eval done last month (my 4th maybe? I've lost track.) and it was nerve wracking, and it felt like a personal invasion, but thinking about it ahead of time was a lot worse than actually going through it. The doctor was very calm throughout the evaluation. It wasn't until it was over that he expressed his concern over the level of my mental state.

Just now, I'm reading about the criteria to select the ones I feel identified.
It's tough, because in Spain they follow the CE-10. i don't know if this psych is going to follow the DSM-V.

I came across two things mentioned in CE-10: it's very frequen that there are moré than one personality disorder in the same person. AvPD usually is founded with the Dependency personality disorder or with Borderline PD.
The other thing I read is that cultural differences have to be taken into account.

Did you get your diagnosis so?

I think the best is to tell him that I have suspisious about borderline disorder and that I need a whole evaluation.
Anyway, I will tell him about Dialectical Behavioural Therapy bc for what I read is really good to cope with anxiety and impulsiviness.

Reconfirmed AvPD and added Major Depressive Disorder.

I don't know what the CE-10 is. But cultural differences might be why you think you are avoidant. Kissing people you just met on the cheeks? Never never never! If that makes you nervous, then you're not avoidant, you're just living in the wrong country. Because no one does that here. There, you might seem very withdrawn, but here, you'd be the life of the party.

You are right. Here, I'm the rare. People are so fervent here. Lol!
Ck, I don't think I'm an avoidant. i was diagnosed as an avoidant. Here, it is called anxious personality of avoidance.

I hope you feel better today.

I have been also diagnosed with recurrent depression but I think it all can be explained for a personality disorder.

Don't know what you think but, I'm coming to a idea. There are many reasons to develop an avoidance and the key is to know what makes you avoid. Am I right? What's your thought?

Everyone avoids people at some point in their life. That's normal. What's not normal is avoiding all people all the time.

If it's a PD, unfortunately it won't matter if you know what started it. Well, you know what started it, it was emotional abuse as a child. Big deal, I can list all the awful things that were done to me, shock the hell out of everyone. It's there and it's not going away.

If you're not avoidant, if you don't have that PD, but just have avoidant behavior due to certain triggers, I think what you're saying might make sense. You find out what your trigger is, you work on not being triggered by it, you don't have to avoid that situation any more. By the way, what you're describing is what's done in DBT.

But what you're talking about is not avoidant personality disorder. I can speculate that it's a good idea, but I don't know if it would work or not. It wouldn't work for me, that's all I can say about it.

I'd suggest - and I've said this before - that you look at how you articulate your theories. You say things (one that pops right into my head is when you said people perceive avoidants as having poor hygiene, or when you suggested all borderline people are violent because of the one personal experience you had) based on what happened in your life, and assume everyone has had the same experience, posting about it like it's common for everyone. When it's not - like you're idea about just finding out what started your avoidance is they key - it comes off as offensive. When you're a teacher you have to seem like you know everything, so that's probably your habit. But I would watch how you state things - are you saying something about yourself, but making it sound like it's universal - so you don't ruffle feathers.

Mummy, what's the matter with me?
I talk about my experiece, my background and according to what I'm learning.
I don't try to give a lesson to anyone.
Take it easy!
And yeah, I think ( think-ok? I'm not a psych and neither a very intelligent person)!the key maybe stress on the reasons why I began to avoid for an accurate diagnosis.
I will talk about all this with my psychiatrist.

Please, please, don't call me Mummy. That's so disrespectful.

Don't act like that. And stop diagnosing people, that only causes a damage that you can't figure out. Specially when they are sensitive. Let people to take their decissions. We are all adults.

Ah, and I never have a psych who told me that I was a basket case. On the contrary.
I use to joke about being a basket case.

I feel offended when people thinks wrong things about me.

You're being disrespectful. You're the one who needs not to act like that. Got it?