Do your docs disagree?

I'm not liking the sound of your therapist Nikki! How confusing. As if it's not confusing enough anyway!

The thing is I guess is the dsm is not an exact science, many symptoms overlap and people don't always fit in neat little boxes or history is needed to arrive at the correct dx. Have you seen The website of Dr Jim Phelps? It's really really good.

I've had a similar experience between psychologists and psychiatrists in the UK. Psychologists/counsellors don't like to talk about labels but focus on the person. However those labels help us make sense of what has happened or is happening to us so it's important not to dismiss it! After all the point of the 'label' is to guide what treatments are more likely to be effective. I've had various dx's over the years and now think that these were indicators of bp2. I've been labelled as having neurasthenia (not used now!), panic disorder, anxiety and depression, GAD, PND and adjustment disorder with depressive features lol! It is most frustrating. To have someone else contradict what a psychiatrist says would be the icing on the cake!

Surely one of the pouts of therapy is that you're able to talk about what is distressing you? And in group being able to share those symptoms and experiences to explain and gain comfort from others?

Unbelievable!

Yes, Bipolar I. The taboo thing is kind of a leftover, an aftertaste and is still in the back of my mind.

I had been diagnosed by my Pdoc in a different city, but when I moved here a couple of years ago and started seeing current Pdoc and therapist, neither wanted to talk about it and I quickly dropped it (got that 'taboo' vibe).

Then when I had a manic episode about 6 months ago (first in a couple of years, since before moving here), my psychiatrist diagnosed me and my therapist, who witnessed it up close, agreed. I think, and it's understandable, that despite any previous dx they wanted to see it for themselves, so to speak, before making a dx themselves --which makes sense actually.

Now, my therapist talks about catching episodes earlier and my Pdoc about the importance of good and consistent sleep patterns, etc. So it's more open now that the dx has been made and agreed with by my therapist as well, but I'm mostly referring to before this when I got from my psychiatrist, "why do you want to know? We'll treat the symptoms." And the way he said it, I just didn't feel comfortable bringing it up again.

But despite the fact that there's dx and agreement and what not now, I still have this feeling of taboo about the whole thing, I think I just got gun-shy from before and it's more my problem.

I do actually understand the desire not to make a dx until you've seen it for yourself, so to speak, but I don't think that has to mean that you don't even discuss it meanwhile. Even if it's just to say, 'I haven't witnessed an episode so I don't feel comfortable making that dx at the moment, for now I would just say x' or whatever. Maybe Pdocs have felt pressured to make this diagnosis and just don't want to deal with it.

"why do you want to know?" <--- My T's go to answer when asked about my Dx.

That's horrible.

It's okay she understand anything I say has many meanings and there's always a reason why I chose the exact words I did.

most of my pdocs in the past have said that.

im lucky enough that my doc told me my dx. BUT before he opened his mouth he gave me this long look - just like a stare - tapped his pen - and then he said it.

I was in rehab after a dui, and all the therapists there literally blamed me for my behavior and gave me anger workbooks etc. They diagnosed me as a narcissist with ocd, my wife knew deep down that was not the case, that there was something wrong with me. I accepted that I was an alcoholic and all the behavior was from that, the self center etc. I was put on 250mg of seroquil to sleep and augment ocd, and for a year and a half my mood was stable and I felt good. They therapists thought it was aa and dbt and all that crap, but it was the seroquil. I went off of it and wanted to commit suicide, I did not see a future in life, even with a 5 year old and 3 year old. I'm broker now and my wifes family supports us, I lost everything. I got a new psyc and when he diagnosed me as bi polar, all the behavior made sense to my wife and I. For me the diagnosis was life changing and explains so much for me. I'm terribly angry at the therapists for not seeing any of this, I could have been saved from total disaster if I was on lithium and seroquil two years ago, but it did not happen. If you are bi polar the diagnosis will make sense to you, I think. Don't worry about therapists, or psycs that misdiagnose you, its just a problem, some people are not good at what they do.

Yes that's true. In my case, though, even with the differences, all the dx'es had such similar symptoms that I kinda wasn't sruprised at the slight differences. They all made sense to me. But that was just in my case.