[amarie85]

im seeing a therapist next week for the first time in about 15 years. i was in therapy from ages 5-18 and i hated it, i felt like they sided with my mom and brushed me off completely. ive decided to give therapy another shot now that im an adult (without my mom) to hopefully better myself for my fiance and daughter. when i was little i was diagnosed with anxiety and depression but i feel theres more to it than just that, especially now that i know the mental health history of my biological family (pretty much everything under the sun). i have looked into what i think i may have obsessivly for years and i have many of the symptoms and my fiance agrees with me as well.

my question is, do i tell my therapist that im pretty sure there is much more than my depression/anxiety or should i just tell her my symptoms and leave it up to her to figure out? should i tell her straight up what i think i might have or do therapists not take self diagnoses seriously? im paranoid im going to be brushed off as a hypochondriac or "looking too much into things" but ive had these symptoms for either half or majority of my life and im sure i was misdiagnosed as a child or maybe my symptoms werent as severe back then.

hopefully this made sense, i have a hard time putting into words the things i want to say. and i also apologize if this is a stupid question or has obvious answers.

Maybe it depends of the phrasing. You could say, "I read a story about someone with OCD and that really resonated/sounded familiar. Do you think maybe I share (traits of) that disorder?"

[Teddy Bear]

Tell your t what you think.

[Sunflower123]

Also tell her your family history. That's important and would be a big help to her. Have you been evaluated by a psychiatrist and considered medication? A psychiatrist would be the biggest help in diagnosing you correctly.

[pachyderm]

Originally Posted by Teddy Bear

Tell your t what you think.

And see how she reacts.

[amarie85]

Originally Posted by Jennifer 1967

Also tell her your family history. That's important and would be a big help to her. Have you been evaluated by a psychiatrist and considered medication? A psychiatrist would be the biggest help in diagnosing you correctly.

i still have the messages between myself and my uncle where he tells me my family's mental health history, i was planning on reading that to her. i was evaluated when i was 5 and diagnosed with anxiety/depression. i was put on Zoloft when i was 17 and it made me feel horrible so i stopped taking it but now i do want to go on meds again, hopefully i can find something that will actually work for me.

[amarie85]

i guess a good plan could be is to tell her ive looked into the symptoms that i have and its pointed me towards a couple of diagnoses and she what she says about that? thank you guys for your responses

[Delightful Dingbat]

I think that's a good idea~also make sure you tell them your fam history...we get lovely eyes and silly big feet and other things our genes give us~so it is important they know. If I were a therapist {& not self righteous..lol} I would be impressed U researched AND believe you really want help!!!

By the way, there's a big difference between saying "I think I might have this disorder" and "I have this disorder and will believe that no matter what you say".

[Fuzzybear]

I would definitely tell the therapist your family history. And as others have said, maybe say something like "I think I may have this disorder as I've read about it a bit and it really resonates with me".

I don't think a therapist would brush you off as a hypochondriac

(If they did this would be wrong and very hurtful)

See how she reacts and proceed from there

[yagr]

So much is going to depend upon your therapist. I have self-diagnosed to some and was brushed off out of hand. I have self-diagnosed to others and had them take it seriously and investigate further, confirming my diagnoses.

[ForteDiva]

Originally Posted by amarie85

im seeing a therapist next week for the first time in about 15 years. i was in therapy from ages 5-18 and i hated it, i felt like they sided with my mom and brushed me off completely. ive decided to give therapy another shot now that im an adult (without my mom) to hopefully better myself for my fiance and daughter. when i was little i was diagnosed with anxiety and depression but i feel theres more to it than just that, especially now that i know the mental health history of my biological family (pretty much everything under the sun). i have looked into what i think i may have obsessivly for years and i have many of the symptoms and my fiance agrees with me as well.

my question is, do i tell my therapist that im pretty sure there is much more than my depression/anxiety or should i just tell her my symptoms and leave it up to her to figure out? should i tell her straight up what i think i might have or do therapists not take self diagnoses seriously? im paranoid im going to be brushed off as a hypochondriac or "looking too much into things" but ive had these symptoms for either half or majority of my life and im sure i was misdiagnosed as a child or maybe my symptoms werent as severe back then.

hopefully this made sense, i have a hard time putting into words the things i want to say. and i also apologize if this is a stupid question or has obvious answers.

Yes, tell your therapist everything you you just shared with us, it will give her enough information to get started with!

[Mountaindewed]

No. My therapist or anyone else at my clinic do not take self diagnosis seriously.

I've tried before, and I tried again today with someone else, to get someone to look into the diagnosis of Paranoid Personality Disorder and it was the same reaction as before.

"How often do you read Web MD?"

I have every symptom and I've had them way before reading about them.

It's the same answer every time.

"Stop reading the DSM, stop googling your symptoms."

At least the people I deal with won't take anything I say seriously. It's all what they think.