If you could have told yourself advice prior to diagnosis what would that be?

waggiedog · Jun 20, 2014, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thickntired

Hi Waggie dog,

I have been dealing with mental illness for around 30 years as well - good times

I was in a partial hospitalization last June and the classes were all about DBT. I will look up STEPPS. I think it can be a helpful tool for anyone. I became friends with a girl in there who had BPD, and I felt so bad for her because like you she said there were not a lot of options for treatment. My pdoc gave me the book "I Hate You, Don't Leave Me" to see if I could relate because he thinks I also have BPD. I didn't read it because I'm so sick of adding to my laundry list of diagnosis.

I think that's great that you're helping people. I always feel for the younger patients because I've been down that road and know where it leads. No offense, but a word of advice. Don't deflect or loose sight of your problems by helping others. Through AA I had really hard lessons. I can't change a person and my influence may fall on deaf ears. I had to learn when to move on after putting in my 2 cents and not feel guilty if they lived in self-destruction.

tnt

Hi there again, thanks for your reply and OF COURSE I TAKE NO OFFENCE, why should I? Ha ha I know some folk can be so ''funny'', not me, I like well intended advice or critasiam (can't spell!). As I say, thanks for stopping by. Yes, know that book, '' Hate you, don't leave me'', infact I've read EVERY book on EVERY problem I've had, from anorexia/bulimia/bingeing, OCD's, suicidal and actual suicide jestures, drugs, alcohol blar blar blar ~ yet none have helped or ''cured''. There are many really valuable truths have been stated here on this thread for SURE. Thanks everybody. HUGS and LOVES, as ever.

waggiedog · Jun 20, 2014, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brainhi

I agree. Meds helped save me as well. I expect I will be taking medication the rest of my life....but so many just want a pill to fix it.

Thankyou friend, yes, I too have been helped a great deal by my meds BUT, it's taken a long while to get the ''right'' combination. Meds alone will never change anything except if we let the Psych Dr's over prescribe and thus we are zombies. Finding the most helpful therapy is really the Key, but that also can take time. I have to say that finding PC is one of the best things that's happened to me, without a doubt. HUGS and LOVES, as ever. XXXXXXXXX

brainhi · Jun 20, 2014, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by waggiedog

Thankyou friend, yes, I too have been helped a great deal by my meds BUT, it's taken a long while to get the ''right'' combination. Meds alone will never change anything except if we let the Psych Dr's over prescribe and thus we are zombies. Finding the most helpful therapy is really the Key, but that also can take time. I have to say that finding PC is one of the best things that's happened to me, without a doubt. HUGS and LOVES, as ever. XXXXXXXXX

....It's been a long road. I feel better (most times) than I ever felt in my whole life. 10 yrs ago, I could not even see what I could be.

niceguy · Jun 21, 2014, 04:07 AM

Stay away. It will not end well.

pudica · Jun 21, 2014, 08:42 AM

for me it'll be to start college maybe 2-3yrs later cause it just isn't a good idea to aggravate the horribly emotional state i was already in at the time. turbulent times... left some scars.

Perna · Jun 21, 2014, 09:54 AM

If I could have done anything differently, I would have. I do what I do when I do it. I am glad of all the things I learned in the process and would not want to give them up for what my imagination makes up (living happily ever after and riding off into the sunset). I like who I am now and it took me this long to get here. I know who I am now and that makes everything fine.

glok · Jun 22, 2014, 04:11 PM

A diagnosis is a tool used as the basis for treatment. While labeling can have negative connotations, receiving effective treatment is my overarching concern.

Jun 23, 2014, 06:10 AM

It's good to hear the opinions of those who suffered for a long time before there was any kind of resolution. I've always considered my meds as my boundaries. (No, you can't smack that clerk because she is snotty and unbelievable rude. No, you can't kill your husband.)

I would read about my illness instead of trying to deny it. I would not allow doctors to bully me or dictate my life. I would have learned that treating your body better is as important as your meds. And I would tell myself that most people don't have a clue and that telling anyone except a professional is a bad idea.

Victoria'smom · Jun 23, 2014, 10:56 AM

You can get help at 18 through the county.

Fuzzybear · 01:06 PM

Don't believe a word that ****ing doctor said. Keep shopping until you find a doctor who treats you with RESPECT. The respect you always have deserved. Because you're beautiful, inside and out.

(and yes I'd read about my illnesses, instead of colluding in denying them)

Never put up with anything less than empathy, kindness and compassion from a therapist. NEVER.

Fuzzybear · Jun 23, 2014, 02:38 PM

That you are not "weak" or "evil" for daring to have opinions!!!!!!!!!

-jimi- · Jun 23, 2014, 03:01 PM

I would tell myself it CAN get worse. I sought help when I thought it couldn't get worse, but with the "help" of meds (causing further mental illness) and therapy (mental abuse) it can get MUCH WORSE.

Fuzzybear · Jun 23, 2014, 03:11 PM

I've had the same experience. Thanks for not being afraid to speak the truth!

Quote:

Originally Posted by -jimi-

I would tell myself it CAN get worse. I sought help when I thought it couldn't get worse, but with the "help" of meds (causing further mental illness) and therapy (mental abuse) it can get MUCH WORSE.

ifst5 · Jun 23, 2014, 06:14 PM

The thing is, i kind of got my diagnoses as i went along, so i'd already experienced rather a lot of incompetence and knew that i wasn't going to get help regardless of what they told me. But i needed to put a name to the madness and i hope that if anything, i can face up to it one day by myself.

thickntired · Jun 25, 2014, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Perna

If I could have done anything differently, I would have. I do what I do when I do it. I am glad of all the things I learned in the process and would not want to give them up for what my imagination makes up (living happily ever after and riding off into the sunset). I like who I am now and it took me this long to get here. I know who I am now and that makes everything fine.

I agree! being able to live with myself is a big improvement. I am not quite at the point where I love myself or have stopped being so hard on myself. I am however not out to punish myself by self harming, so it's baby steps. I look back at all I have gone through and realize only a strong person could be alive at the other end.

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thickntired · Jun 25, 2014, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glok

A diagnosis is a tool used as the basis for treatment. While labeling can have negative connotations, receiving effective treatment is my overarching concern.

I am so full of doom and gloom. When I went to the pdoc with a manic attack I asked her if I was schizophrenic. Give me a hour on Google and I'll diagnose myself with 14 different types of cancer.

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thickntired · Jun 25, 2014, 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ifst5

The thing is, i kind of got my diagnoses as i went along, so i'd already experienced rather a lot of incompetence and knew that i wasn't going to get help regardless of what they told me. But i needed to put a name to the madness and i hope that if anything, i can face up to it one day by myself.

I can so relate to this and it terrified me. I have seen so many incompetent workers who do more damage. Nowadays I know to get referrals, put my guard up and watch for signs of inept treatment. I have and often still do believe I'll just get worse. The thing I try not to do is compare myself to other bipolars. My AA sponsor was 20 years older and had a terrible case of bipolar. I thought that's my future because it only gets worse with age. Nowadays I try to look at all the ways she is not taking care of herself and think of the advances that will be made in medicine.

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If you could have told yourself advice prior to diagnosis what would that be?

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