Would getting a diagnosis be worth it?

People on PC often react very strongly to mild comments. Most people (not all) on PC (including me) aren't 100% ok. So reactions might not be the same as you see in your every day life like at work or whatnot. Just let it go. Yes this place is weird but so are most of us lol

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sorry to say this, but it depends on the diagnosis. I can say this because I'm a veteran user of psychiatric services who has been misdiagnosed. A misdiagnosed PD label follows you. They are not scratched out of your records and replaced with another diagnosis. If it was possible I would have gotten every discharge and consultation summary corrected. All I can do is add a note to my chart. Other labels like ASD, anxiety, and even schizophrenia don't carry the same type of stigma that a PD does.

I have ASD and a few other mental illnesses. Years before I was told my personality was disordered but I never believed it. I kept telling them the diagnosis was wrong, because it didn't describe my experiences. They had all kinds of excuses for not assessing me for autism even though they would ask me about it. The PD label confused and traumatized me. Clinicians judged me before actually meeting me. They also accused me of things that I never felt/thought and did. It was alienating. Labels can be used against you so be careful.

I'm sorry you had this experience. Unfortunately ASD gets misdiagnosed as a PD quite often. That's why I get more emotional about the rampant use of PDs. It seems like a cop out on the part of Ts and a way to label someone that they find challenging and/ or just don't understand.

For me having an ASD diagnosis was extremely helpful in understanding how and why I am who I am. Aside from all the negatives that could come from being diagnosed, I think knowing either way is a good thing.

Thanks. I've heard other stories from other ladies. It really upsets me. I don't want another person with ASD to suffer because of incompetence.

Therapy treats us as if we are all born with the same personality. It fails to recognize we are born with unique personalities that are shaped by environment which then affects our genes. This was the big problem with the PD label. The therapists went digging for 'abuse' that I apparently suppressed and implied my family was dysfunctional and wicked. They interpreted my apparent deafness, social difficulties, speech impediment and acute senses as signs of trauma. They never once asked about my developmental history where the answers were.

Thanks for the info. If you don't mind sharing, which PD is it in particular that you were diagnosed with instead of ASD? I have seen it suggested that avoidant personality disorder, schizoid personality disorder and "covert narcissism" are all just misdiagnosed Aspergers. This seems very plausible to me. In fact, the first time I heard about "covert narcissism" was from this online friend who claimed her husband was a narcissist despite him being shy and having low self esteem. Of course, her husband also had Aspergers. I imagine that when an aspie displays a couple narcissistic traits, psychologists would be much more likely to diagnose them with NPD than they would a "normal" person displaying those same traits.

Also, aside from confusing you and traumatizing you, did your PD diagnosis have any effect on your life by being on your record? If so, how? And do you think all PDs would have this same effect?

I don't think Asperger is being used as valid dx anymore. It is all ASD. I might be wrong but that's my impression

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

From the research out there, it is much more common for women to be misdiagnosed than men. The amount of men with a dx of Aspergers far outweighs the females. The reason for that is that many women with borderline personality disorder have been misdiagnosed and really have Aspergers. I think this is happening less now but only very recently. The reasoning was that the ASD can look different in women than men so some they wouldn't qualify as a child for a diagnosis. As a teen and adult, some characteristics can look like those in BPD, especially emotional dysregulation bad lack of empathy. They'd sometimes be considered "mild BPD" because the traits usually seen were less dramatic and some were missing - especially the trauma. In these cases there's often no early childhood trauma but, as Didgee pointed out, doctors and therapists would prefer to insist that something "must have happened".

I have never been diagnosed with ASD or BPD, but I do have BPD traits and was hospitalized as at 12. My family was also grilled about abuse when I was admitted because I showed "classic signs" in my personality. Yet there was nothing aside from my personality that pointed to CSA- no memory, no evidence, nothing. My childhood pdoc/t suspected the same although she said other things were missing. So she just considered me an enigma.

I don't think it's unusual to see a schizoid PD diagnosis in men who have ASD, and it may be a misdiagnosis. This is less likely to happen in men but if they don't get a diagnosis as a child it probably looks this way in teens/adulthood. It could be a secondary dx with men, especially if they have a criminal history. You are probably right about avoidant and narcissistic PDs as well since you can apply some of the traits to ASD. They'd be called "mild" which sometimes just means a T saw some traits and didn't bother to dig deeper or seek proper testing.

Yes that's true for new cases going forward. The same criteria still applies, it's just given a different name now. People already diagnosed with Aspergers don't lose their diagnosis and the term is still commonly used since it existed for so long. My daughter's records still read Aspergers but new paperwork wouldn't have it as an option, so ASD is used instead.

Exactly. You are so right

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Originally I was diagnosed with depression at the age of 16. Soon after I started taking Zoloft 100 mg I abruptly changed. I began self-harming after another patient taught me how and I thought about suicide constantly. It was terrifying. I could barely cope with the feelings. When I stopped Zoloft the self-injury and suicidal thoughts went away. My ASD traits and adverse reaction to Zoloft appeared to look like BPD so the psychiatrist decided to diagnose me with that at the age of 16.

Covert narcissism? Labels like this are awful and degrading. This one implies we are wounded, bitter, arrogant and difficult people. The problem is NTs. They are not very willing to understand us because we are a minority. We are too sensitive, too uncaring etc.........

People with ASD have trouble with nonverbal cues, because they tend to see details such as the movement of a person's mouth or eyebrows rather than the entire social interaction (face, body gestures and what is being said). When one cannot detect subtle behaviors how is that person supposed to express concern for others (reciprocate)? This is what makes us appear detached and uncaring.

I've noticed PD diagnoses are given to people with highly sensitive personalities who have struggled in life and picked up some 'harmful' ways of coping.


It did a few times, but only when I needed psychiatric treatment. I quit seeing therapists and psychiatrists when I was 20 because of what happened. I developed a psychotic disorder at the age of 25. One night while the illness was in its early stage, I ended up in Emergency because of severe agitation. I was asked if I was experiencing hallucinations. I admitted that I was. They didn't make sense at that time. The psychiatrist told me it was due to my apparent BPD which see saw in my chart. She refused to listen and even told me it was all in my head. She wrote me a script for three different drugs at very high doses and give me an appointment with a psych nurse. I didn't comply. Four months later I was sick with an illness that was definitely not BPD.

I don't have problems with my providers, since none of them think I have BPD. The label haunts me though. I won't go to Emergency for psychiatric reasons at all, and I will not see anyone who isn't involved in my care.

Ladies don't usually have the stereotypical ASD traits and they can 'fake' social interactions better than men.

Emotional dysregulation in ASD/Asperger's looks similar to BPD but the reasons behind it are different. It isn't connected to identity and abandonment. Sensory processing issues, the unpredictable nature of social interaction and the world, past experiences and brain differences usually explain it in ASD.

I was born in the late 70s when there was no such thing as ASD/Asperger's. In 1994 there were 1.5 pages on Asperger's in the DSM.


They did that to us too. It really hurt my mother.

What were the classic signs? Self-injury, trouble with friends/school, wanting to be alone? Maybe you have a sensitive personality and closed off to cope.

I think we all have BPD traits from time to time especially during times of stress. This is why I think the diagnosis shouldn't be made during those periods and in hospital. It should be made in the outpatient clinic after a client has been followed for a long period of time.

I agree with you Didgee regarding all of the above. I was born around when you were so I understand there people who were different and highly sensitive ended up kind of lost. The "classic" signs I showed were self harm, extreme shyness and difficulty with social interactions. My shyness was doubly severe with males, especially males in authority, so I think that looked like a red flag.

Now, diagnosing a teenager with a personality disorder is just irresponsible but again, back then it was different. How terrible to be labeled so young though. A lot of behavior associated with BPD is not abnormal in teenagers, which it should be reserved for adults.

True. I tend to forget that we're mostly not okay and people do react out of proportion. Thanks. I will let it go.

Thanks for all the info. Right now, I am leaning towards going ahead and using my insurance to pay for therapy.

Honestly I have no idea if I have ASD or a PD or neither. One thing I will point out though is that I lack some of the stereotypical "hallmarks" of ASD. For example, someone mentioned how they don't pick up on social cues. I was very much like that during my younger years like in high school, however I at some point that changed, and now I actually feel like I am ultra-sensitive to people's expressions, tones and moods, and I think I may be what is called an "empath". This is part of why I initially didn't consider the possibility of having ASD. That and the stereotype that they are really quick at doing mathematical computations and other logical tasks. But as I read more about ASD, I realized it is a spectrum and there is a lot of diversity, with some people not displaying those traits. However, I am socially awkward and usually don't know what to say in social situations, I have routines and am often uncomfortable with change, I have weird mannerisms, there are other things too, these are just the ones I can think of now. But generally I feel like I was much more ASD-like when I was younger, and I seem to have "adapted" to be more "neurotypical" as I grew up. It could be a survival instinct triggered by my strong desire to avoid social humiliation.

I recently read a post on a forum where someone was explaining a theory they had that Narcissistic Personality disorder is basically a form of ASD. They were saying how people with ASD typically lack affective empathy due to brain wiring, and they hone in on something that they obsess over and they excel at that subject. The person was hypothesizing that people with NPD have the same lack of empathy as people with ASD, but because of their desire to project a positive self image, the thing they hone in on is learning to read people and fake normal social behavior. Basically, this goes with my experience. I doubt this person's theory is valid. They are not a professional, just a poster on a forum, but they bring up interesting points. Personally I am more inclined to believe that ASDs are mislabeled as narcissists than that narcissists are mislabeled as ASDs. I kind of question the validity of personality disorders in general.

Good luck. Don't try to self diagnose or read about it on forums. If I start self diagnosing I'd end up thinking I have every mental illness on the planet. Hope you get proper diagnosis

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk