New Therapist. New Diagnosis.

I've been seeing psychologists and psychiatrists since I was 11 years old. It never really seems to do any good. I go in, talk to some stranger who halfheartedly listens to whatever you have to say, writes down whatever trigger words (s)he hears, and bases a diagnosis on the collection of triggers that (s)he was able to put together from the "conversation." In my life, I've been diagnosed as:

Antisocial with sociopathic tendencies
Manic Depressive
Bipolar (yes, I know this is roughly the same thing as manic depressive)
Disassociative Identity Disorder
Major Depressive Disorder
Borderline Personality
Schizophrenia
Asperger Syndrome (this one surprises me)
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
...

I'm sure there are a few I'm forgetting. I am trying to remember from when I was 11, after all. It's a wonder that with all of these issues, I am still, somehow, a functioning member of society. I'd probably still be going to a therapist, but no job means no insurance, which means no doctors. To be honest, I have no great love of doctors lately. I've had 4 of them close their practices while I was a patient. I have the worst luck with doctors.

I'm not certain that there's really anything I'm asking. I'm simply annoyed. I suppose I'm just venting. Sorry about that.

It's frustrating when you get a laundry list like that. Because the only use for a label. Is to give some indication of what the next steps are in improving the situation. Whether meds might help. Or are likely to give little benefit. What types of therapy support. And which might make things worse. And when there's such a range of possibles, it's hard to know where to start.

It's not dissimilar with physical health, though. The doctors will test for and treat the most likely options. If that doesn't help, they'll move on to the more unusual. Many medical problems just aren't as obvious as "broken leg- splint and plaster." And if you wait for the perfectly clarifying test result before starting treatment. Your health could massively deteriorate in the meantime. Many diseases don't even have conclusive tests. It's difficult.

Some of them can overlap, so it might simply be saying that you're in a more complex situation. Than a single label will convey. Also, personality disorders are rarely diagnosed before age 18. So other labels might be used before that age but describing exactly the same indicators. Simply because the personality is less defined before that age. Are there any sliding scale clinics near you? Or training centres? They can be a good option because you can see a newly qualified T. Who might be more open minded than those who've been around a while. And who are closely supervised, so get the input from experience anyway.