diagnoses or diagnonscence?

my diagnoses: ptsd, bi-polar, borderline-psychosis,anorexia, traits of bpd, and a sex addict...

age: 16

the only prob i have is that who would diagnose someone younger than 18... at least with crap like that?! i'm so freakin tired of putting on a mask or people so that they don't freak out about my true colors. i can understand chemical inbalances (sry if mispelled), but diagnosing every aspect of a person's life is crap! i know i have problems, but sex addict? i'm not in love with sex. i do give a care a bout the person i do that with, and that's my bizness! i'm not addicted to anything except my body at it's weakest states. i'm sry if i affend anyone, but my opinion is that "learn the person b4 you diagnose them"... again, sry...

I totally agree with you. Are you in the US, by any chance? It seems psychiatry in the US is very trigger-happy when it comes to diagnosing (and medicating) teens; something that really doesn't happen in the UK.

The UK has a different system when it comes to kids and teens - up to 16, sometimes 17 or 18, you'd be referred not to a psychiatrist but to a child psychologist for most issues. They don't diagnose, or medicate; the whoe system is based much more heavily on therapy and talking rather than slapping a label on and prescribing.

Even those who do develop more serious problems in their teens (like full-blown psychosis) are not usually actually given a diagnosis for a long time - long enough to try and assess whether or not this is a chronic problem or something transient.

It scares me that someone can walk into a psych's office in the US, apparently describe hearing things and feelings of unreality, and a couple of sessions later come away with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and a bunch of neuroleptics. Guidelines here (and, I think, a slightly different view of mental illness and problems) mean that a psych will usually take several months (or even a couple of years) of working with assessing a patient before they diagnose like that; they are also much less likely to give huge combinations of atypicals than elsewhere it seems.

A lot does depend on the individual psych - there are some aful ones here too - but the general approach and philosophy seems a bit healtheir than in other areas.

I'm sorry you've been diagnosed at too young of an age-- when you're still psychologically developing!! That makes me mad.

I applaud the UK if it's like what Isme has said.
I'm from the US and the first reaction here seems to be: let's diagnose and "pop a pill" and see how it goes from there!!
though, ......there are exceptions - some psychologists have not sold-out to the drug companies and truly do want to listen and help a client work through their struggles..... they're just hard to find...

I wish you well and try not to let some words put on you- define who you are! You are so much better and more than that!

mariposa

i'm glad to know that at least someone agrees with me... and yes, i live in the US. i hate being on so many unneed pills. i feel like i'm unable to be able to experiance what other teens enjoy because i'm always so "out of it" and really can't do anything. i'm contemplateing refusing my meds... they can't force me to take them (parents/gardians). is there any way out of this med cycle? i want to see a dr so i can start getting off these friggen meds! meds aren't going to save me nor stop me from hurting myself. meds can't fix everyything.. expectually me (sry if misspelled). i wish that i could just be reffered to a psychologist instead of a dr that's more freaked up then i am... i want to get away from all this diagnonsence...

When I was diagnosed at 16 I was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, seasonal affective disorder and clinical depression. That didn't change, later was PTSD.


PTSD, anorexia, wouldn't be as hard to diagnose as borderline.... either the psychosis or the BPD.

I personally am better now with the proper diagnosis. I do know people who have been wrongfully diagnosed, or it took them along time to get the proper diagnosis, also sometimes doctors need to rule out anything else before it.

It can be frustrating. I used to feel how you do now rampent. Hang in there.