Formal diagnosis... Hard to accept.

So I got an update from the psychiatrist and psychologist (the latter I see every other week, the former is an "overseer" of sorts). They have officially changed my diagnosis from "unspecified dissociative disorder" to "D.I.D.".

Honestly, IDK how to feel about that. It just seems for something as trivial as words on a piece of paper to be so massive. I was struggling to come to terms with the unspecified diagnosis already, more some days than others, but officially being DID is somehow something else. I don't get it. IDK why it feels more "massive" a thing to cope with and accept.

For us, we'd already done research and all roads led to DID so we thought we knew what was going on, but having the official diagnosis turned out to be a big deal.

I think it's because this is a trained professional seeing the symptoms and confirming it. It's suddenly a lot harder to dismiss or deny or ignore. (Not impossible though lol, we still have issues with suddenly denying it and thinking we must be faking or crazy or whatever lol.)

I guess, having it as an official diagnosis sort of 'makes it real' in a way.

Maybe try and take it easy for a few days or whatever, do some self-care, and give yourself (all of your selves) time to adjust.

V2

yeah. it's a ###$.

even when you're expecting it. there's something so official and oppressive about it. gets easier.

go easy on yourself.

I felt the same when I recently saw my DID diagnosis in writing on my June hospital discharge paperwork.

VioletFlux wrote:For us, we'd already done research and all roads led to DID so we thought we knew what was going on, but having the official diagnosis turned out to be a big deal.
...
I guess, having it as an official diagnosis sort of 'makes it real' in a way.

V2

I think that's the same with me. I've been listed as "unspecified" since May. A rare "first time" hit on a good diagnosis, instead of years to get there, I know...

But with that, I guess, it was easy to think to myself "maybe it's wrong" or "maybe it's not that bad"... But like you said, "it's real" now. It's a heavy burden, an officially "severe end of the spectrum" diagnosis. It's just... heavy.

BeccaBee wrote:even when you're expecting it. there's something so official and oppressive about it. gets easier.

go easy on yourself.

Thanks.