Questioning my BPD diagnosis

Hi all

I'm new here so I hope this is the right place for this.

Let's jump in.

Midway through last year after a prolonged period of what most would regard as severe adversity, I ended up in a mental health inpatient ward for suicidality. During my 2 week stay there, I had approximately 3 sessions with a psychiatrist. I would estimate that each was less than 20 minutes duration. At the end of my first session I was given a fairly short, fairly ambiguous questionnaire to fill out and return to the ward staff. During my second session, the psychiatrist told me he had diagnosed me with Borderline Personality Disorder. The third session was taken up with administrative details relating to my upcoming discharge from the unit.

The thing is I don't know if I agree with the diagnosis and I CERTAINLY don't have a lot of faith in the diagnostic process I experienced.

I've read that in many circumstances, a bpd diagnosis is an "easy out" when diagnosing women with problematic behaviours or histories. I've also read that women with autism are frequently misdiagnosed as having bpd. I deeply suspect that I am on the autism spectrum (both of my kids are) but cannot afford a formal diagnosis.

Meanwhile I'm labelled with a diagnosis that really doesn't resonate with my experience of my life and one that has quite a large stigma attached to boot.

Has anyone else doubted a diagnosis? Is there a(n affordable) pathway to some sort of diagnostic review? How can I get an objective reassessment of my mental health? It seems to me that as soon as any health professional reads or hears a diagnosis of bpd, the patient is plonked firmly into the box labelled "Manipulative liar. Erratic, possibly dangerous. Do not trust or believe" and that's that as far as being heard is concerned.

It's very frustrating.