Does a diagnosis really help?

Hi @Shaz51, good to see you too 🙂 Loving this rain we're getting, makes everything new and fresh and shiny again. I hope this week is better for you too

@Sehnsucht thanks for explaining that for me.

I too have problems with sequencing my thoughts and following arguments if they are too long. But with maths and IT (which I have a degree in) it was never a problem. I can write code (which is based heavily on logic) with no real issue at all - everything is written before me on the computer screen so I don't have to keep anything in memory, and it's not abstract, it's concrete - so it's not like writing an essay or arguing a point - it's a very specific example that does a very specific thing. It's very literal and there's no interpretation what-so-ever. So you might find that you might be good at it - in any case I encourage you to try it 🙂 It's satisfying and fun and very creative and there are many free courses online.

If you feel you are being pushed by the govt to go into social work or nursing then it's probably true. They are from my knowledge always trying to push a lot of unemployed / disabled into home and community care, which serves the community and always has a shortage.

I was originally diagnosed with bipolar when I was 21 after an episode. A round of medication and therapy, a few lifestyle changes and I seemed to come right. Ten years later I had another series of triggers, which again almost led to me being hospitalised. Eventually I was marched with a different psychologist who told me the original diagnosis appeared incorrect. To confirm he had me assessed by a psychiatrist who agreed I was not bipolar. It was amazing the difference therapy did for me, it did more for me than the medication. However he explained to me that if I had cancer or some other form of illness that required medication that i would take drugs to save my life/get better. He was right of course, i attached the stigma of mental illness to therapy and drugs.

There were lots of things I worked out through therapy such as not being able to watch the news, my little fingers shaking, reducing myfriendship group, changes in appetite, fatigue etc. Being diagnosed, knowing the triggers for your form of illness can help you to learn coping mechanisms, can help you to challenge yourself so you can grow into the healthiest version of yourself. It wont always be smooth sailing, but there is so much support out there, you are not alone. I felt alone for the longest time, i felt as though I was living to the label, but the only label that matters is the one you choose for yourself. Choose a word for yourself, a word you want to live by for example: kindness - make part of each day about being kinder to yourself. I choose a different word every year. It needs to be something that inspires you. A friend chose, style, she began to dress better, do make up tutorials, got advice from a new hairdresser and got a new do. Her life totally changed. My word helped me to realise i take far better care of everyone else than i do myself.

You are unique, there is no one else quite like you, just as there is no one else who is just like me. You have a chance to live a full life, its your life, you just have to live it one day at a time remembering that even leadsrs fail, celebrate your failures because it means you tried. The more you try the better you get at it 🙂

Hi @DefiantPanda,

I've seen your name here and there, good to actually read you again :0)

I just ....'fell,' into caring.....actually, my mechanic told me that he thought i'de be good at it.

He set me up an appointment and through the next 10 years....I just kept on falling back into it......since April 2006.

I can't do the......9 to 5, I chose to marry Mr You Know Who ( my nickname for husband) and be his full-time carer.

But to be an efficient carer, someone who can give 110% ..... Ya can't be pushed into it !! I'm now working part time so can pay to see my Psychotherapist again. I want to write short stories and sell them and handsew dolls. So far my mind can take in .....not that

because of my personal stuff,,,,,,,,

Oh @HarleyQuinn84

Thank you for this special message.

May I ask if you are you still seeing your Gp in relation to all of this?

@Former-Member hi friend,

what I like about this message is the refreshing way that @HarleyQuinn84 talks about accepting yourself. Sometime ago, only 4-5 years ago, I was struggling being married to Mr You Know Who ( nickname for husband) did a paper and learned...........

care for someone else and you learn to care for yourself...........

what does everyone think?

Oh @HarleyQuinn84

Thank you for this special message.

May I ask if you are you still seeing your Gp in relation to all of this?

@lisajane, hi friend,

what I like about this message is the refreshing way that @HarleyQuinn84 talks about accepting yourself. Sometime ago, only 4-5 years ago, I was struggling being married to Mr You Know Who ( nickname for husband) did a paper and learned...........

care for someone else and you learn to care for yourself...........

what does everyone think?

That's just it - we are all a combination of so many things. Some of those things have more significance in our lives than others, but if you consider them all labels, then bipolar, BPD, schizo-effective, short-sighted, arthritic, Down syndrome, amputation, melanoma, vitiligo, etc are all challenges in their own right, to greater or lesser degrees.

I am not trying to make light of anyone else's difficulties, but as HarleyQuinn84 says, if we take note of other labels about ourselves, like "good listener" or "great cook" or "loving grandma", it means we can identify ourselves by the positive aspects of our lives too, not just the most challenging ones.

There is so much loving care and consideration on this forum, that that is what is standing out to me more than anything else. What a fantastic community you all are. If my problems are what have introduced me to y'all, (and they have) then I am grateful for at least this positive outcome.

Not swimming alone ! 🐠🐟🐡🐠🐬🐟🐳🐟🐋🐠

Hi @HarleyQuinn84

I think you're definitely onto something there. Since starting this thread and eventually being diagnosed I have read a lot and met a lot of other people and heard their stories about their triggers and symptoms... And it is starting to fall into place, just how to deal with it, how to live with it, what to do. So you're right in that the label/name gives you something to work with.

As for your ideas about choosing your own label well yes I like that idea too 🙂