Sometimes I feel like mental health disorders are like Pokemon: Gotta catch’em all!!!
Is there a point where collecting mental health labels gets ridiculous and almost humorous? Sometimes I wonder if all the stuff that has been ascribed to me is really wrong with me, and if it is – is it actually just one thing with many different facets?
Here are the mental health diagnoses I have collected to this day (that I know of and can remember):
PDD-NOS (high-functioning autism)
Asperger’s Syndrome (a slightly different form of high-functioning autism lol)
Bipolar Type 2
Major Depressive Disorder
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Social Anxiety Disorder
Avoidant Personality Disorder
Complex PTSD
OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
Phobias
Cyclothymia
Adjustment Disorder
SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)
Dysthymia
Somatic Disorder
Attachment Disorder
I may be leaving some out or have ones I don’t even know I have in my medical record, but am I getting close to winning this odd, mentally ill game of Pokemon Go yet? I CHOOSE YOU!…
That’s a clever way of looking at it. A bit like Pokemon Go you get pesky ones that refuse to be caught and you start to get on top of things until new ones appear.
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LOL, yep.
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We all have PTSD( all families are dysfunctional) in some way. I have anxiety disorder and do not like crowds, phobias. Do not let People label you. We function despite these. And you function well.:)
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Thanks. I do find it rather humorous how many labels one can accrue during therapy/treatment, but the important thing is improving functioning as you said.
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And you function well.:)
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You had me laughing out loud but I feel you. I’ve officially been diagnosed with 4 mental illnesses plus even more physical illnesses.
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LOL, glad you liked the post 🙂
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Its amazes me how you find your humor in combating all this. you are such a strong person and I hope you know this. hugs
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Aw, thanks so much. I find humor helps to keep things in perspective and not let me get too down about it all.
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Good for you! Did you hear back yet?
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You mean about the EDS genetic test? Nothing yet. I did get notice that my insurance is covering the cost of it at least.
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Oh that is great ! That will be covered I was asking about SSI
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I won the SSDI. Haven’t gotten first payment yet, expect it next month.
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Congratulations !!! that must be such a relieve. and will take a lot of stress off you and your body.
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Yeah, it is a relief. It isn’t a big amount of money since I mostly only worked part-time over the years, but it will certainly help.
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Still better then nothing . Really happy for you🙂
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Thanks!
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❤️
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That’s just greedy!
It can be hard with diagnoses, mental & physical, where symptoms overlap and there’s no clear-cut way of saying whether it’s one thing or another or several.. xx
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LOL. Greedy me! I’m like the cookie monster! I agree on the diagnoses, especially when so many symptoms overlap.
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Maranda, your use of humor is a good strategy. We all figure out ways to make through our daily chaos.
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🙂
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I had a bunch of labels slapped on me too. In the long ago past I decided to ignore them! I mean, really, could I be all that and still be here? Nah, it’s okay…we’re good. Keep your chin up lovey, it’s all right.
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I like that attitude. I try to see it humorously and that helps me to not take it too seriously.
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I see it as, we need labels in order to be able to communicate on the same page. When I say cold, you know what I mean. When I say sad, you know what I mean. When I say coffee, you know what I mean. It’s important to be able to clearly understand each other. We also label ourselves, sometimes without knowing it. You’re getting ready to go out, look in the mirror, and think, “I look pretty,” or “I look thin,” or whatever… We don’t have to consider labels as good or bad. I just consider them ways to describe in order to understand each other, and what is going on with us, others and the world around us.
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Good way to look at it.
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I wrote a nice blog piece about this exact conundrum. I can understand your frustrations.. Hopefully this can provide some clarity!
https://mindmd.home.blog/2019/06/10/one-hundred-diagnoses/
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I’ll check it out. Thanks!
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Thanks for this article! It’s nice to find more people with the same advocacy on mental health through starting a conversation. I delivered a speech to college students last Saturday. It’s titled ‘The situation is a lot more nuanced than that: A meditation on mental health through Crazy ex-girlfriend.’ I decided to post a four-part lecture on it on my WordPress page.
Here is the second part: https://kloydecaday.wordpress.com/2019/08/27/debunking-mental-health-stigma/
Meanwhile, here’s the first part: https://kloydecaday.wordpress.com/2019/08/24/the-situation-is-a-lot-more-nuanced-than-that/
Thank you for reading my posts and I hope that you give me thoughts on my speech. Follow me too. Be well!
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Thanks for reading and commenting, will try to check out your posts soon 🙂
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