Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

Amphy64 t1_jbx1mjx wrote

Reply to comment by WKK417J in The philosophy of Beccaria is relevant to understand the current mental health crisis. The idealistic abstractions of the legal system are akin to the ones used in psychiatric discourse. by carrero33

UK as well, no longer a patient having been discharged despite needing help. How does that work with how limited to non-existent resources are, are you a private practitioner? What about the patients for whom there is a diagnosis that would be a clearer fit?

I have OCD, and finding out about it, while studying psychology, was an entirely positive experience, suddenly I had an explanation of what was going on with my mental rituals, and there were strategies to cope. My first panic attack, before my mum explained what it was and that she had them too, was an utterly petrifying experience as well. The stigma comes from prejudiced and ignorant people, not the patient themselves (I know I'm not alone in finding getting a diagnosis hugely positive), and the labels can be a way to educate them. The prejudiced also tend to think all mental illnesses are the same, and have an image of violent paranoid schizophrenia. I don't think patients benefit from being lumped together like that.

11

TheGermanCurl t1_jbxbsrr wrote

I got diagnosed with autism as an adult and I second your experience. It has been super-helpful to know what is going on. Especially since I am very repressed and an internalizer, so I spent my life struggling in silence, which sometimes made me gaslight myself about whether I even struggle at all.

I personally don't disclose to people who I assume wouldn't understand, but I don't feel ashamed by the label itself at all. I do feel ashamed by some of my autistic personality traits because of the negative feedback I got, but that happened BEFORE anyone, myself including, knew I was autistic. Because the stigma isn't (just) about the label, it is about the manifestations of the differences/struggles I inevitably do present and worked so hard to keep under the lid.

Personally I would feel so patronized for not getting the truth because my diagnostician decided I couldn't handle it. A friend got diagnosed with borderline personality disorder recently, or so she thought - turns out her former psychiatrist had already diagnosed or strongly suspected, without informing her. She scrutinized her after receiving the diagnosis from the new person, found out that former provider had known all along, was understandably upset and only now got to access specialized group therapy, which it turns out, helps her tremendously - more than any other form of treatment she had received. Because these labels make you eligible for more targeted support and allow you to connect with people in similar situations. And especially finding community has proven helpful in almost all documented cases.

9