Couldn’t watch it live but maybe I can dump a question here:
How’s the best way to talk about mental health problems that you don’t have a diagnosis for.
To give a bit of background: I’ve been in talk-therapy for almost two years and it has done me a lot of good and I think it prevented me from sliding into full-blown depression.
So, I have only seen a psychologist and not a psychiatrist (who’s the one who’s allowed to diagnose things, at least around here), so I do not have a diagnosis. And sometimes people who are diagnosed say things like “don’t talk about depression when you don’t actually have it”, which I support in principal because being sad is not being depressed. But it also affects me because I don’t have a diagnosis. But to say that I’m not affected by mental illness when I and somebody else just spent two years to get me from not being able to function, to functioning, to being almost well is just not right. When I went from a place where I wondered whether it would be really bad if I just went straight into the wall instead of driving around the corner to a place where I enjoy life.
And it also affects peole who have not found the courage or possibility to get a diagnosis.
So, how do you best talk about non-diagnosed mental illness in a way that’s not hurting people with a diagnosis while taking care of yourself at the same time?
Thank you and all of the other panelists for doing this! It was very well done.
_
And thanks also for archiving everything on YouTube. I’ve already referred it to several people who should have watched it but hadn’t yet.
Oh, I’m so glad this was posted. I wasn’t able to get vertical in time to watch last night, and I was really looking forward to seeing it. Thanks!
Couldn’t watch it live but maybe I can dump a question here:
How’s the best way to talk about mental health problems that you don’t have a diagnosis for.
To give a bit of background: I’ve been in talk-therapy for almost two years and it has done me a lot of good and I think it prevented me from sliding into full-blown depression.
So, I have only seen a psychologist and not a psychiatrist (who’s the one who’s allowed to diagnose things, at least around here), so I do not have a diagnosis. And sometimes people who are diagnosed say things like “don’t talk about depression when you don’t actually have it”, which I support in principal because being sad is not being depressed. But it also affects me because I don’t have a diagnosis. But to say that I’m not affected by mental illness when I and somebody else just spent two years to get me from not being able to function, to functioning, to being almost well is just not right. When I went from a place where I wondered whether it would be really bad if I just went straight into the wall instead of driving around the corner to a place where I enjoy life.
And it also affects peole who have not found the courage or possibility to get a diagnosis.
So, how do you best talk about non-diagnosed mental illness in a way that’s not hurting people with a diagnosis while taking care of yourself at the same time?
Thank you and all of the other panelists for doing this! It was very well done.
_
And thanks also for archiving everything on YouTube. I’ve already referred it to several people who should have watched it but hadn’t yet.
Links to Shakesville and Cpt Awkward would be useful.