A diagnosis which isn't.

[Pixie15]

Hi,

After several weeks of examining my own wretchedness with the help of a psychologist I have been given the diagnosis which isn't a diagnosis. I have generalized anxiety but I am high functioning and therefore am not officially diagnosed although I am receiving therapy. I am wondering if it is unusual to receive a non diagnosis. Also if there are repercussions to receiving a diagnosis which I am not aware of. Thanks, Chris.

[The_Real_David_Charles]

Dear Chris,

Forget the high functioning.  Generalized anxiety can be serious and affect any aspect of your life.   The fact that you seem to cope with things is great but this may not always be the case.  You might encounter stresses beyond your control.

I am supposedly high functioning too but that hasn't stopped my bipolar from disrupting my life many times and my career to be on and off again.  Maybe the assumption is that if you are high functioning then you have nothing to worry about.  But really, any kind of complacency, especially in regard to your mental health, is worth checking up on and being a bit more responsible.

For me any kind of anxiety is a mental illness and therefore a diagnosis.  Anxiety forms a great part of any mental illness and having such a thing labelled generalised is, quite honestly, a bit ridiculous.   There would have to be events, people, situations, etc, that affect you more and trigger greater anxiety.

Sounds more like a GP saying "don't worry - I never got mentally ill", i.e. a bit of a put down.  To read that it was a psychologist that determined this is very surprising.  I mean, didn't you get any advice on how to live with this diagnosis ?  Did the whole exercise,mindfulness, CBT, yoga, music, counselling, sharing your fears, telling your partner to check on you and other helpful areas get communicated ?    It's definately a legitimate mental illness.  Even if your psychologist isn't.

If you read the quality of responses on this board you'll see that many are high functioning and have great clarity when describing things.  Does that negate their mental illnesses ?  Don't buy into the non diagnosis.  Your psychologist might be mistaking you for the artificial sugar in his/her coffee.

Adios,David.

[Pixie15]

Hi David,

Thanks for your comprehensive and spirited response. I am undertaking a program of CBT and hopefully that will help me better identify and deal with the triggers. I will go back to the source and confirm what was meant. Perhaps because my self confidence is fairly low at present.

Thanks again for your help.

Chris.

[jaimo]

Hi Chris,

I myself have been to see three different Psychologists who all give differnet diagnosis. I have been told by one that I have severe depression, whilst the other has told me that I have an emotion disorder.
I think that it is very common to receive a non diagnosis. Just try and take in their advice and hope that it helps you to get better, I think its better to work on the treatment plan then be caught up in an actual diagnosis.

Regards, Jai

[Pixie15]

Hi Jai,

Yes I have committed to the treatment plan. I have already vested a lot getting this far. It is a very exposing process. The thought of starting afresh with a new psychologist at this point would be very daunting. I hope you managed to get some help from your three psychologists. The process is meant to be about understanding ourselves better. I think having more than one opinion at this point would just confuse me more. 

Thanks Chris.

[geoff]

dear Chris, well this is a good question, because out of all the psychologists and psychiatrists that I have seen before I had the 'marriage' to my last psychologist for 20 odd years, all their diagnosis were different.

One psychologist in melbourne 2 hours away said that I was depressed because of my alcohol consumption, she didn't realise that I was drinking due to the fact that I was depressed and I needed it to feel numb.

Where as one psychiatrist couldn't give me any diagnosis even though I kept on asking him what was wrong with me, and he was meant to be one of the highest qualified people in mental illness.

But my 'wife' for 20 years said that I was suffering from OCD and social anxiety, with a tendency for lack of support and confidence.

So what do we believe, take your pick, or can we relate to one of these diagnosis's, or do we trust what one of these people say because we get on with them and can talk freely to them.

The point here is that all these Freudian psych have their own theories, and I wonder how they would manage in a room together. Geoff.