Adult mental health team and potential diagnosis

Former Member

Hi, 
I’m just looking for some advice/solidarity. 

I’ve had a really tricky assessment with the adult mental health team this week, where I really didn’t feel listened to, they wouldn’t email me a report and a lot of other things. 

After the whole fiasco with the adult mental health team on weds, today i get a call. asking for more information (or rather, the same information again). so, i did the stuff. and they said they werent sure about referring me onwards- they said my situation was too unsettled to commit to treatment until after uni. Essentially they said they would only be able to manage me with meds (I’m already on 4 psychiatric meds and a lot more for physical health secondary to anorexia) and might refer me for some self esteem building course (background, I have diagnosed anxiety, panic disorder, depression, ptsd, anorexia, self harm and have suicidal thoughts, potential psychosis) Cuz waiting four years is realistic in this stare. 

and. they also said a scary thing. they think i might have emotionally unstable personality disorder. also known as borderline personality disorder. which is a big disorder to be diagnosed with from the little I know. a lot of sterotypes. a lot of not knowing what this means. and it wasnt official and i cant get over her just throwing it, unsolicited, into the conversation when she had no right and didn’t even assess me. 

i am scared and fed up of labels.

Aj xx

Former Member

Hey Aj, 
Whilst I think that diagnoses are important when it comes to receiving the right diagnosis, I personally don't believe that they are the be all and end all. All that matters to me is that I know what I am experiencing and that's enough. I agree with you about the labels, they can become exhausting and make you think you're something you're not. A person with anxiety is still a person, the same way someone with BPD is still a person. When I'm feeling stressed about labels, I try to take myself back to my core values and remember who I am, not what labels I have been given!
Eleanor  

Former Member

Eleanor said:

Hey Aj, 
Whilst I think that diagnoses are important when it comes to receiving the right diagnosis, I personally don't believe that they are the be all and end all. All that matters to me is that I know what I am experiencing and that's enough. I agree with you about the labels, they can become exhausting and make you think you're something you're not. A person with anxiety is still a person, the same way someone with BPD is still a person. When I'm feeling stressed about labels, I try to take myself back to my core values and remember who I am, not what labels I have been given!
Eleanor  

Hey @Eleanor
thanks for replying I really appreciate it. 

I think diagnoses have really helped me in the past to understand what I’m going through. But the diagnoses are getting gradually scarier and more serious and it really is just making me feel like a label. What really upset me is that she didn’t assess me and just said she thought I had EUPD which came as a shock. I’m just struggling to process. 

Thanks for your advice though! 

Aj x

Former Member

Hey @_AJ_
It's been a few days since you last posted and I was wondering how you're getting on? I completely hear you about the labels thing, the human mind is far too complex to be labelled with any one identity or label. Have you been able to talk to any friends or family members about your most recent meeting with the adult mental health team?  

Former Member

JamJar said:

Hey @_AJ_
It's been a few days since you last posted and I was wondering how you're getting on? I completely hear you about the labels thing, the human mind is far too complex to be labelled with any one identity or label. Have you been able to talk to any friends or family members about your most recent meeting with the adult mental health team?  

Hey @JamJar
Thanks for checking in my appointment was actually cancelled so I’ve been feeling kinda low and really struggling. I’m not really able to process anything going on at the moment which has just left me feeling overwhelmed and triggered a lot of difficult feelings. 

I can’t talk to my parents but have a few really supportive friends which is good
Aj x

Former Member

Glad to hear you have some supportive friends around you @_AJ_ and I am sorry to hear that your appointment was cancelled.  I can understand why that happening would make you feel low which is making you feel overwhelmed. Has it been rescheduled? If not, do you think you would want to have it rescheduled?