some tips for self dxers hoping to get an official diagnosis

bpd-suggestion:

homojabi:

Note: I was diagnosed with BPD (and PTSD).

1. Get an appointment to see a psychiatrist. These are the only people who can diagnose you and they can prescribe medication as well. When you make your appointment, tell them that the purpose is to get a diagnosis. (Check to see what your insurance covers, if anything, because it can be pretty steep payments and copays.)

2. Make a list of the top 10 situations where your disorder was expressed the most, things that you think “wow that was so [disorder] of me.” For me, I talked about a few of my most impulsive moments, situations where I interacted with my loved ones, and my greatest obsession. I only got to talk about 5 or 6 but having more helps a lot. 

3. Write out all of the symptoms that you experience with little notes about times you’ve expressed them. Write the symptoms down in your own words, with your own personal take. Share these with the psychiatrist. Alternatively, you can simply ask them to ask you questions instead of having you talk. Primarily they will be asking questions off of the DSM check list and you don’t even need to explain besides yes or no unless they ask or you want to. 

4. If people think that you just have depression and/or anxiety or you’ve been diagnosed with it in the past, say that you don’t just have depression/anxiety, and think you have something more. In my case she asked me to explain what about my “depression” made it different than most people. 

5. Don’t necessarily be afraid to say you’ve looked stuff up. I’ve been self diagnosed for almost 2 years now. Before she officially diagnosed me she said “you’ve probably done some research online and come across this before…” She wasn’t threatened by my prior research, but irregardless, don’t be afraid to challenge a diagnosis that you don’t believe to be true. Not everyone would take well to this, but it may be worth the shot.   

6. Good luck! Don’t worry about needing to present a certain way. When I came in it’s not like she knew right away that I have BPD, so don’t get hung up on that aspect. Just be yourself and express your disorder in a way that is going to help you the most.