Posted by agencypanic on May 30, 2003, at 16:08:49
In reply to Re: Why am I so obsessed with a label?, posted by stjames on May 30, 2003, at 11:45:50
Thanks for this thread. I am also obsessed with finding the proper label, something a former psychologist of mine couldn't really
understand. I'm currently on pyschiatrist #4, soon to be on #5, and each one has given me a different label from the DSM. My quest for the proper label goes so far as owning a copy of said manual
and often I think that I've read it as closely as have the pychiatrists I've seen. Currently my 'preliminary diagnosis' is schizoaffective disorder and I'll take that label and run with it for a while.
Labels allow me to start the search for data that's useful to me as one who suffers from x. I look for books about it, search the net for relevent information, and maybe most of all try to find others who suffer from the same
malady so that I can feel less isolated and alone. I have to admit that there's more than an element of 'self-absorbtion' in this: When I'm depressed and going through a difficult period, such as now, I look for bits of
information that help explain me to myself as well as for tools to help me out of my predicament. I remember asking my psychologist at the time what it was that I was supposed to have? Was I 'paranoid'? He asked me in return WHY I needed to know, which only
fuelled my paranoia, making me think that everyone but me knew what was wrong with me. It was probably then that I bought a copy of the DSM4 and started reading it. Now sometimes I think that it can be read and used as another form of the I Ching, each day yielding little labels with which I can explain myself.
Sorry for all this 'babble' in this post, just should have said that your message had struck a chord in me. Thanks again for the thread.
poster:agencypanic
thread:230170
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20030529/msgs/230275.html