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Diagnosis Fatigue: Finding Myself Amidst OCD, Depression, and Undiagnosed Borderline and ADHD
Your diagnosis does not define you, and this is logical, but it was difficult to immediately feel it as true when receiving yet another disorder added on my medical history. During many therapy sessions and self-awareness activities, psychologist and psychiatrists helped me to navigate the mess I was in; now I feel I’m ready to write about navigating through what feels like a whirlwind of shifting diagnoses and how the diagnosis fatigue affected me.
First, I need to recognize that having a prior safe place in therapy helped me move forward with other psychiatrists or psychologists. Second, my strength to break belittling thoughts and reactivity got me through a lot, and third, there is a huge privilege of having help to sustain a safe environment with a safe home and access to the medical attention I was able to get.
If it was a hassle, why should I have even getting officially diagnosed? The amount of times I couldn’t communicate my difficulties made it almost necessary, besides trying to stay away from self-diagnosing myself. In the end, I needed a clear understanding of what I was experiencing with assistance of others, and how I could function back to life.