Perils of a faulty diagnosis

One of the most common issues faced by most mentally ill individuals is the problem of an ever changing diagnosis. My first doctor diagnosed me with schizoaffective disorder (Which was bizarre, given I’d never in my entire life hallucinated or had a full blown psychotic episode). What was even worse was her way of diagnosing me. I was administered a pen and paper test with multiple choice answers that purpoted to the fact that I was schizophrenic. But something in me always had an inkling that I’d been misdiagnosed.

Much later I got diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and then eventually, with bipolar disorder. Things finally make sense to me. This diagnosis was arrived upon after regular meetings with my psychiatrist who saw me through all my phases before jumping to the conclusion and branding me with a label. And that’s how it’s meant to be.

With all due respect to Freud, a stupid ink blot test and a bunch of questions cannot reveal an illness, sure, they speak a lot about one’s vivid imagination and whacked out of the box styled thinking, but relying on only that as a parameter to gauge an illness can more often than not prove to be detrimental to the client.

Worse, when you’re told you have a particular illness, the symptoms become that much more pronounced. You either start noticing them more profoundly or you start showing them as a self fulfilling prophecy. I cannot reinterate this enough, a faulty diagnosis is dangerous.

If you’re worried about your diagnosis, don’t hestitate to Google your symptoms. Most doctors would hate me for saying this, but you are the best judge of yourself. You know best of what’s happening in that mind of yours, so don’t hestitate to take charge of it. Yes, it’s an equally foolish thing to self diagnose yourself, but that’s not the point of Googling; the point is to verify and confirm for the sake of your own sanity. So if you’re iffy, go acquaint yourself with WebMD and read up. See if the dots connect, if the pieces of the puzzle fit to paint the correct picture, and if not, take it up with your shrink. Tell them you did some research and that the values don’t add up. Take charge. Please.