Do you ever wonder if the diagnosis is the problem?

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I was diagnosed ADD as a kid, than later asperghers. I've denied both of these labels, of which I was ashamed of both as a kid, up until recently, when I've realised that reccuring panic attacks, stress, depression and other things are something I can't ignore.

I've been seeing a psychologist, who has diagnosed me as avoidant personality disorder, which I think is somewhat true but I don't think fully takes into account the problems of ADD and asperghers, the likes of which I don't know for sure the extent of which affect who i am.

Since i've been seeing this psychologist, some stuff has changed, but a lot hasn't. Whenever I try to start thinking about my problems I end up getting stressed out and, hah, trying to avoid thinking about it. I just don't know what's right and wrong. I end up self analysing so much that I can't go about day to day life.

So I guess the question is, have you ever found that being given some information about what's wrong with you has made things worse, or has caused you more problems? I like to try and get conclusive answers to everything, but it seems like life doesn't have a lot of stable, for certain answers. So yeah. Don't really know where I was going with this. Thoughts?

mm I found when I got diagnosed that I didn't really care for a couple of years, until I actually read about it and found it affected a lot more than just my compulsive avoidance of humans.

After reading about all of the other things that it affects, like my handwriting etc. I find that those things bother me a lot more whereas before I seemed to manage fine, not that I know how now.

I guess that diagnosis can do this to some people, though if we aren't getting diagnosed for that reason then we will drive ourselves up the wall wanting to know about Aspergers etc so its a bit of a double-edged sword.

This may not make sense, I do that quite a lot, PM me if I've answered it completely absurdly

Many people when they find out they have aspergers get worse symptoms/behaviors then normal. Or it could be they were doing stimming and other aspergers type behaviors all along and are just now realizing it. Either way it can be distracting and disorienting. Same could be true for any psychological diagnosis i think. I've experienced this, usually it passes with time.

Bottom line is to just remember your an individual and not just a diagnosis. You'll still be you nomatter what label they give you. Unique in the way you do and see the world. No label will change that.

I think what you experience here is only a temporary setback that many of us experienced after stumbling across AS. It's a long way on our quest for improving ourselves with this knowledge, though. I guess some books may help, currently I'm reading The Unwritten Rules Of Social Relationships, I hope I can derive some useful information from it, there is a lot to identify with. One thing if for sure, there are no concrete answers.

Sometimes I wonder, just as the authors of the above book (and some folks here on WP too), that a diagnosis is more a detriment in someone's life than help, if no extraordinary measures are taken to turn it actually for good. Labels can hold back anyone, child, teen, adult, each who try to survive their condition, if they only learn to blame every obstacle of their life on it. With a rather delicate and sensible setting of the mind, usually accompanied with low self-esteem and inability to communicate feelings and problems that occur in everyday life, autistics are only further burdened by an official statement of their difference. It's not unusual that such a person takes a roundabout way here and there, but finally, it's only keeping in sight the goals what matters.

Yes I have been worse for the past 18 months since a psyciatrist gave me his diagnosis. At first i was very interested in it and did lots of research but at the same time felt justified in not mixing with others and so have basically been a hermit for the past 18 months and hardly left my flat.

Getting a diagnosis for our child was the best that ever happened to us. As soon as we were able to understand what was happening to her, we were able to get help for her. She's being receive behavior modification therapy ever since. It's been three years now, and she has improved a lot: she was able to learn how to control her stimming (which was causing HUGE problems at school), she was taught how to improve her handwriting (she is even working on her calligraphy now, on her own), she is focusing more at school, she was provided with techniques to improve her social interactions, and is better making friends now, she does not suffer from night terrors as often as before, she is even learning how to manager her anger. My Aspie husband is impressed because he never thought what she is achieving was even possible. She is in a regular school now and she is doing great. We had a meeting with the Math teacher today and he said he wished he had more students like her in the classroom. Yes, the diagnosis has been the best that ever happened to us.

No. If anything, my diagnosis made it better.

Realising that there might be a reason that I felt so out of place made me feel much better, actually.

My diagnosis only helped me. I have been a lot more willing to identify with aspergers, even though I had self diagnosed almost a decade ago. At the same time, while I have been more visibly stimming, I've had fewer meltdowns, have finally gotten an appointment with a counselor who might help, and have been having an easier time with saying that I need help and that its not just me making things up.

I don't think people stimming more means its worse. It could easily mean that they're not hiding it anymore. In my case the small increasing of stimming has drastically improved mental stability because I've subconsciously not be trying to change it because of having been told I wouldn't be diagnosed.

Generally speaking, a given diagnosis has at least given me a handle for taking a look at things.


... and there is where the real challenges can appear for just as long as a world of ignorance and misunderstanding remains pervasive all-around. Knowing we have a problem and having a label for (and even accepting) our problem does not help us actually solve our problem, and then the people with real answers are few and far-between.

I've noticed this too. Why do you think this happens? Is it psychosomatic?

I don't know if its partially psychosomatic, but being in the post-diagnosis state myself, I've been watching for this. I have noticed that I'm trying to hide less. I'm more comfortable showing that I'm an aspie, not NT, so I try less to hide. This ends up meaning I'm showing more symptoms but at the same time am having more mental control of myself than when I'm trying to hide them.

It's probably partially psychosomatic though.

It is like that for me too.

Personally, I also left it to people to assume why I couldn't do something and displayed abnormal behaviour and they'd come up with the weirdest conclusions. If for example, I couldn't talk in a situation, I'd tell people later it was because I didn't want to - or I'd never explain, run away or avoid them.

I also figured stereotyped movements need to be suppressed at all costs rather than allowing them to ease some of the stress, that I certainly couldn't and shouldn't have routines, because (I thought that) they're odd and serve no purpose... the list goes on.

i think there's a huge amount of problems with today's diagnosis and the victimhood which goes along with it.

however overall i think the diagnosis is good. its just the treatment that has to change.