Bipolar and Autistic...

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I had another discussion with my psychiatrist today.

"I said I had so many symptoms that overlapped with so many things, I've been diagnosed so different through the years!"

The doctor smiled and said "all your things fall under bipolar, with a little schizoaffective, and autism"

Then she told me I had great strengths in my intellect, and now is the time to work on my weaknesses...

I like my new doctor, how she simplified things... Yay!

But part of me keeps wondering "is this the final answer?" I hope so.

It's all just opinions and hearsay - Psychiatry is all fraud.

Whilst it is true that knowledge is temporal & rooted in sociocultural contexts - psychiatry most certainly is not 'fraud'. In fact, it is responsible for greatly improving the mental health and wellbeing of persons in our modern day, atomised society, where community isn't what it used to be.

A lot of people would be completely bonkers without their medications. Also, most people with mental health issues that harm others are now managed 'in the community' - which is a great improvement over institutionalisation.

It's pretty ignorant to say that medical doctors with a specialism in psychiatry who spend years studying are a 'fraud', just because you might have some bad experiences with them or misguided perceptions.

The problem with a lot of diagnostic procedures is that different categories of mental illness often overlap & symptoms may not fit neatly into a particular category.

It's really only an approximation to put things into language that occur as subjective experiences in the brain.

I'm also bipolar and autistic, but I have "bipolar with psychotic features" instead of schizoaffective. At various times I wanted to get tested for autism but it wasn't until after my bipolar took over that I ended up really wanting to get tested for ASD. I feel like this is a really common overlap. I had a formal diagnosis with them testing my executive functions and everything, and this is what they've settled on. I was also have a higher IQ and my testing psychologist is disappointed I'm not doing more with my life. I understand the struggle with them changing your diagnosis on you, but hopefully things stay final and settled for both of us.

It could be the final answer. I received something similar by my psychiatrist.

He said I have autism, motor tic disorder, ADHD and bipolar. I can live with that. I don't want any more diagnoses.

Hopefully you now have stability, it feels good to be stable, I have since 2013.

Evidence supporting this 'fact'?

I could provide evidence but it is a self explanatory concept really. If people (tens of millions of people in the U.S alone), didn't have psychiatric medication to calm them down in today's world of corporate zombies, nobody would have jobs because they'd be busy punching their bosses in their faces. With no jobs, there would be no civilization, at this point in time.

If therapy didn't exist, there would be a lot less people who would be able to 'heal' from their emotional traumas. The knowledge provided by psychiatry is invaluable.

I'm schizoaffective with autistic traits. Sometimes I think I have ADHD but my doctor said that it's likely my negative symptoms and refuses to dwelve deeper.

multiple diagnoses are very common, sometimes just one diagnosis doesn't explain it all.

and its ignorance like this, that is the problem in the world

when someone is that ignorant, even posting facts wont change anything. as its wilfull ignorance / trolling

Yes, people like to focus on the fact that psychiatry has some major issues, as any field does, as a reason why it is a fraud.

That is comparable to saying, "oh, science has gotten some things wrong, let us just pretend it is all wrong."

As opposed to science being a useful tool, in constant need of maintenance/updating/management. That is what science is... it is a tool. Not a belief system.

Doctor, I have illness x. "Take this and you'll get better in a couple of weeks. Oh you need surgery. Well after the operation, in 6 months you be as good as new."

Phschatrist, I havedisorder x, (Oh actually it was reclassified ,disorder x doesn't exist anymore, I now have disorder y). "Well, we can talk it over fro the next 5, 10, 15 years, and after I've drained you of your resources, maybe, just maybe, you feel better about yourself."


See the difference. One deals with very specific problems, offers very specific solutions. The other is just talking. Endless talking. With no real solutions in sight.

Excuse me if I'm skeptical, of the efficacy,of the relatively recent cultural phenomena known as psychiatry, didn't mean to make beef burger out that sacred cow of yours. /sarcasm.

Just because somebody has opposing views, doesn't mean they trolling. Thomas Szasz for e.g. is not a troll. You're allowed to have a dissenting opinion.

It is always a good thing to have a dissenting opinion.

Opinions are judged on their merits by an audience. If an audience is not clever enough to appreciate the nuance of an opinion, then more fool them, I guess?