Should I destroy my old psychiatric documents?

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When I was a teenager, I spent a lot of time in psychiatric hospitals. Now that I am a young adult living on my own -lonely, but mentally sound- I have no idea what to do with these old documents from the hospitals. I also have notes of having autism when I was a kid. Now I've basically outgrown it.

It is incredibly painful knowing these things are lying around the house. I just want to forever bury this behind me. I've outgrown these things; treatment has been successful. Can I just destroy them or will I really need them for something down the road?

I would suggest keeping them. You might need them later on.

I'm surprised you actually have those records. I didn't think patients were privy to that stuff. I went to a psych hospital for two months when I was 30 years old. I'd love to have those records but I don't think that's possible especially since the hospital's been closed for years. I'm sure the records must still exist somewhere but I doubt I'll have access to it.

It's better to keep your psychiatric records in case you need help in the future, but if you just can't live with them destroy them, the psychiatrists and hospitals still will have them, so they are not lost forever, just you don't have to deal with them anymore.

I also have many of my psychiatric records. Under certain circumstances they give them to the patient.

Nobody outgrows autism. I mean, I'm happy you got the help and I fully trust you're living a mentally healthy life, but you never know if they could come in use one day, you may need government assistance one day or something. Without the necessary documents, good luck.

You could also give your documents to ppl you trust like you GP or your parents for example. So you don't have to look at them anymore and they are still there in case you need them.

I burned the one psych report I got because my diagnoses were wrong & it said some really bad private stuff like me being a pedophile; I really had pedophilic OCD & never was sexually attracted to kids or desired or wanted sex with them but I can understand why they thought I was. I lived with my parents & they sometimes invaded my privacy in my room & I didn't want to take the chance of them finding the report. My GP had some of my psych stuff on file & all my medical records from his office got transferred to my new doc a year ago after I moved.

I suggest you keep the records somewhere secure like a locked filing-cabinet or a safe if you do decide to keep em so there won't be as much worry about someone finding them.

I also don't show documents around where I know they are just wrong. A psychiatric clinic once write in their dx reports stuff like I'm no transsexual and stuff like that, but now I've my legal name change and also my surgery and stuff. So this is totally not upto date anymore. Psychiatrists are very often just not carefull enough with their opinion. but they should be, especially so long there is no proof.

But in the case of the OP I think it's different, because the OP just thinks that the documents are not upto date anymore and that the OP has outgrown the dx now. I also once thought in my teens that I'm not really autistic anymore, but when I started to live by myself things got complicated and I was glad to get help because of my problems.

Hospitals and doctors aren't required to keep records forever. I think the minimum varies depending on circumstances, but it can be as little as 5 years in some cases. I would keep them locked somewhere safe just in case. I've found myself needing documents I never thought I would need again--I was glad I never got around to shredding them. I think the main thing is not letting someone find them who you don't want to see them, hence locking them up (safety deposit box if you are really worried). Your past is nothing to be ashamed of, regardless of what others might think, and shredding the documents won't change it. It could possibly delete all records of your childhood medical history, however.

On the other hand, if I had an inaccurate medical record that stated something like pedophilia, I would set that **** on fire too.

For myself, in my circumstances, I would lean toward keeping them.

Where I am hospitals and big businesses destroy documents are the earliest legal opportunity. And in any event I would not count on being able to get copies in a timely manner should they be needed.