Posted by Sean on October 6, 1999, at 12:00:50
In reply to Re: Labeling and diagnosis, posted by Bob on October 6, 1999, at 10:53:45
> > The HMO will not pay w/o a "label"...
>
> So milk them for all they're worth, I say.
>
> They also come in quite handy for us Yanks when facing a situation covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
>
> Personally, I was soooooooooo glad to get a label for what was wrong with me. Once the reality of it really sank in -- that my disorder includes a fault in the "hardware" as much as in the "software" -- I had a hard time coping with that. But now that I'm comfortable with it, it allows me to fall back into my culturally-conditioned Cartesian duality and say that it isn't my mind (which my mind thinks it should have *some* control over), but it started with and is prolonged by a malfunctioning body. I spent 20 years and more without a label, and the only thing I had to blame was myself. Giving my disorder a name other than "Bob" has helped me to detach myself from a lot of blame, guilt, shame, self-loathing, etc.
>
> At times, I might even be going overboard on it. The shame, the stigma associated with "mental illnesses" puts me in a rage for what I've been through and for what others who've shared their own stories have been through. I have a number of close gay (male & female) friends, and they taught me a lot about "coming out", and that's what it feels like to me. Forget about "don't ask, don't tell". It's part of me, it affects how I behave, how I work, how I interact with others. I'm not going to parade it around, but I'm not going to hide it either. And if anyone is crass enough to pull some of that stigma sh*t openly on me, then'll I'll just have to paraphrase Winston Churchill:
>
> "Yes, I am depressed. And you, (sir/madam), are stupid. When my meds kick in, I will no longer be depressed ... but you will still be stupid."
>
> Cheers,
> Bob BSEd, MA, MA, ABD, MDD, PD
I will also quote Churchill:"If you put reboxetine in my tea I would drink
it..."Sean, BPD, GAD, PMS(?), hee hee.
poster:Sean
thread:12497
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19991001/msgs/12653.html