Member-only story
Why Your Mental Health Diagnosis Don’t Matter.
Chances are, you or someone you know has dealt with some sort of mental illness. In some people it is very obvious- others, not so much.
Those who suffer from mental illness sometimes hide it from those they love as to not worry anyone. This tends to lead to a very confusing and stressful situation when the person comes out and states what they’ve been dealing with. In my personal experience, I hid my depression for a long time and I hid it well. My parents were confused and didn’t realize the extent of which I had been suffering- when I told them that I had been suicidal, they had no idea what to do.
Before the long list of offical diagnosis the psychiatrist in the mental hospital gave me, I was obsessed with self-diagnosing my problems. Not once did I try and find a way to help myself feel better- I was too focused on how “broken” I was.
I would spend hours upon hours taking quizzes online, such as: “Are You Depressed?” “Are You Bipolar?” “Are You Suffering From Chronic Anxiety?”
I fed off of my self-pitying until it was my only identity.
The offical diagnosis didn’t relieve my bad habits, yet only made them worse.
Now I had excuses for everything.
School? I’d have a “panic attack” and have my mom pick me up.
