Search results

Novemberstar I swear you must be my long lost twin! I was initially denied medication, then I was put on SSRIs (the WORST thing possible for someone with bipolar like myself). My severe adverse reaction was attacked as attention seeking (I'd be dead if a registrar hadn't picked up that my...

Exactly what I've been saying for a decade too. You've spot on described the difference between Axis 1 and Axis 2 disorders and how to tell them apart. Why if a person has their symptoms only during episodes of PTSD (or bipolar or other Axis 1 disorder) then it is NOT a personality disorder...

NovemberStar I love your post! You've pretty much described my situation personally and what I've witnessed too. Pretty much every young woman who has self harmed and ever been abused in any way has the BPD labelled slapped on them. Even when self harm is the only one of the nine DSM-IV...

When I tried a decade ago, there was no risk of anything like fines or jail time. Because I wasn't claiming money or rebates or anything related to that, I just wanted an honest second opinion and treatment for what I had. I take comfort in that what I did wasn't illegal at all. In fact I...

Anthony I don't work for the legal system or an insurance company. I work as a health professional. I don't care what the legal system or insurance companies do or don't do. CPTSD is used as a diagnosis frequently by health professionals here. As mentioned, I've seen one of the best (if not...

If that's asking me? No not at all. What I'm saying is anyone labelled borderline usually gets bad treatment. Even those who have no trauma at all. 5+ years ago there were many professionals who automatically labelled anyone who self harmed as "borderline". Since a lot of those with PTSD...

Maggiemay, borderline PD is definitely not part of the bipolar spectrum. Never has been. Any psych who claims that doesn't understand the nature of bipolar and borderline PD. Bipolar episodes happens in discrete episodes, borderline PD does not have episodes (it can fluctuate in severity but...

Solara exactly! That's why I went private a decade ago. Not that the public doctors ever listened to my private psych when I ended up in hospital. Didn't matter I'd seen her fortnightly for years and most of them were registrars and only meeting me for the first time - they'd rather take the...

@Ayesha I wouldn't say CPTSD is an attempt to say one PTSD is bigger than another. Any more than a person saying "my trauma is caused by military service versus domestic violence" for example as saying is one is worse than the other. It's just recognising a different trigger. An individual...

Lucycat Actually I would agree with you that it is somewhat more than just the long term nature of it and definitely the inability to escape it. That was why I got diagnosed with it. For me, being abused by a psychiatrist meant that even though I was an adult, I could not escape it. Someone...

Solara yes I had similar except for me SSRIs gave me severe anxiety (a known relatively common side effect for someone with bipolar actually). Unfortunately when I reported it, I was told I was making up the side effect for attention and that contribute to my misdiagnosis. Luckily I got a...

@Solara The reason for it is because long term trauma has a different effect on the psyche of the suffering than a single event trauma. Both are technically PTSD but differentiating whether PTSD is caused by a single trauma or repeated trauma over a long period is helpful for sufferers as...

@junglegirl EXACTLY!

@anthony That may be the case in america, but here in Australia it is the opposite. It is psychologists who are the experts at diagnosing generally. Thankfully I work in a state where most psychiatrists have done extra training and study to be able to diagnose properly. However the state I...

As I tried to explain earlier, that CPTSD doesn't equal PTSD plus anything. I have CPTSD but have nothing other than pre existing bipolar (and perhaps aspergers which I am currently waiting for an official assessment for). I don't have a personality disorder or dissociative disorder. I have...

Yes, the DSM and ICD are a type of dictionary, but dictionaries are not static. They are constantly changing and evolving. Words are added to the official english dictionary every year and there are many words with very clear meanings that are not in the dictionary. Plus, here in Australia...

@franciemarnie I've ordered some trauma books the psychiatrist I saw once told me. I think at least one of them is in your list. Mindfulness won't be one of them. I know heaps about mindfulness - I teach it to my patients to help them. But I find it irritates me and makes me feel worse...

@Barberian I tried that once a decade ago. The abuse I mentioned above ... the assault occurred in the context of I couldn't cope with the psychological torture (including being told to "just **** off and die" when seeking help for being suicidal) and being told that I was the only service I...

I don't know what to do. I can't find any help that is free or cheap. I can't afford to spend half our weekly income on seeing a therapist when we can't even pay our electricity bill. I've called lifeline and beyond blue multiple times, spoken to every other service they knew of, and...

Blue I felt I had to reply because what you posted is exactly how I feel. And how you've been treated is exactly how I have. Was told I was functioning too well to get any sort of mental health support even though I had actually told them in my assessment appointment I was pretty much planning...

I wouldn't say that. Reading Anthony's posts it sounds like he describes CPTSD as just PTSD plus a personality disorder. When in reality the DSM-5 (and by the sounds of it, the DSM-IV) didn't include CPTSD because they just see it as a type of PTSD. That it's purely PTSD (no personality...

I see it as PTSD can be a trigger for the underlying fibromyalgia, same way that trauma can trigger underlying bipolar or schizophrenia or numerous other underlying physical and mental health problems.

Sorry Anthony I cannot agree. I work in mental health, and I also have been diagnosed with complex PTSD - by one of the top psychiatrists in the state (talking with colleagues, she is probably the best private psychiatrist in the state and possibly the best altogether in the state). After her...

Meh. Australia isn't as advanced as you think. In Qld where I was from, only those with BPD are referred to it. I was wrongly diagnosed as BPD (instead of my actual diagnosis which I had for years before that of bipolar and PTSD) and referred to a DBT group and in the end they withdrew the...

No I don't think PTSD causes fibromyalgia. I never had PTSD until I was an adult. My FM started when I was 15. I do believe very strongly though that PTSD can make fibromyalgia much worse. FM is more than likely a genetic condition according to most recent research.