Labeling Self

[pie]

Hello,

I would like to start a discussion and gain your thoughts on the topic of labeling self. I have noticed that (and I'm generalizing here) those who look at their trauma experience as something that was in the past and they have mostly overcome (overcame??) it, that those people do not self label to make their problems, issues, etc as big as they really are; they are actually able to take this as life experience and use it to their advantage. Where as people that suffer from ptsd and are in the negative state of mind still trying to deal with it tend to self label; assign themselves actual names of disorders that require a professional to make a diagnosis with a DSM or other tools that they use perhaps to make their situation look worse for whatever reason.

I am just curious to know your thoughts on why people do these things.

 

[ericaboo]

I think it's only natural for people who are in pain, or at "rock bottom," to search out and strive for answers to what they are going through and what might make it better. They are hoping to save their job, marriage, parental rights, freedom, etc. These people often get accused of trying to make their situation sound worse than it really is... sad.

Of course there are people who try to self diagnose with a disorder that they prefer or identify with, without going to a professional to get a less biased opinion, and even a second opinion. I would put it out there that these people are also ill.

If someone is seeking attention by falsely labeling themselves with something extreme, one might ask - why are they so needy for attention that they would be willing to stigmatize themselves with a mental health diagnosis? I would say this type of person is also in a lot of pain.

It's a bumpy road to find your way to a helpful diagnosis and useful actions to take for the problem you are experiencing. Sometimes the wrong answer is at least an effort, and might lead eventually to the right answer... I would call it a cry for help...

I think it's better to try something, than to just accept yourself as flawed and go around with a black cloud over your head for the rest of your life. Some people have already given up, and just want a label to explain their behavior to others - maybe in time they will get better and begin to fight for the truth once again.

My feeling is - don't judge when you haven't been in the other person's shoes... concentrate on your own growth instead!

 

[heidi]

Which category do you put yourself in, pie?

 

[Deleted member 1860]

I don't agree with your assessment so I cannot comment.

 

[BlackbirdSinging]

I also disagree with your comment. And I think you're talking about different things.

I think for one thing when people become aware that they are struggling with something they often times seek help to find out what exactly it is. You can't treat what you can't see. And if you can't treat the problem it can't get better.

And I think there are times or people or times when people look at possible conditions or disorders and wonder if that is what they're experiencing. They might even identify in some way with it. In which case the only person to ask is a professional.

It's never wise to self diagnose. And any who do are people who are clearly trying to make sense of something. In which case I agree with what someone else stated that it's basically a cry for help.

In any case to fault or judge someone who is struggling and looking for a way to get better speaks volumes about the person who is doing the judging.

 

[ninja]

I also disagree with your assessment. I tried to make my traumas smaller and all that did was postpone my healing and make them more difficult to deal with.

 

[InHell11]

Not sure, I have been diagnosed with it now...but I am sure I had it before that. In my experience I got concerned because of some things I noticed about myself after the trauma, it was something that happened when I was at school and effected lots of students so they told us some things to look out for.

Anyways I noticed I was having some new issues, tried getting help for it and no one really seemed to take it to serious so I decided to just 'get over it' and get on with my life....and it didn't work I learned all that stuff I was still thinking about in the back of my mind or trying not to think about just found other ways to come out like worsening PTSD symptoms.

I guess I personally don't really understand why there gets to be so much negativity directed at people who haven't obtained an official diagnoses of their disorder as there are various reasons for that such as lacking the money to see a psychiatrist...maybe someone can only afford a therapist who is not liscenced to make an official diagnoses. Not saying someone should lie about having a diagnoses but I think more often than not when someone suspects they have PTSD its very likely that they do same with quite a few disorders.

 

[pie]

My apologies if I offended anyone. That certainly is not my intention.
I do appreciate all your responses which have definitely helped me see this whole thing from another perspective. So thank you to all of you. By no means was I trying to judge and I am very sorry if that came across as such. Perhaps somewhere along the way of my treatment I lost some of my sensitivity.

 

[pie]

ericaboo, I think I understand it now more when you put it in words of "cry for help". This indeed is something we should pay attention to. So thank you!!

 

[Upside Down Eagle]

Interesting topic. I agree with Ninja, well, I do for most of the times. My tendency -in the recent past, and now sometimes -has also been to pretend my trauma's were smaller than they actually were (are). When the symptoms drove me insane during colleges, I just thought "oh, I can deal with this" instead of seeking help, which just makes it worse, frequently.

I tend to label myself as "normal", actually (especially after five years of therapy). And then I expect from myself that I must act completely normal to people, unregarding my background. Which is obviously demanding too much. For example, today somebody gave me a gift (two pants from Thailand) and did me a huge favor (lend me an oven, and even brought it to my home by car). I was driving with him, and got an anxiety attack on the way. Which made me act like a total jerk to the guy.

When I was at home at last first I cried for a while and then I went into this guilt trip. He'd given me all this, so why wasn't I being nice to him? A label can really help in this case. Remembering the label can also help. I have not been professionally diagnosed with ptsd, because I have never asked to take a standard test. However, I am positively sure that I have ptsd and my therapist who has worked with me closely for all those five years agreed with me. The label has really helped me, too: it helped me find this forum, for example. And it helped me to see that there are others with the same problem.

 

[who am i kim]

I like the labels as they help to sort me out, give me food for thought and words that I can use that will lead me / help me find out who I am.

 

[heidi]

How do you view your own relationship with PTSD, Pie?

I think your first example is someone who suffered a trauma but is able to move past it. Not all trauma lead to PTSD. Not even the worst of traumas.

PTSD is distinguishable because something happens in the brain that creates difficulty in processing trauma.

I'm going to equate trauma to a piece of food. With ptsd it's as if the food was never broken down and digested and processed by the rest of the body. It's as if a piece of bread eaten in 1979 is still a well preserved piece of bread.

While with regular trauma that piece of bread gets digested and moved out of the body.

I'm wondering how you view ptsd because if you place yourself in the first group of people it's possible you don't have it. That would mean you are the one who has mistakenly labeled yourself. I'm only assuming you've labeled yourself because you are here on a PTSD forum.