Stigma and recognition of trauma and resulting challenges

[Tinyflame]

I think it's natural to be frustrated with msinformed or what is inaccurate diagnosis or treatment, or public opinion, but as my mom said, "What they (doctors) don't know fills volumes". My family has a genetic condition know one even knew existed not long ago, for example. Very few people know stomach pain can be a sign of heart problems (blockage in an artery). Etc. Similarly, I myself used to have a bias towards Cancer being the worst disease, until I cared for people with Huntingtons, ALS, and advanced Diabetes.

I believe this however:

can I rememeber that when someone says anxiety and PTSD are less severe than psychosis...that's all they're saying. They're not saying that anxiety and PTSD aren't severe.

But I have to agree with @Friday , there is no comparison to the magnitude of difficulty managing and treating psychosis, let alone I can't even imagine living with it, or drifting in and out. I've been surrounded by it, I work with people with it, and it's a whole different animal. It's like triggers on steroids. A person with psychosis is really at risk of being stigmatized as they cannot (and see no need to) advocate for themself or their MH, they are fighting other battles IMHO.

As far as stigma goes, apart from this site I think most people without ptsd would find a lot of this content unnerving and disturbing. I think it feels normalized here, because we understand to a greater degree. There is also the opposite problem of presenting so well others (including doctors) think one is managing, whether that be physical or emotional pain, or ptsd. That seems a Universal mistake.

anxiety can be debilitating though alone is less likely to be than things like ptsd, and that a symptom (self harm) was given a status and the status higher than something like ptsd.

Personally (and I am sure I am co-morbid; that is I know the anxiety existed well before the ptsd) anxiety has been more 'debilitating' (vs destructive) for me than ptsd. I would say in retrospect ptsd contributed more to my own acting out in an attempt to manage conseuences of it, as well as stress, but anxiety paralyzes me. Anxiety makes me feel like my brain and body are going to explode. But combine paralysis with avoidance and stress and Boom, the impact is exponential. Now they are both so intertwined it takes a lot of effort and brain power when I can to separate what comes from where to address it (difficult but necessary). When it comes to SH, I did that too, but it had more to do with anxiety at times, ptsd and guilt at others. A clinician could equally be biased towards looking for Borderline Personality Disorder, etc. Ultimately for me, I would say stress- ptsd being a stress-related disorder.

I think as wrong and unfair (and ultimately not useful for helping, in fact it can harm) that it is to deal with poorly informed or biased or otherwise poor clinicians or the public, it really does take education as @Charbella said. And it will only be those clinicians humble enough to be open to learn who remain more open minded, I think. I am so sorry for what you went through. I can only say after a lifetime of my own struggles and mistakes for myself I have found the conclusion I draw is avoid who is unhelpful and be grateful for and cling to what and who is.

This is probably silly but I often think however (only for me and only because some days that's the only thing that helps me make it through the day), I am not 70 pounds and working in a rice-patty field with water up to my waist at 80 years old for a dollar a day (and I know how it feels to work in water and filth). For many people that is their reality as we speak. With or without their own ptsd. If we can read this and respond freely and have a roof over our head and food to eat we are in a privileged very small percentage.