Trying To Get Better, Non Supportive Mental Health Care Provider

[anthony]

Diagnosed with Sever Recurring depression, anxiety, ADD and possible PTSD, 5 years ago...

...Looking for people that may have had similar diagnosis and similar experience with a unwillingness to look into the PTSD arena, is this common?

Actually, this is quite correct from a diagnostic viewpoint. Where we are today, with physicians leaping directly to PTSD because a person has endured abnormal trauma, is actually the incorrect stance. Go figure... humans opt towards the incorrect stance vs. more accurate one for human psychology.

People are often confused with trauma and PTSD. What people miss, is that last word "Disorder". You can have 10 people endure the exact same trauma, so all 10 just met criterion A for PTSD. Does that mean if all 10 begin to display symptoms immediately after the trauma, that they should be diagnosed with ASD or PTSD? No, it does not. Why? The answer is simple actually; because it is considered normal to endure post traumatic stress symptoms after a traumatic event. A diagnosis is considered, something is wrong outside the normal scope of recovery. This is where confusion sets in within the mental health field, even though physicians are trained with this exact methodology.

It is very normal for a person who has been exposed to trauma, even years after the event, to display depression and anxiety. To meet PTSD, the symptom severity is a huge part, being if you had a scale of 1 - 10, the severity for symptoms must be 7+, as that is the requirement based on PTSD has severe symptomology.

IMO, there are more people running around with the PTSD diagnosis who don't have PTSD, than those running around without it. This does not mean you do not have PTSD, but more trying to explain the surroundings to a PTSD diagnosis. I can tell you, from reading on this forum alone, there are a lot of people who do not even meet the criteria, because some completely shoot down specific areas, ie. significant social impairment is one that must be met, yet people come here with PTSD, yet state they have great social lives. You can't have both to meet the diagnostic criteria.

With the changes coming, now in clinical trial, for the new PTSD criterion in the DSM V, we will start seeing less PTSD diagnoses and more anxiety / depression diagnoses, with a lot of confusion between them removed with the new criterion changes and timeline removals.

I could add, there is another issue within America relating to PTSD being diagnosed right now, and that is the severe over-diagnosis that is crippling your mental health industry and Government support, which has back flipped to also not providing legitimate diagnosis to relieve some burden upon the system. Go figure that one out!!! More :coffee: needed.

 

[Jane Rowan]

Hmm, I hadn't heard that the severity needs to be right up there at 7 out of 10 in order for it to be called PTSD. Is this in the DSM V?

What I am concerned with is that everyone who has suffered from trauma, including somethingswrong, be accorded the respect and support that is deserved. I was diagnosed with PTSD although I kept functioning in the world, and it was helpful for me to understand that my fear and tendency to isolate myself, lack of trust and lack of good boundaries were all related to the early sexual abuse (whether you call it PTSD or not).

somethingswrong, I hope you get the help you need, and meanwhile, welcome from another newbie on this site.

 

[anthony]

Hmm, I hadn't heard that the severity needs to be right up there at 7 out of 10 in order for it to be called PTSD. Is this in the DSM V?

This information is contained in diagnostic literature and the DSM IV. Diagnostic manuals are not just pages with a checklist of symptoms, they have an assigned area for each diagnosis. Often physicians skip this information and revert to a checklist environment. If you wanted to get specific, then it is proven incorrect and outright dangerous to attempt to diagnose someone with a checklist, as the person is being led to give a brief answer, yes or no, or such, which makes diagnosis impossible. Diagnostic application has shifted this way in many offices due to lack of time, ie. it takes around 60 - 80 minutes to correctly administer a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation for diagnosis of most Axis 1 disorders. These correct evaluation often determine more accurate outcomes, ie. specific individual diagnoses at a much more accurate threshold vs. a symptom checklist with a predetermined assumption being made that someone has x, y or z, hence being given the checklist of symptoms in the first place.

What I am concerned with is that everyone who has suffered from trauma, including somethingswrong, be accorded the respect and support that is deserved.

I feel you are being defensive to my above answer, yet I have not discarded trauma being present, so I am unsure of your response. I quoted the members opening question with a response applicable to industry going on's. The member is an ex police officer, which automatically concludes, there is a 99.99% chance they have been subjected to some type of traumatic event, even witnessing, ie. first responders to an accident scene. There is no disregarding this anywhere, hence my answer of being unsure with your response Jane!

If you actually applied what you stated, being: "everyone who has suffered from trauma, including somethingswrong, be accorded the respect and support that is deserved", technically this is a very slippery slope when applying, for example, what you perceive traumatic in your culture may not be traumatic in another culture. Better yet, you can stand next to your next door neighbour and both be exposed to the same traumatic event. You find it traumatic, they did not... so respect tends to be irrelevant with trauma vs. specific individual application based on each individuals own feelings and reactions, conclusions to any event.

Consider child sexual abuse, which in Western societies is considered highly traumatic and leads to some Western psychological diagnosis. An act of fellatio between a pubescent boy and an older man would be universally condemned, however; such acts are a common rite of passage among traditional Melanesian cultures.

This alone tends to close down a narrow assumption that one should apply respect and deserved support based on self assumptions for what is traumatic to another. The above example carries across a wide range of events and cultures uniquely, all with specific rituals or cultural beliefs of what the deem is traumatic or not. True Buddhist monks for example, do not find sexual abuse as remotely traumatic vs. the desecration of a spiritual object, which they deem as the most traumatic occurrence that could happen to them within life. You would actually offend them if you attempted to provide a Western psychological or culture sympathetic view to what they deem traumatic.

Keeping things individual is the safest bet for psychology, and the focus has always been on treating the patient, not the symptoms, when it comes to psychology. Medicine is the opposite, being it treats the symptoms, not the patient.

 

[somethingswrong]

Thank you Muse
I sincerely believe that the “None” diagnosis is due because the state and town feared a law suit over all the legal stuff, however I declined filing a lawsuit because the town that I worked for would have been devastated by the lawsuit, it was a extremely small and poor community, I signed affidavits to the fact that I would not sue and punish the town for the acts of corrupt government.

But when it come to lawsuits the state is extremely defensive!

I just want the right treatment!

 

[somethingswrong]

Please no one get defensive over my diagnosis or none diagnosis, that is my burden and nothing for others to fight over.
I am not an expert at all on PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, or all the other disorders that I have been diagnosed with, and I know Dr's. here in the states hand out Ritalin, and other “Disorder” drugs like candy. I am not a fool about it either, my wife and I have been doing our own homework on the issues, because as we understand Depression, Anxiety and ADD/ADHD can be hereditary, and there is no way in hell that we are going to let our children go through this, like we have. My wife is more than convinced that I have PTSD, All the criteria has been meet etc. As far as the social aspects of my symptoms, well let’s just say I went from what you would call the life of the party, extremely active, laughing all the time and wanting to go out and be in the crowed, to hating the idea of going to the store, answering a phone call, or even making a phone call. Sometimes making a phone call to inquire about an appointment or contacting a new client will make me want to crawl into a corner in the fetal position and just hide. I have lost major contracts because of this, this fear, and I don’t know where it comes from, that is the most frustrating part of all, I use to a swat team member, took down really bad guys without a problem, know making a simple phone call to someone can make me sweat and want to run and hide, so I am pretty sure that is some kind of Disorder, something is not firing right. I want to get it fixed so I support my family again and reclaim my dignity.

 

[You can get through it]

Hi Somethingiswrong
Whatever the clinical diagnosis your feelings are real to you, therefore as you have recognized that your symptoms are having a major impact on your quality of life and that of your loved ones, you must find a way to manage those feelings.

I can remember it took a couple of sessions with a psychologist to eventually get diagnosed, I must say I felt relieved to have an answer for my strange and out of character behavior, but the diagnosis was only a start the rest had to come from within.

Anthony makes a very valid point about the quality of diagnosis, which when carried out without proper clinical consideration generally devalues the condition and does not then deal with the root cause, which may then turn the disorder into a label of little substance. I really hope you can get a handle on your situation because I would not wish PTSD on my worst enemy.

One thing for sure is you can only seek guidance from this site or any other kike it, but these sites are a very good place to start because you need to also start talking with people outside your normal circle. The more you beat yourself up over things you used to be able to do the more frustrated you will become, concentrate on the things you can do and start from there.

Regards,
Steve

 

[AmyO]

Hi Somethingiswrong, Welcome. I understand the frustration you may be feeling right now. You know something is up but can't understand when the clinical aspect keeps flip-flopping with your diagnosis. It is very hard to get the right treatment when they don't know what you have specifically and use you as a human guinea pig with meds. I don't know the specifics but I related to your story with the school system. As Anthony said, there is not a lot of understanding of Ptsd when relating to general public as not a lot of people who haven't experienced the kind of trauma we go through want to think about it so it won't intrude on their thoughts.

I am a sufferer as well as a carer of three young boys with Ptsd. The school system told me over and over my kids had ADHD, and keeping an open mind I had them tested (3 times). It was only when I was referred to a clinic here in Wisconsin that specializes in Ptsd had them tested according to the DSM. In my research the clinicians have compared the similarities between ADD/ADHD and Ptsd but in regards to children. But as Anthony stated before as well, I started my research with the affects of trauma on children of abuse/molestation.

Kudos to your wife as well for being there. I know that it is hard to be a carer as well since my boys experience intense rages, hitting, nightmares, depression, anxiety and so on. I feel for you as it is almost as you are starting from scratch. Good luck.

 

[somethingswrong]

Steve,

Thanks for your advice, I know my first introduction is very misleading, I wrote it out of frustration and anger. I should have stated what the *(**& is wrong with me, I need to fix it……
It is easy to blame others and right now I have the health care stooge in my blame sights. I am used to being able to go and get things done, if there is a problem fix it, move on next. My frustration is in the past I was able to handle things, and now I feel like a invalid, powerless, I look in the mirror and see a healthy looking normal individual no visible signs of anything wrong… arrrhhhh.

Everything I read, in every Med Journal etc about PTSD shouts back at me, this is what you have, I wish with all my heart it was just Depression, or anxiety, or just ADD.

I have had ADD all my life, even if I did not understand that I had it in my youth, I lived with it adapted and lead a pretty happy life, I use to love to grab my kids and the dog and go for a hike in the mountains, my nieces and nephews use to wait for their uncle to come to the Christmas, Easter, Halloween party and do all sorts of crazy stuff, take them out for ice cream and teach them how to slurp Jell-O out of their bowls(to their mothers horror)! Do the crazy dance at the spur of the moment.

Now their mothers are asking what has happened to that Uncle, what is his excuse for not coming to the family party, or how come I don’t smile any more, I don’t even give my opinion on politics. My wife and kids know what their father has been diagnosed with, so they kind of understand, kind of…

I don’t want this, just being diagnosed with severe depression lost me my profession. Depression is somewhat tolerated in Law enforcement, PTSD is taboo, finished throw the psycho in a straight jacket and protect the rest of the population from this guy. Believe you me, if I thought that I could fix this on my own without the diagnosis I would do it in a heartbeat. I agree with Anthony with getting proper diagnosis, I want it proper I do; I am just so tired of the downward spiral the endlessness of it all. I feel that I am at a standstill, unable to go forward, meanwhile not just I suffer but my family and friends suffer to!
Sorry for the rant!!

 

[somethingswrong]

Hi Somethingiswrong, Welcome. I understand the frustration you may be feeling right now. You know something is up but can't understand when the clinical aspect keeps flip-flopping with your diagnosis. It is very hard to get the right treatment when they don't know what you have specifically and use you as a human guinea pig with meds

Thanks Amy,

I am glad to hear from people going through the same things.. When this first started I was given a therapist that must have just graduated, 26yrs old, just married. And he kept trying to say that maybe I was having marital problems and should get marriage counseling. All because in a session with my wife, we brought up that we had started arguing more than normal, I was surprised that my wife more upset at this um.., young professional than I was. After pulling her fingernails out of the chair and part of my arm, I informed him that until he has experienced more about life, than what he had read in some text book, he would not be seeing us again. He may be a well educated professional now but, my marriage had survived 10 years of law enforcement and 4 kids and at this time 4 month pregnant... Some how he missed the fact that my wife was there out of concern for me... and a sheer determination to get her husband back. She now has accepted that I may not ever be back to the former me, which in a way may be better, she says she will get a Improved model. I may be rough and as dirty as coal, but some day....![/quote]

 

[You can get through it]

That’s the rub, you can’t fix something if you don’t what it is or how to fix it; if you have had a life changing experience it is ok to feel vulnerable. I used to have no fear, even fly planes and drive big trucks, I now write prose which gets things out of my head, I no longer have the desire to fly planes although I could if I wanted to, I just don't have the incline any more, so does that make me a lesser person? I used to think so but I don't anymore because I have adapted as you must if you are ever to be happy with yourself again.


You don’t need to be the first to take down an armed killer you just need to be able to take care of yourself and family, a family, which I know you would lay down life for. Don’t feel guilty because you are now a different personality, being different is not making you a bad person, whilst your guilt is a miss placed emotion and a symptom of PSTD. You are unable to change the world so stop trying. I used to tell myself I should be this or I should be that, just too many to comprehend.


You can rebuild your life and you can rebuild it stronger, I have been battling the effects of cancer for the last three years and it has been a lot easier having come through the other side of PTSD, therefore I am living proof it can be done! PTSD may be messing with your mind but your mind is yours to take back one piece at a time.
Steve

 

[Powder]

I think that just loosing part of your identity, the job, is in a way sort of traumatic or would be for some.

 

[AmyO]

You would be amazed at how understanding kindred spirits can be. So, rave on big guy. Your anger has been bottled up and you need to let it out. I come here and share as it helps me with my frustrations and meltdowns. If I didn't have the forum it would be impossible for me to cope. You have the friends that may listen but never truly understand though they try. Family helps as best as they can and hold our hands when the tears won't stop. But how can we ever explain to them exactly what fear looks like, or how rage sounds. The black and white become a rainbow of greys. It helps me with my understanding of what my boys are going through as I lived the hell with them. But you are looking back at a lifetime of bottled up anger at why this happened and why was no one there to help you. All the questions that were never answered. I am in my cave mode right now for that reason.

I don't leave the house when the boys are in school for fear of being triggered because I need to keep sane for them. And they get home I take them out to play in a little corner lot so no one gets upset at normal kid noise. It tears at us from every side when you jump when the phone rings. And it slams us into depression when we feel like a shadow of who we were meant to be.

I leave you with this...you may be rough and dirty as coal, but given enough time the coal becomes a diamond. Shine On.