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Mental Health: Moving Past Diagnosis
Labels don’t define all of you.
Yesterday I went to see my psychiatrist. I was very spacey and had trouble answering her questions because my mind was just blank. My eyes staring at the bush outside her window nothing was distracting me but myself. I was there to figure out my meds. The Zoloft I was taking helped with emotional regulation but wasn’t helping with anxiety or depression, and we were trying to figure out why. After asking some questions about my childhood and how school went for me, she narrowed it down.
“Have you ever heard of ADD?” she asked me.
“No, but my brother has it”, I answered.
She continued, “The brother usually does because it’s hardly ever diagnosed in female people because they don’t experience the ‘hyper’ of ADHD”.
“So where are you going with this? Do I have ADD?”
She explained further, “That could likely be why you’re getting so overwhelmed with everything because you aren’t retaining it in the first place. Your mind doesn’t know where to put everything so you shut down”.
“That does sound like me..” I gave in.
I was concerned and then mad. I could have known I had ADD my whole life and I’d get more help and accommodations at school, medicine that could…
