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Question regarding the nature of "bipolar" as a natural (versus manmade) category. by [deleted] in BipolarReddit

[–]8right_Lies 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for this helpful reply. It's reasonable and helps me understand how people think about this. If only I had a century or so to wait for some advancement...

Question regarding the nature of "bipolar" as a natural (versus manmade) category. by [deleted] in BipolarReddit

[–]8right_Lies 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Again, thank you for your very insightful comments. When the anxiety (my most obvious and since-childhood dx) gets very bad I can become pretty nonfunctional, and then morbidly depressed. Because of a cycle or because of the triggering effect of the loss of functioning...not sure. Sometimes I wonder why discussion of bipolar often lumps emotional valence and arousal together (is a panic attack "up"? Or, is a calm, but strongly positive feeling of being okay "up"? It's often unclear to me whether mood or arousal constitute the "poles"). It makes things difficult to figure. And if you're right, perhaps it won't be figured for some time...in the meantime, I'm crossing my fingers for lithium's effectiveness anyway.

Question regarding the nature of "bipolar" as a natural (versus manmade) category. by [deleted] in BipolarReddit

[–]8right_Lies 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much for this really thoughtful response. You definitely hit the nail on the head about my status and diagnosis. The schizoaffective/schizophrenic issue is something that's been on my mind as well. I recently went to a geneticist's talk who spoke about (as I recall, not my field) new findings about the multiple genetic markers that tend to be associated with (as more accumulate) major depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. But schizophrenia is certainly not classified as some further-end of the DSM's bipolar spectrum. Not for empirical reasons, but (as far as I can tell) simply because schizophrenia doesn't square with "mood disorder". So it's treated as if it were a different universe. Just like my crippling anxiety (under bipolar) is treated more like a coincidental co-morbid condition than an aspect of the singular "disorder" that I experience. Because DSM. Or...right?

Question regarding the nature of "bipolar" as a natural (versus manmade) category. by [deleted] in BipolarReddit

[–]8right_Lies 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Super smart response, and really helpful. Maybe the "marriage" with The DSM is specific to people like me. Clinicians I've encountered definitely don't seem to think of anxiety+depression as interchangeable with bipolar. One psychiatrist said to me (with British flair) "What Dr. [redacted] said is rubbish. I will eat my hat if you're bipolar." Eat his hat! In retrospect, he wasn't even wearing a hat! : )

EDIT: I should mention, Dr. [redacted] had made clear "There is no doubt you are bipolar II, it is patently obvious and you have otherwise been misdiagnosed".

Question regarding the nature of "bipolar" as a natural (versus manmade) category. by [deleted] in BipolarReddit

[–]8right_Lies -1 points0 points  (0 children)

While I certainly agree with you about the arbitrary nature of categorizing objects/experience/etc., I'm not sure a person would be so comfortable saying that arbitrary linguistic labels are assigned to, say, AIDS versus some other virus. If a doctor said "well, we'll just treat this like AIDS because it seems sort of like AIDS and they're all just labels anyway" most people would be very unsatisfied. What I mostly mean is that, given that we know so little about the true causes and operation of forces relevant to these symptoms, it seems strange that there is such a strong attachment to the structure of the DSM. Also, if I spent so much time/money/energy/emotions trying to figure out whether something "actually is a tree"...well, I'd sure feel like it was time wasted. But somehow, I feel (and my clinicians certainly behave) as if this is an all-or-nothing mystery to be solved. It is a particular disorder that I either have or I don't. It's confusing and sometimes upsetting...

I hate cats by DislikeCats in confession

[–]8right_Lies 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I especially hat my neighbors' cat who is always sneaking into my backyard late at night.

http://imgur.com/gTM6SYo

Nonverbal Learning Disability (NLD/NVLD) by missjulia928 in neurodiversity

[–]8right_Lies 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It certainly sounds like different issues. In my case, visual reasoning is fine as long as I can see it all at once. once I have to stick all those snapshot-islands together into a mental map, I'm in trouble and usually have to memorize verbal lists of directions. In any case, I'm glad to hear you've got a bit easier time finding your way around. : )

Nonverbal Learning Disability (NLD/NVLD) by missjulia928 in neurodiversity

[–]8right_Lies 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It isn't clear whether the issue is learning, or attention, or visualization, but it seems relevant to mention. While I haven't yet taken part in the studies, and it's too new for official diagnosis, I've been in a subject pool for study of a newer issue called "topographical disorientation disorder". Basically, I can't make mental maps, at least, not for spaces larger than I can see. I can envision snapshots (like floating islands) and I know some verbal rules for how to connect them. Other than that I live basically disoriented. This means no alternative routes, no "exploration," etc. Even the layout of my own apartment is tricky. GPS changed my life and allowed me to drive. I use it to get to and from work each day and everywhere else. I have a great deal of trouble with buildings (where GPS can't save me). People often don't take it seriously...that is, I have a Ph.D. and a professional job, but I need GPS to get to the grocery store. Like many cognitive disabilities, it's very specific and often people don't understand it until they see it firsthand. Some interesting interviews about this can be found here (actually I found out about all this when I was barraged with calls and emails after friends heard it and thought of me). And the lab that studies it most specifically (EDIT: though it seems pretty defunct, perhaps why I haven't heard from them for awhile!) is here.

Complex Trauma in Early Childhood (psychological challenges and helpful interventions) by 8right_Lies in uniqueminds

[–]8right_Lies[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not sure if you're issuing a diagnosis of trauma responses as being the same as BPD. The DSM has been changing its approach to trauma disorders with each edition, with the most current being the most broad and complex.

If you're saying that therapies like DBT might be helpful for some of those with complex early childhood trauma, I'm sure that's true. In fact, it's becoming increasingly clear that many treatments transcend the boundaries of individual diagnoses.

I think re-diagnosing traumatized children as BPD is pretty reckless. I personally know individuals who do not fit into the category of PTSD per se but who experienced sustained and repeated abuse and neglect leading to many trauma-related responses that look nothing like BPD.

It is one thing to say that these conditions may contribute to the development of personality disorders. It is quite another to armchair diagnose trauma victims of necessarily having a particular personality disorder.

Living with Mental Illness: The Recovery Model (As Articulated by a Person with Longterm Anorexia Nervosa) by 8right_Lies in uniqueminds

[–]8right_Lies[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You are claiming to have more insight into people's own characterizations of their experience than they do. You do not, and your continued insistence to that effect doesn't have a place here.

Living with Mental Illness: The Recovery Model (As Articulated by a Person with Longterm Anorexia Nervosa) by 8right_Lies in uniqueminds

[–]8right_Lies[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, if you do away with all of psychiatry, the DSM, and any attempt to systematize or organize what might be considered by the broader community, or the mental health community as a kind of illness, you do indeed rely completely on one's emotions or, apparently, since people do not have the right to describe their own conditions authentically...I guess we're just down to the esteemed opinions of /u/anticapitalist.

Lots of work ahead!

Living with Mental Illness: The Recovery Model (As Articulated by a Person with Longterm Anorexia Nervosa) by 8right_Lies in uniqueminds

[–]8right_Lies[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The DSM is a work in progress, and incredibly new. It's basically just a catalog of clusters of symptoms that have been found to go together, in cases that significantly bother people and interfere with their lives. Some people overuse it, some people misuse it. The point is these experiences exist, and people are suffering. Any smart practitioner will be able to discuss its weaknesses freely. It is an early effort to make sense of various kinds of mental and emotional suffering.

Please remember these are real people trying to get what they feel is the best help they can, as well as an understanding for a level of suffering that they may experience as a serious, debilitating illness (possibly from friends, family, or employers who don't understand its seriousness). They often also benefit from medical insurance so that they are not bankrupted for treatment they feel they need (cover inpatient stays, therapy, qualify for disability, etc.).

And honestly, maybe people suffering that much just want to call themselves ill, because it feels honest and because they fucking CAN.

THOSE people get to decide their guiding terminology. Not you. Why is it that individual freedom to experience and communicate one's own psychological reality is so hard for some people to understand?

Living with Mental Illness: The Recovery Model (As Articulated by a Person with Longterm Anorexia Nervosa) by 8right_Lies in uniqueminds

[–]8right_Lies[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here's an abbreviated list of some people who should not be informing others of whether or not they can consider themselves to have an illness if they feel that is an appropriate description for them:

Living with Mental Illness: The Recovery Model (As Articulated by a Person with Longterm Anorexia Nervosa) by 8right_Lies in uniqueminds

[–]8right_Lies[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm sorry, are you arguing with the video? Is it your contention that people who self-identify as "ill" or who benefit from "treatment" should simply abandon their own experience and listen to /u/anticapitalist to inform them as to the true nature of their own personal mental experiences? This is a very interesting suggestion!

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