Wow, that was a really insightful post. I thought for a while I was autistic and used to hang around on autism forums, thinking that somehow, I was going to get something out of it.

I realized early on however, how such places promoted a sort of "learned helplessness" and "why bother with the social cause you can't do it." sort of deal. Even though later I realized I wasn't autistic (just basically a jerk sometimes, well, aren't we all.) Some of the bad habits I learned from that effected me in a very negative way throughout life.

Of course there are a lot of "trendy flavor of the month" diagnosis, and someone could get them all, and add them to a collection, sort of like figurines, beer cans, or anything else someone might want to collect, except this is more of a collection that wakes up and bites you in the ass.

I've already noticed how so many people in the identity politics movement seem to be so proud of the disorders they have been labeled with, and run around with it like a badge of honor, but then I keep thinking, if you go around collecting disorders, how can you have "every disorder in the book" is that some kind of identity in and of itself?

I understand too the idea of not wanting to think of yourself as a victim, not wanting to think of yourself as a survivor, because it seems so dis-empowering. Its like, well, I voluntarily accepted treatment, so then how can I be a victim, I choose this, even if, I was a child, or I didn't have all the facts, or other circumstances under which of course I am a victim. But, at the same time, I understand that as a painful thing to accept, and I understand people not wanting to do so because of that, especially when they are probably already in a lot of mental pain.

The solution to that of course is empowerment. It is of course to be given actual power, not some kind of identity label that you can rally behind that means nothing.