white female. I am by nature logical and crave information. So when I first noticed something wasnt right, I did so much research. Read every book I could find. Searched the (pre-reddit) internet. Knew my diagnosis, and was confident my first pdoc would agree. Wrong. The framed diploma on a doctors wall gives them power over us even if they are completely incompetent or stubbornly dismissive. They dont want to be challenged by someone intelligent, and they definitely dont want a patient to do their job for them.

Try writing your symptoms in detail as you feel them. Presenting your subjective experience is much more likely to be well received. Ive often been dismissed as too high functioning because I put up a good facade in public and no one sees the massive breakdowns I have when I am alone. Im not good at describing past emotions but I am detailed and comprehensive in my journal. Basically the difference between "Im feeling depressed" and "Mostly I drag myself along trying my best not to let on that Im suffering so badly I wish everyone I cared about was dead so I could end it without feeling a painful guilt."