So Unprofessional
I was diagnosed with ADHD 18 months ago after a lifetime of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, etc. At the time, the psychiatrist said he strongly suspected that I’m also autistic based on answers to certain questions and family heritage, but we’d concentrate on the ADHD diagnosis for now.
The ADHD meds definitely made a huge difference and enabled me to get some form of life back, but I was still having problems. In December, after my mother and I filled in extensive questionnaires, I had a three-hour interview with a renowned specialist, and the autism diagnosis was unequivocal.
Like my ADHD, it was missed for so long because I’m female and older. No one was looking for either of those things in girls as I was growing up. It really helped to put my past in perspective.
In January, I paid for a follow-up appointment with the original psychiatrist who diagnosed me with ADHD, and who had suggested I’m probably autistic in the first place. I told him of the new diagnosis, and his reply stopped me in my tracks.
He informed me that I “actually can’t possibly be autistic because you can socialise.” He then proceeded to tell me that the company who diagnosed me tended to “diagnose everybody at the drop of a hat.”
He actually sent a letter to that effect to my doctor, telling him to take my autism diagnosis “with a pinch of salt.” I was floored over this. He was an older, caring, father-figure type whom I trusted, and credited with changing my life.
I didn’t want to disagree with him, but accepting what he says basically means I go back to my original image of myself as just broken instead. However, perhaps he’s right.
Even so, how unprofessional is it to dismiss another psychiatric institution like that, and to put that in writing? I’m still trying to work all of this out in my head, but my main takeaway is I think I need a new psychiatrist. Story credit: Reddit / zzcoldcoffee