Being in a situation where your healthcare professionals have different opinions about your mental health diagnosis can be confusing and stressful. It's crucial in such instances to ensure you take proactive steps towards understanding your mental health better. Here's what you can do:
Seek Clarification: Talk to both your psychiatrist and psychologist about your concerns. Ask them to explain why they believe you do or do not have Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). The more you understand about their perspective and the symptoms they are focusing on, the more you can make sense of your situation.
Second Opinion: Consider seeking a second (or third) opinion. If there is disagreement or ambiguity about your diagnosis, seeing another mental health professional for their perspective might be helpful. A fresh set of eyes can provide additional insight.
Education: Learn as much as you can about BPD. Understand its symptoms, causes, and treatments. Remember, it's not just about having certain symptoms, but also about how intense, frequent, and pervasive these symptoms are, and how much they interfere with your life.
Document Your Symptoms: Start a diary or journal where you note your feelings, behaviors, and thoughts that seem relevant to the symptoms of BPD. This can provide a clearer picture of your patterns over time, and it can be a valuable tool to share with your healthcare professionals.
Focus on Treatment, Not Just Diagnosis: Regardless of whether you have BPD or not, if you're struggling, you deserve help. Sometimes the lines between different mental health conditions can be blurry, and many of the treatments for different conditions overlap. Therefore, it can be helpful to focus on addressing the specific symptoms and problems that are causing you distress, rather than focusing solely on a specific label.
Remember, mental health diagnoses are tools to guide treatment, not definitive labels that define who you are. It's entirely possible for two well-trained professionals to have differing views. It doesn't necessarily mean one is wrong and the other is right. The main goal is to ensure you get the help you need to manage your symptoms and improve your quality of life.
Always reach out to professionals when dealing with mental health issues. If you're feeling in crisis, consider reaching out to a crisis hotline in your country.