Thanks! And don't worry you're not bringing the mood down, these are important conversations to have. And you're honestly right, if someone wants to be a parent they really do need to go to some form of therapy and get their head screwed on straight before they make such a huge decision. Yes, obviously this is for planned children, sometimes kids happen at semi-unexpected intervals but c'est la vie.Congrats on the diagnosis! It must feel validating to have that officially agreed!
I'm fairly sure I am missing a CPTSD diagnosis, but I'm nervous about going back to my GP. Last I saw her she just put it all down to a mixed anxiety/depressive disorder... but I've learned and realised significant things since then. I'm sure I'll get diagnosed eventually though. If this isn't too personal to ask, how long did it take for that diagnosis?
And yeah that's so true. Its something I believe is best not rushed. I think a lot (if not most) of people should probably have some amount of therapy before deciding to be a parent- I'm sure at this point that we all have some dark stuff or unresolved trauma in our lives lol.
Sorry if I'm bringing the mood down
It's something I look forward to though. I'm giving myself a 5 or 6 year plan (at minimum), to work through my stuff, start therapy, improve my health, and then perhaps I'll be ready to commit to a kid.
in the meantime, I can at least excessively mother my ducks.
And no I don't mind talking about my diagnostic process at all! Buckle in it's going to be a long post. (Sorry in advance), I'll actually put this in a spoiler so that way it's not clogging everything up.
So overall, I've been in therapy for at least 6-7+ years consistently, before that I was bouncing around from therapist to therapist changing every few months because I just didn't find someone that clicked with me and what I needed. When I did however? Omg total 180 and I worked on making sure I stayed with therapy and it helped immensely. My therapist for most of that (5 years of it at least), was the one that talked to me about ADHD and he was always the first one to say "If you ever want to look through the DSM on something specific just let me know and we can take a look at it." Well, one day we were talking and I went "Um... hey Chris, can we look at the cookbook for PTSD?" And we did. And that's when we realized "Oh crap."
He had tried to get me in with psychiatry, on my request because I realized that trying to manage it without meds wasn't working completely. Well, that was a bust that time because the darn psychiatrist was more concerned with my depression which I had managed at that point. Fast forward a bit and I have to change therapists because Chris, my long-term therapist at the time, is in the middle of completing his Doctorate in Psychology and it's time for him to do his internship stuff and he needed to cut back on how many patients he was seeing. Okay, no problem. I get hooked up with my new therapist, Ian. And omg lemme tell you. I love Chris dearly, he got me through some tough times. But Ian. When I tell him "Hey I have X problem and I need a solution." He actively listens and immediately goes "Okay there's X, Y, or Z resource available here, here, and here. If we need to focus on that more in depth we can." Etc. Brilliant therapist I love him.
So when I told Ian my issues with my ADHD and how I'd like to get on medication his first question was "Were you ever formally assessed?" And I said "No. I wasn't." So he got me hooked up with psychiatry again, this time with a psychiatrist who listens to me and is awesome. She referred me to a different practice that does full neurotesting. The thing that took the longest was waiting around for appointments to become available. I was originally scene for my intake with the testing practice in I think October because it was right before we bought the house, my testing was originally scheduled for December but we all got COVID for Xmas and that forced it to be rescheduled to February. Then my review appointment was in the beginning of April because my overseeing Dr. was on a trip overseas and wouldn't be available till then. And now here we are!
He had tried to get me in with psychiatry, on my request because I realized that trying to manage it without meds wasn't working completely. Well, that was a bust that time because the darn psychiatrist was more concerned with my depression which I had managed at that point. Fast forward a bit and I have to change therapists because Chris, my long-term therapist at the time, is in the middle of completing his Doctorate in Psychology and it's time for him to do his internship stuff and he needed to cut back on how many patients he was seeing. Okay, no problem. I get hooked up with my new therapist, Ian. And omg lemme tell you. I love Chris dearly, he got me through some tough times. But Ian. When I tell him "Hey I have X problem and I need a solution." He actively listens and immediately goes "Okay there's X, Y, or Z resource available here, here, and here. If we need to focus on that more in depth we can." Etc. Brilliant therapist I love him.
So when I told Ian my issues with my ADHD and how I'd like to get on medication his first question was "Were you ever formally assessed?" And I said "No. I wasn't." So he got me hooked up with psychiatry again, this time with a psychiatrist who listens to me and is awesome. She referred me to a different practice that does full neurotesting. The thing that took the longest was waiting around for appointments to become available. I was originally scene for my intake with the testing practice in I think October because it was right before we bought the house, my testing was originally scheduled for December but we all got COVID for Xmas and that forced it to be rescheduled to February. Then my review appointment was in the beginning of April because my overseeing Dr. was on a trip overseas and wouldn't be available till then. And now here we are!
Hey Mothering ducks can be a full-time job sometimes lol I've had ducks before! Speaking of parenting things. Today is Day 18 for incubation and I'm gonna be running around like a chickenless head getting brooding supplies and getting ready for lockdown.
Oh come on that is the biggest bunch of bologna I've heard in a long time. There are plenty of Autistic folks that can make eye contact!
