Hi All
For those of us with a mental health diagnosis (or with more than one), it is important we work towards removing the negative social & public stigmas associated with having a mental health diagnosis.
I’m not alone with this – and I am comforted others understand it and accept it and do not judge me for it (whether they have a mental health diagnosis, themselves, or not).
So, with that said, I have an unusual announcement...
As of this morning, it is official - the diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder has been removed from my medical files as a current diagnosis, due to me not being clinically depressed (at any point) over the past year.
It has been downgraded to Depressive Disorder, Unspecified (recurrent brief depression) – a much lesser diagnosis in the DSM (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) 5.
At age 22 I was misdiagnosed with Manic-Depressive Disorder (later renamed as Bipolar Disorder). Two years later the diagnosis was corrected – changed to Major Depressive Disorder – a diagnosis I’ve kept (and it was warranted) for over 20 years.
So – yes – today I am celebrating me having Depressive Disorder, Unspecified (as absolutely bonkers as that may sound)! Jimmy Broccoli – (mostly) happy & enjoying life (?) – yes. Never in a million years would I have ever imagined it was possible – never in two million years. But – here we are.
And I'm totally okay with it. Hope you're doing well also.
Photo: Jimmy Broccoli.
