I'm 43 and have only just got onto the Pathway. I've been told that it will be months - maybe over a year - before I see anyone. So I looked up what it might entail on the NHS website. It suggested getting someone who knew you as a child to accompany you. I also have petit mal epilepsy which went undiagnosed until I was 20. This meant that my fits exhibited themselves as 'absences' where, in times of stress, I would appear to 'zone out'. Consequently there are massive memory holes in my early childhood. So, it would be a good plan to have someone who knew me at the interview, yes?
The trouble is, I don't trust my family. They care about me, yes. However, they treat any health problem I have as hypochondria - this is why I didn't get diagnosed as having epilepsy until I was 20....and it was only recently, when my sister saw the effect of me before and after my morning tablets, did she acknowledge I had a problem! The NHS don't give out drugs for fun! It's just the way my family are. I just don't think I could stand to try and explain what they'd probably just not be able to comprehend and would dismiss out of hand.
There are possibly two sisters who would not make me feel an utter fool, but one I think would tell the rest of my family behind my back. The other lives 160 miles away and I don't really see as much of her now as she has kids.
I'm not quite sure what to do. I don't know how essential their input would be. I'm also not sure if I want to disclose this with them anyway.
