Published on 12, July, 2020
I spent a decade in the mental health system being misdiagnosed with a mental health condition that I never had. I spent 7 of those years straight inpatient. I got correctly diagnosed as autistic at the age of 27. I have spent a decade telling everyone around me the truth and constantly being told I’m lying and/or how I am experiencing the world is not possible (they hadn’t realised that I was autistic so they just thought I was crazy). It has been an incredibly traumatic decade and I cannot even repeat the things that have been said to me. I now understandably have a real phobia of anyone who works in any healthcare - mental or physical as a result of the trauma I have experienced. This is fine for now as my mental health is in a really good place since being correctly diagnosed with autism and I actively do not want anything to do with any mental health team (and they know it). But I worry how moving forward in my future, this is going to be a barrier in accessing help for my physical health. I have a huge list of neurological problems post covid. And I fear if I develop any health problem in the future 1) I am going to be avoiding going to the doctor as much as I can and 2) even if they see me, I am petrified of how they will treat me. Usually I end up feeling mentally worse than when I went in.
Can anyone else relate? I feel so alone in my experiences.
I hate the medical industry with a passion