Confused- mixed emotions

Hi. 

I was [mis] diagnosed with bipolar in 1998. The assessment was as rigorous as popular magazine quiz! It was as if they needed to diagnose bipolar to hit a target. I was in those days, to use their horrible word, compliant. So twenty years of my life were destroyed by anti psychotics I never needed.

They mistook my autistic meltdowns for hypo/mania, and shutdowns for depression. But they failed to note my events lasted a day at the most, not weeks as per DSM and ICD. 

I made a fourth and nearly successful attempt on my life in 2022 and after a&e had got me back I was sent to an inpatient psychiatric unit again. Fortunately this time someone joined the dots correctly and referred me for assessment for autism. 

This assessment took a day and half and did confirm Autism Spectrum Condition. It was just three weeks from leaving the psych unit. 

I used the diagnosis documentation to challenge the psychiatric team and succeeded in getting the bipolar removed and replaced on my records with ASC. Thay would not accept liability though nor offer any apology, I regard those twenty years as institutional abuse and have been subsequently diagnosed with c-ptsd. 

Alice

Hi. 

I was [mis] diagnosed with bipolar in 1998. The assessment was as rigorous as popular magazine quiz! It was as if they needed to diagnose bipolar to hit a target. I was in those days, to use their horrible word, compliant. So twenty years of my life were destroyed by anti psychotics I never needed.

They mistook my autistic meltdowns for hypo/mania, and shutdowns for depression. But they failed to note my events lasted a day at the most, not weeks as per DSM and ICD. 

I made a fourth and nearly successful attempt on my life in 2022 and after a&e had got me back I was sent to an inpatient psychiatric unit again. Fortunately this time someone joined the dots correctly and referred me for assessment for autism. 

This assessment took a day and half and did confirm Autism Spectrum Condition. It was just three weeks from leaving the psych unit. 

I used the diagnosis documentation to challenge the psychiatric team and succeeded in getting the bipolar removed and replaced on my records with ASC. Thay would not accept liability though nor offer any apology, I regard those twenty years as institutional abuse and have been subsequently diagnosed with c-ptsd. 

Alice