- User type
- OCD Conqueror
- Date posted
- 4y
It is more rare but definitely not near impossible. Don't think it's sexism though
Well the dsm only recently included the symptoms that are more common in girls so i was wondering if they were basing it being impossible on the hyperactive symptoms and not the inattentive/combination types
@Lauren Nailed it. šÆ
Ik girls are diagnosed later in life because they think we're being dramatic š
Well they don't diagnose for girls with ADHD that are not hyperactive because they just don't feel like it unless they're a distraction to the class. If women with ADHD aren't diagnosed early most get a diagnosis for a mood/substance abuse disorder first due to the stress of the disorder
@Lauren Interesting! I've just heard stories of women getting diagnosed late because they're being "dramatic" about things or its just pms.
@Sarahtonen No up until recently the DSM (the diagnosis criteria manual for psychiatric diseases) didn't even include the symptoms for inattentive/combination types which is what girls commonly have. Many doctors and mental health professionals don't really stay up to date with stuff like that. When ADHD was first discovered they didn't look at the symptoms of women/girls. It's annoying and my whole project i did on that I was just angerly ranting.
@Lauren That is annoying. It's just being a girl seeking medical help/diagnosis is exhausting.
@Sarahtonen Yeah, I basically had to yell at my psychiatrist to listen to me and give me a diagnosis because everyone else would just dismiss it and move on. I would do some research and look at the rarer symptoms of ADHD since it shares some with autism spectrum disorder. I was so relieved when my brother's psychiatrist let him look at the symptoms of both and choose which one suits him best because a lot of the time with those people don't realize that some of the things they do aren't "normal"
@Lauren (Iād love to read your rantproject sometime if itās out there for public consumption šæ)
@JoyousEffort https://1drv.ms/b/s!ApfIKekCn4dLg309D4mNkeFqOf9i Hopefully the link works, i put a bunch of memes but i still got a 100 because my instructor thought it was neat
I have experienced every theme that can be added to post but Iām currently experiencing those. So I am on the spectrum and I happen to have a high sensory profile and it definitely gives the ocd more to latch unto. I would see a pretty female with makeup done and it eatssss and I would notice the facial symmetry + how her features compliment each other and my ocd would be like why did you notice she is pretty, BECAUSE I HAVE EYESš! I canāt be the only neurodivergent person that notices details and how attractive people are intensely? I do not even care about orientation but I know for sure if I was into women, it wonāt just start plaguing me one evening Im my head shouting āyou are gayā like man Im a female at least say you are a lesbian ššššš. How can I genuinely have no interest and get outrightly repulsed by females sexually and romantically. It feels like I am being forced to be something im not. I tried accepting i am lesbian but I experienced more anxiety and could not sleep till I accepted i am still straight and it is ocd playing with me(ocd leave me alone, I donāt even enjoy playing with you) I accepted i am a lesbian like ocd said I should but why do I still love my ex and hope I marry himš + I couldnāt bring myself to be interested in females. OCD leave me alone because I donāt enjoy this game again! Iām not homophobic at all but denouncing Im straight doesnāt feel like home and I still find myself yearning for only men
I'll start by saying, I have not been clinically diagnosed, as I do not have the funds to see therapists or psychiatrists in my current situation. Once I'm in a better spot, I very much intend to. That to say; after months and months of having issues with anxiety, specifically health related, my partner was the one that mentioned OCD. I did have some somewhat OCD related behaviors in my youth, though those likely could be explained by potentially undiagnosed ASD (as my mother is on the spectrum as well as a sibling, both diagnosed.) But I never considered OCD taking form in a health sense. I posted earlier about how I've had 4 days of pretty minimal anxiety and intrusive thoughts, and it has led me to doubt the OCD label I've been working at treating? I don't want to be the person that identifies themselves with a disorder they don't have, which is why I hesitate to self diagnose with OCD or ASD or anything else. At the same time, I've read that a lot of even clinically diagnosed people with OCD doubt their diagnosis. It makes me wonder if I will always have this doubt, and if that means it is worth it or not to get tested? I know that if I do, they can actually do ERP (whereas I've been self taught and self guided so far) so that would be worth it...
Some background: Iām a woman in my 30s whoās been struggling to find the right diagnosis for years. Since 2022, Iāve had multiple psych hospital stays, and with each stay came a different diagnosis and different sets of medications: Bipolar II, CPTSD, MDD with psychotic features, āhigh functioning BPD,ā and most recently, Schizoaffective Disorder (depressive type). Before all of that happened, I had been seeing a therapist for CPTSD and AuDHD traits for 2 years, but after they left the practice, I struggled to find someone I trusted again. Most of my breakdowns happened during my last relationship. Looking back, I was in survival mode with them, leaving who *I* am behind. I got to the point where I started doubting my own reality from the abuse. This eventually added up and landed me in my first episode of psychosis. That combined with my attempts is what got me my schizoaffective diagnosis. After finally leaving that relationship 1.5 years ago, Iāve slowly rebuilt my life: new town, new job, new friends. Many of my old symptoms (major ones) havenāt returned, which makes me believe I may have been misdiagnosed due to reliving past childhood trauma and stress responses from the abuse. Through all of this, Iāve felt like nothing ever truly fit. I journal, I reflect, I replay the recordings and Iāve even watched old vlogs āthe puzzle pieces still donāt come together. Itās left me feeling like Iāll never really know whatās going on, and Iāve started to fear that my diagnoses will just keep stacking up without ever leading to effective treatment. Recently, I opened up to a friend about this. She mentioned that her neighbor went through something similar not exactly like me but she thought it would give me a starting pointāmultiple diagnoses that never felt rightāuntil a new doctor finally identified it as OCD. That one diagnosis changed everything for her. It made me realize I really donāt know much about OCD beyond the stereotypes. I didnāt know OCD could involve intrusive thoughts, rumination, or mental compulsions. My friend encouraged me to look into it, especially as I start searching for a new therapist. Facebook and Google lead me here⦠So now Iām wondering: could OCD be a better explanation for what Iāve been experiencing all these years? Questions for the community: 1. What steps did you take to find out if OCD was what you were dealing with? 2. If you had a long history of misdiagnoses, how did you finally find a clinician who got it right? 3. How did you advocate for yourself when people dismissed your concerns? 4. Is there anything you wish you had done earlier in your OCD journey? Thank you so much if you made it this far. Iām really grateful for this space and just want to start finding answers and the right kind of help.
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