"That's such a Coincidence!" - Living Confidently with Multiple Diagnoses
Hey Everyone!
What I want to talk about today is a slightly different and complex issue; feeling confident when claiming multiple diagnoses or labels. There are hopefully lots of people who have no problem being confident when saying they have several diagnoses, but for others it may be a little more difficult. In a society that so often invalidates disability, especially when they are invisible or fluctuating, is it is understandable that some individuals may struggle to not feel like an imposter when declaring a handful of different diagnoses. In the UK we live in a society where people are frequently doubting disabled folks' rights to use accessible parking spaces and are often accusing disabled individuals of faking to receive benefits. This sense of insecurity can be heightened when someone is experiencing multiple diagnoses, resulting in increased self-doubt and comments like "can you really have all of those conditions?" or "that's a weird coincidence!" Why wouldn't someone with several disabilities be made to feel especially insecure when we live in a society that interrogates you for simply saying that you have one condition.
As frequent readers of my blog may know I have been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, mild hearing loss, trichotillomania, anxiety, dyslexia and ASC. This may seem to be, and arguably is, quite a long list of diagnoses. This may help to explain why I can relate quite well to today's topic. I already have experience of being explicitly invalidated for having what are said to quite 'mild' experiences of my conditions, but this specific insecurity is a very different and perhaps slightly more subconscious conditioned thought process. I have had moments in the couple years when I have been seeking diagnosis and have caught myself having thoughts along the lines of "If I already have X, what is the chances of me also having X?," which if you have read any of my others posts you will have gathered is not a way of thinking I think to be healthy or correct. However, that is not to say that it isn't a way that many people feel and something that shouldn't be addressed, as well as society's role in it's development.
Personally, I have found this experience to be far more common when seeking diagnoses of mental health related conditions or conditions related to my learning or perception. That is not to say that physical disabilities are any more valid but simply that there is someone security in objective testing. Being diagnosed with trichotillomania, anxiety and ASC relied far more heavily upon my description of my own experience than perhaps previous diagnoses had. Even dyslexia, while involving far more testing, involved me telling others what I had experience within my educational experience. While I know all the experiences I described to be true and that it is impossible to cheat testing for conditions such as autism or dyslexia, it is incredibly easy to be conditioned to doubt your own perception. In fact this is what we have been trained to do! We have been discouraged from seeking support by being taught to think "it's probably nothing!" It might well be nothing but it might well be something. A trained professional has been taught all they know for the purpose of diagnosis and support or treatment, meaning that they will be able to tell if you do not fit the criteria or they will be able to give you a confident diagnosis if you do. Additionally, it is important to remember that having a physical disability does not rule out the possibility of experiencing mental health issues, a neurological condition or a learning difficulty. Ultimately, the solution here is creating a world in which people are able to be confident in their experiences and don't feel their feelings or experiences are being frequently doubted!
Really the comments and societal opinions that lead much of our community to insecurity stem most definitely from ignorance, perhaps not always from badly intended ignorance but from ignorance all the same. Those who truly believe that someone they know cannot possibly have multiple diagnosis are ignorant of two key facts. The first fact of which they are obviously unaware is that disability just doesn't work that way, it never has! It may be a coincidence but a true coincidence is valid just the same. You could not say that a person cannot be both disabled and part of the LGBTQIA+ community because you cannot say that a person cannot be part of multiple minority groups. Similarly, you can't say that someone cannot be part of the multiple sub-communities within the disabled community. Someone can be autistic and have Crohn's Disease, or someone can have a heart condition and dyspraxia. Just because something would seem to be a strange coincidence doesn't mean it's right or fair of accusing someone of lying.
The second fact of which someone could be ignorant is the fact that some conditions can be co-morbid, meaning that a conditions often co-occurs with another. Obviously conditions don't have to be co-morbid to validly co-exist, but is obviously another reason that someone may have more than one diagnosis. I hadn't notice that dyslexia and autism can commonly co-exist until I started watching 'The Aspie World' on YouTube. Upon further research I discovered that dyslexia is co-morbid to autism, being listed on the NAS'(National Autistic Society) page of related conditions (https://www.autism.org.uk/about/what-is/related-conditions.aspx). Just because you know a disabled person that does not make you a disability expert and you may be entirely unaware of co-morbidity, meaning it is not your place to doubt the experiences of others!
Ultimately, if you are someone who claims multiple diagnoses be proud and don't listen to those who attempt to doubt you! You have been given your diagnoses by the right professionals for a reason, that's all the matters!
Hope you are all well!
See you later Alligators!
Freya x
PHOTO SOURCES:
https://therightreflection.com/front-page/unconscious-bias-presentation-cortina-community-at-creighton/
https://www.arthritis.org/about-arthritis/types/gout/diagnosing.php
https://pro.psychcentral.com/diagnostic-comorbidity-in-dsm-5-origins-current-status-and-potential-solutions/
What I want to talk about today is a slightly different and complex issue; feeling confident when claiming multiple diagnoses or labels. There are hopefully lots of people who have no problem being confident when saying they have several diagnoses, but for others it may be a little more difficult. In a society that so often invalidates disability, especially when they are invisible or fluctuating, is it is understandable that some individuals may struggle to not feel like an imposter when declaring a handful of different diagnoses. In the UK we live in a society where people are frequently doubting disabled folks' rights to use accessible parking spaces and are often accusing disabled individuals of faking to receive benefits. This sense of insecurity can be heightened when someone is experiencing multiple diagnoses, resulting in increased self-doubt and comments like "can you really have all of those conditions?" or "that's a weird coincidence!" Why wouldn't someone with several disabilities be made to feel especially insecure when we live in a society that interrogates you for simply saying that you have one condition.
As frequent readers of my blog may know I have been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, mild hearing loss, trichotillomania, anxiety, dyslexia and ASC. This may seem to be, and arguably is, quite a long list of diagnoses. This may help to explain why I can relate quite well to today's topic. I already have experience of being explicitly invalidated for having what are said to quite 'mild' experiences of my conditions, but this specific insecurity is a very different and perhaps slightly more subconscious conditioned thought process. I have had moments in the couple years when I have been seeking diagnosis and have caught myself having thoughts along the lines of "If I already have X, what is the chances of me also having X?," which if you have read any of my others posts you will have gathered is not a way of thinking I think to be healthy or correct. However, that is not to say that it isn't a way that many people feel and something that shouldn't be addressed, as well as society's role in it's development.
Personally, I have found this experience to be far more common when seeking diagnoses of mental health related conditions or conditions related to my learning or perception. That is not to say that physical disabilities are any more valid but simply that there is someone security in objective testing. Being diagnosed with trichotillomania, anxiety and ASC relied far more heavily upon my description of my own experience than perhaps previous diagnoses had. Even dyslexia, while involving far more testing, involved me telling others what I had experience within my educational experience. While I know all the experiences I described to be true and that it is impossible to cheat testing for conditions such as autism or dyslexia, it is incredibly easy to be conditioned to doubt your own perception. In fact this is what we have been trained to do! We have been discouraged from seeking support by being taught to think "it's probably nothing!" It might well be nothing but it might well be something. A trained professional has been taught all they know for the purpose of diagnosis and support or treatment, meaning that they will be able to tell if you do not fit the criteria or they will be able to give you a confident diagnosis if you do. Additionally, it is important to remember that having a physical disability does not rule out the possibility of experiencing mental health issues, a neurological condition or a learning difficulty. Ultimately, the solution here is creating a world in which people are able to be confident in their experiences and don't feel their feelings or experiences are being frequently doubted!
Really the comments and societal opinions that lead much of our community to insecurity stem most definitely from ignorance, perhaps not always from badly intended ignorance but from ignorance all the same. Those who truly believe that someone they know cannot possibly have multiple diagnosis are ignorant of two key facts. The first fact of which they are obviously unaware is that disability just doesn't work that way, it never has! It may be a coincidence but a true coincidence is valid just the same. You could not say that a person cannot be both disabled and part of the LGBTQIA+ community because you cannot say that a person cannot be part of multiple minority groups. Similarly, you can't say that someone cannot be part of the multiple sub-communities within the disabled community. Someone can be autistic and have Crohn's Disease, or someone can have a heart condition and dyspraxia. Just because something would seem to be a strange coincidence doesn't mean it's right or fair of accusing someone of lying.
The second fact of which someone could be ignorant is the fact that some conditions can be co-morbid, meaning that a conditions often co-occurs with another. Obviously conditions don't have to be co-morbid to validly co-exist, but is obviously another reason that someone may have more than one diagnosis. I hadn't notice that dyslexia and autism can commonly co-exist until I started watching 'The Aspie World' on YouTube. Upon further research I discovered that dyslexia is co-morbid to autism, being listed on the NAS'(National Autistic Society) page of related conditions (https://www.autism.org.uk/about/what-is/related-conditions.aspx). Just because you know a disabled person that does not make you a disability expert and you may be entirely unaware of co-morbidity, meaning it is not your place to doubt the experiences of others!
Ultimately, if you are someone who claims multiple diagnoses be proud and don't listen to those who attempt to doubt you! You have been given your diagnoses by the right professionals for a reason, that's all the matters!
Hope you are all well!
See you later Alligators!
Freya x
PHOTO SOURCES:
https://therightreflection.com/front-page/unconscious-bias-presentation-cortina-community-at-creighton/
https://www.arthritis.org/about-arthritis/types/gout/diagnosing.php
https://pro.psychcentral.com/diagnostic-comorbidity-in-dsm-5-origins-current-status-and-potential-solutions/
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