Do you have a dysfunction/disorder/disease...

[Midorime]

I am a diagnosed and medicated hypomanic Bipolar II with Borderline traits, have OCD, (obsessive compulsive disorder), and panic disorder with panic attacks.

I highly recommend therapy to those who need it. It helped me a lot, coupled with the meds, but it's still a slow going learning process.

 

[Nyaasu]

My one brother's got Down's Syndrome.

Me and my other brother have ADD.

I have an anxiety disorder, which I take pills for (otherwise panic attacks keep me awake and make me sick!).

I think everyone's got some kind of imperfection. x3

 

[PrivateSunshine]

Not really, but I do have this weird self esteem issue thing where I hate myself, yet I still think I'm better than everyone else.

Well, not *everyone*.

Mostly this is towards the people I actually hate.

So not everyone.

God I'm weird.

 

[bluegreen]

I'm sorry you are feeling this way, but it is usually not a good idea to diagnose yourself. We are usually completely off because, for one, we do not have the proper training to diagnose people, and secondly, we don't see ourselves very clearly. There is a great amount of bias that we hold against ourselves, and we are actually always a lot more "normal" than we think. It takes a lot to be considered "abnormal" in the realm of psychology, otherwise EVERYONE would have a disorder, and it would be sort of counterproductive to the point, if you know what I mean. You should probably get professional help and take care of it there. Google is not really the place for these things, except to get broad and inconclusive information.

hmmm from that point of view, from that angle it does seem like that...

yeah I see where you're getting at

another fail on my part, poor word choice

but you see that's exactly what I thought at first, a few 'abnormalities' doesn't necessarily mean that I have a mental disorder

but when I was reading a wikipedia article about Adam Young and I clicked the link for Asperger's and from there it led me to anxiety disorders and that led me to social anxiety disorders and when I read it, it really spoke to me. I felt like it described me and I could relate to it perfectly. So I googled other mental disorders like depression, ADHD, anorexia, and more about anxiety and social anxiety disorders out of curiosity. I found that I could relate to all the descriptions for social anxiety disorder (SAD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) perfectly and I have a lot of symptoms for SAD and GAD and all of the symptoms for OCD. It wasn't at all like solving a jigsaw puzzle and getting two pieces that look like they fit then forcing them together, it was more like tetris, all the pieces just fell into place. Oh yeah and for my analogy, comparing OCD to pop-up ads on the internet, well actually I think it's more like watching TV and having your show repeatedly interrupted by annoying and redundant commercials at random times. Yeah, my mind often wanders and I think a lot of things but at the end of the day I always dwell on the same repetitive thoughts, they always come back to haunt me.

This is as good as an explanation that you'll get so if perhaps I am mistaken and I'm perfectly normal and there's nothing wrong with me and I don't need help (which would be a big relief, actually) then I am sorry for wasting your time.

P.S. sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes

 

[~SailorMoon~]

I have OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) about being late.

Whenever I'm late for something, I start to get hyperventilation, which just makes me even more stressed out.

 

[hwd45]

I can't really think of any disorders of the top of my head, except my mild OCD. I'm also really socially awkward and shy, not sure if I've got a disorder that causes me to act this way but I think it's fairly normal.

 

[Mamapatchi]

Perhaps anorexia?

nononononono

that isn't anorexia.

Anorexia is a disorder where you believe you're fat but you aren't, you don't not eat because you have a poor appetite, you don't eat because you starve yourself to lose weight.

Anorexia isn't a simple case of "meh I don't want to eat".

 

[indiGOtama]

hmmm from that point of view, from that angle it does seem like that...

yeah I see where you're getting at

another fail on my part, poor word choice

but you see that's exactly what I thought at first, a few 'abnormalities' doesn't necessarily mean that I have a mental disorder

but when I was reading a wikipedia article about Adam Young and I clicked the link for Asperger's and from there it led me to anxiety disorders and that led me to social anxiety disorders and when I read it, it really spoke to me. I felt like it described me and I could relate to it perfectly. So I googled other mental disorders like depression, ADHD, anorexia, and more about anxiety and social anxiety disorders out of curiosity. I found that I could relate to all the descriptions for social anxiety disorder (SAD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) perfectly and I have a lot of symptoms for SAD and GAD and all of the symptoms for OCD. It wasn't at all like solving a jigsaw puzzle and getting two pieces that look like they fit then forcing them together, it was more like tetris, all the pieces just fell into place. Oh yeah and for my analogy, comparing OCD to pop-up ads on the internet, well actually I think it's more like watching TV and having your show repeatedly interrupted by annoying and redundant commercials at random times. Yeah, my mind often wanders and I think a lot of things but at the end of the day I always dwell on the same repetitive thoughts, they always come back to haunt me.

This is as good as an explanation that you'll get so if perhaps I am mistaken and I'm perfectly normal and there's nothing wrong with me and I don't need help (which would be a big relief, actually) then I am sorry for wasting your time.

P.S. sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes

No need to apologize - society as a whole does not know very much about mental disorders. Let me explain to you:

There is something called the DSM IV-TR (the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders, published the the American Psychological Association (APA)) which all psychologists use to diagnose their patients. According to this manual, in order to have Social Phobia (also called Social Anxiety Disorder), you must meet all of these conditions, and you can't just just kind of meet them; these "symptoms" must be there, all the time, for an extended period of time:

A. A marked and persistent fear of one or more social or performance situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar
people or to possible scrutiny by others. The individual fears that he or she will act in a way (or show anxiety symptoms)
that will be humiliating or embarrassing. Note: In children, there must be evidence of the capacity for age-appropriate
social relationships with familiar people and the anxiety must occur in peer settings, not just interactions with adults.

B. Exposure to the feared social situation almost invariably provokes anxiety, which may take the form of a situationally bound
or situationally predisposed Panic Attack. Note: In children, the anxiety may be expressed by crying, tantrums, freezing, or
shrinking from social situations with unfamiliar people.

C. The person recognizes that the fear is excessive or unreasonable. Note: In children, this feature may be absent.

D. The feared social or performance situations are avoided or else are endured with intense anxiety or distress.

E. The avoidance, anxious anticipation, or distress in the feared social or performance situation(s) interferes significantly with the
person’s normal routine, occupational (academic) functioning, or social activities or relationships, or there is marked distress
about having the phobia.

F. In individuals under age 18 years, the duration is at least 6 months.

G. The fear or avoidance is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication) or
a general medical condition and is not better accounted fro by another mental disorder (e.g., Panic Disorder With or
Without Agoraphobia, Separation Anxiety, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, a Pervasisive Developmental Disorder, or Schizoid
Personality Disorder).

H. If a general medical condition or another mental disorder is present, the fear in Criterion A is unrelated to it, e.g., the fear is
not of Stuttering, trembling in Parkinson’s Disease, or exhibiting abnormal eating behavior in Anorexia Nervosa


As for Anorexia, it is almost always comorbid (meaning it occurs with) something called Body Dismorphic Disorder, which is when a person looks in the mirror and sees a completely distorted version of their self from what everyone else sees. They may weigh only 90 lbs, but to them it looks like they are obese.

Here is the diagnostic criteria for Anorexia:

* Refusal to maintain body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for age and
height, for example, weight loss leading to maintenance of body weight less than 85%
of that expected or failure to make expected weight gain during period of growth,
leading to body weight less than 85% of that expected.
* Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight.
* Disturbance in the way one's body weight or shape is experienced, undue influence
of body weight or shape on self evaluation, or denial of the seriousness of the current
low body weight.
* In postmenarcheal females, amenorrhea, i.e., the absence of at least 3 consecutive
menstrual cycles. A woman having periods only while on hormone medication

If you do not meet all of these criterion, you do not have Anorexia. Instead, you have something which we called EDNoS, which stands for Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. Lots of people have this - it is not uncommon.

--

So, as you see, there are definite definitions of all these disorders, and I don't want to be rude, but it almost seems to be that the name of this thread should be changed to "What are your quarks?", because that would be much more fitting. I'm not suggesting we do that in any way, and obviously there are definitely some people with real disorders here, I just ask that everyone be aware that this is a real, serious things that we are talking about, and we shouldn't just look a disorder up online and decide that we have it because it sounds cool. Instead, we should go to a doctor and let them decide, because they will actually be able to help us. I imagine it is kind of irritating for people who actually have these disorders to see so many completely average, healthy people saying that they have an illness they do not actually have. There are people out there who fight every day with mental illness, because it is so hindering to their lives that it has completely taken over in their daily routine. Some would give anything not to have the disorder they have. We're all a lot better off than we think we are, really.

 

[TamaMum]

I don't have any diagnosed dysfunctions - although some members might disagree with me on the basis of my compulsive site moderating obsession (hopefully, that falls under "Quirks")

 

[tamalove46]

I have mild OCD. Whenever I'm at the grocery store, I'll always rearrange everything so it's all facing the same way, so the product has the same number in each line, etc etc etc.

 

[Izzyd07]

No need to apologize - society as a whole does not know very much about mental disorders. Let me explain to you:

There is something called the DSM IV-TR (the Diagnostic and Statistics Manual of Mental Disorders, published the the American Psychological Association (APA)) which all psychologists use to diagnose their patients. According to this manual, in order to have Social Phobia (also called Social Anxiety Disorder), you must meet all of these conditions, and you can't just just kind of meet them; these "symptoms" must be there, all the time, for an extended period of time:

A. A marked and persistent fear of one or more social or performance situations in which the person is exposed to unfamiliar
people or to possible scrutiny by others. The individual fears that he or she will act in a way (or show anxiety symptoms)
that will be humiliating or embarrassing. Note: In children, there must be evidence of the capacity for age-appropriate
social relationships with familiar people and the anxiety must occur in peer settings, not just interactions with adults.

B. Exposure to the feared social situation almost invariably provokes anxiety, which may take the form of a situationally bound
or situationally predisposed Panic Attack. Note: In children, the anxiety may be expressed by crying, tantrums, freezing, or
shrinking from social situations with unfamiliar people.

C. The person recognizes that the fear is excessive or unreasonable. Note: In children, this feature may be absent.

D. The feared social or performance situations are avoided or else are endured with intense anxiety or distress.

E. The avoidance, anxious anticipation, or distress in the feared social or performance situation(s) interferes significantly with the
person’s normal routine, occupational (academic) functioning, or social activities or relationships, or there is marked distress
about having the phobia.

F. In individuals under age 18 years, the duration is at least 6 months.

G. The fear or avoidance is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g., a drug of abuse, a medication) or
a general medical condition and is not better accounted fro by another mental disorder (e.g., Panic Disorder With or
Without Agoraphobia, Separation Anxiety, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, a Pervasisive Developmental Disorder, or Schizoid
Personality Disorder).

H. If a general medical condition or another mental disorder is present, the fear in Criterion A is unrelated to it, e.g., the fear is
not of Stuttering, trembling in Parkinson’s Disease, or exhibiting abnormal eating behavior in Anorexia Nervosa


As for Anorexia, it is almost always comorbid (meaning it occurs with) something called Body Dismorphic Disorder, which is when a person looks in the mirror and sees a completely distorted version of their self from what everyone else sees. They may weigh only 90 lbs, but to them it looks like they are obese.

Here is the diagnostic criteria for Anorexia:

* Refusal to maintain body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for age and
height, for example, weight loss leading to maintenance of body weight less than 85%
of that expected or failure to make expected weight gain during period of growth,
leading to body weight less than 85% of that expected.
* Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight.
* Disturbance in the way one's body weight or shape is experienced, undue influence
of body weight or shape on self evaluation, or denial of the seriousness of the current
low body weight.
* In postmenarcheal females, amenorrhea, i.e., the absence of at least 3 consecutive
menstrual cycles. A woman having periods only while on hormone medication

If you do not meet all of these criterion, you do not have Anorexia. Instead, you have something which we called EDNoS, which stands for Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified. Lots of people have this - it is not uncommon.

--

So, as you see, there are definite definitions of all these disorders, and I don't want to be rude, but it almost seems to be that the name of this thread should be changed to "What are your quarks?", because that would be much more fitting. I'm not suggesting we do that in any way, and obviously there are definitely some people with real disorders here, I just ask that everyone be aware that this is a real, serious things that we are talking about, and we shouldn't just look a disorder up online and decide that we have it because it sounds cool. Instead, we should go to a doctor and let them decide, because they will actually be able to help us. I imagine it is kind of irritating for people who actually have these disorders to see so many completely average, healthy people saying that they have an illness they do not actually have. There are people out there who fight every day with mental illness, because it is so hindering to their lives that it has completely taken over in their daily routine. Some would give anything not to have the disorder they have. We're all a lot better off than we think we are, really.

I couldn't agree more with this! I wouldn't call myself anorexic by a long shot but I have recently had problems with eating and my weight so I have at least a vague idea of how hard it must be for peole with proper eating disorders and I sympathise completely. At my worst I was eating 400 calories a day and exercising for at least 3 hours daily. But although it's been mentally incredibly challenging I've been eating 1700 calories a day for six weeks and working really hard and I now weigh almost 84lbs! I know at 5ft 4 and almost 15 years old I should be nearer 100lbs at the lowest to be considered healthy but I'm just so happy that I'm finally getting better. I feel really silly now and I know I'll regret posting this as I don't like to talk about it much but you guys here at TT always make me feel so welcome and I wanted to share a bit of good news with you all (if you're interested at all lol). So yeah, if you managed to read that all thanks !!

 

[indiGOtama]

That is awesome, Izzy! Are you speaking with anyone to help you along the way, too? I would recommend it, because it might make the process go smoother and quicker. Thank you for sharing this with us.

 

[Izzyd07]

That is awesome, Izzy! Are you speaking with anyone to help you along the way, too? I would recommend it, because it might make the process go smoother and quicker. Thank you for sharing this with us.

Thanks, it means a lot! I am currently seeing a nutritionalist and a doctor. My school nurse and mum had to practically drag me there at first but now I'm so glad I went.

 

[ZombieButterflies]

According to my doctors except for my lung doctor, I'm a hypochondriac. My whole lower body functions are so messed up right now. I'm afraid I have cancer or something. I got sent to the Emergency room last year by my doctor because I wasn't getting enough air. Found out my lymph nodes in my lungs are enlarged.

Tested my blood and told me that I may have Sarcoidosis. Lung doctor thinks so too.

This is what it is:

Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disease that affects multiple organs in the body, but mostly the lungs and lymph glands.

 

[dazzilitchigirl]

I don't have any diagnosed disorders...at one point people thought I was autistic but it turned out I'm not, just a bit antisocial. However, I get really annoyed when I hear certain noises, or even certain ways of pronouncing words. I can't say whether that's an actual disorder, but it's definitely annoying.

 

[Amat Gotchi]

No disorders that I know of, but super fear of the cardiovascular system.

As in: veins, arteries, blood, hearts,...

AND heartbeats. I can't stand my own heartbeat: the sound, the feeling.

So it's kind of hard to read over all my study guides about the cardiovascular system ad nauseam.

Also, I've figured out that I'm afraid of decisions and commitment. :/

Edit: spelling and added something.

 

[Samjjetchi]

I haven't been diagnosed with any disorders per se... but I haven't ever seen a doctor about much.

I like to joke that I have OCD, but I really doubt I do have it. I'm just very fanatic about order and sequence and everything being in its right place with certain things (I don't need to knock on doors 5 times or anything like that).

Although just today I decided to look up symptoms for Social Anxiety Disorder, and while I don't think I have it, I certainly have a lot of the symptoms (namely upon meeting new people assuming that they dislike me, and rather not making the first step in order to talk to people who I am uncomfortable around). But I don't really want to explore it further because I don't think that I have an actual disorder, I'm probably just being too judgemental of myself and others, and assuming that they'd be the same towards me. I just don't have the confidence to do the things that I want to do, or get to know those who I'd like to get to know better.

 

[dazzilitchigirl]

Well, as I've said several times here, I don't have any disorders, but I do take ages getting to sleep. Last night it took me 5 hours to get to sleep, I got 4 hours sleep and still woke up at 6 AM without my alarm going off. I'm not tired because I'm used to it though, I get an average of about 7 hours sleep every night and I'm meant to have 10. I've had trouble sleeping for as long as I can remember. Probably nothing to worry about, though. If I don't get irritable or have trouble concentrating, it's fine.

 

[Amat Gotchi]

Well, as I've said several times here, I don't have any disorders, but I do take ages getting to sleep. Last night it took me 5 hours to get to sleep, I got 4 hours sleep and still woke up at 6 AM without my alarm going off. I'm not tired because I'm used to it though, I get an average of about 7 hours sleep every night and I'm meant to have 10. I've had trouble sleeping for as long as I can remember. Probably nothing to worry about, though. If I don't get irritable or have trouble concentrating, it's fine.

I've always had a lot of trouble sleeping too. Ever since I was really little (like, 5 years old) sleep deprivation has been my natural state of being.

 

[violetvioletchi]

None diagnosed but I do experience quite a bit of anxiety.