I know I've done a lot of reblogs recently, but others are managing to say things that I cannot find the words for at this point in my life. Charlotte Walker's tale here of her many attempts to get help throughout her life sounds so familiar.
I don't claim to suffer from mental illness to the degree she does, but I do have long term depression, and I also have a physical illness that for many years was considered to be 'all in the mind' by many, and in fact has only this year been given a name of any kind for me, despite them both having affected my life for a quarter of a century.
I too was in my early teens when things first started. I too have had the 'puberty, periods, hormones, pregnancy, women's problems' excuses thrown at me. I've been told it 'can't be that because you know too much about it'. And I've also had diagnosis changes thrown at me with no warning, sometimes varying between the actual conversation with the specialist, and the report they then send my GP.
The battle to get help, to discover what the true issue really is, to be believed ... all slotted into periods where the illness is not too bad, but also not too good, so that you are physically and emotionally able to seek help in the first place, and yet not appear 'too well' and hence be written off at the same time ... is an ongoing struggle that all too many are unable to maintain.
http://purplepersuasion.wordpress.com/2014/08/12/on-seeking-help/
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