What is a Diagnosis For? A diagnosis is a working label so that we can make plans. An urban planner identifies traffic patterns and times and gridlock or "stuckness" We can then layout all these ways of unsticking; traffic light coordination, wider streets and banning autos. This is the same as an a MD treating the heart with a pacemaker, angioplasty and banning certain fatty foods. The problem with mental health diagnosis is that there is so much to try and see. I am sure that in 20 years {once we learn to get along on this planet} there will be really amazing computer simulations and brain scans that make us seem primitive now except for the fact that a complete approach that does no harm can really give tools to people to really heal and change and direct their unstuck energies in exceptional ways. Also mental health diagnosis is still driven in some parts by hopelessness and dread. Take "BPD"Borderline personality Disorder,please,for a description see Borderline personality disorder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Wikipedia is so great for this. Now the trouble with this diagnosis which I shall now call "Emotional Dysregulation"{see it already confuses] is that it confuses.Not the part about emotional dysregulation that just means surging energies in the brain caused hormones like adrenaline and neurotransmitted signal bursts that are basically homeostatically conditioned chaos, plus history and environment and genetics leading a really hard time regulating actions and behavior and perception that can be fatal and dangerous, but more about the many ways this can be treated later. Right now we are just commenting on how often this disorder can be confused with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or Bipolar Disorder and why appropriate diagnosis are needed for appropriate treatment and the reverse is worse, to be continued on the next page under "Let's do really effective treatment planning. written 3/20/2008
Contact Eric Bellman LCSW at: westlakedr@aol.com Office 32129 lindero Canyon Road Suite 108-E Westlake Village CA. 91361