I was "ordered" to see a military psychiatrist after a rape & he saw me at least 1x a week for a year before diagnosing me with PTSD, depression, & a few other problems.

Hard call to make. The first time I knew of it, was when I self-diagnosed it. But then I found medical records that was showing I was diagnosed as early as 9. And all the schools and doctors did is drug me with Atarax, Ritallin, and Lithium. They could have removed me instead, but they didn't.
So they may not have caused the injury, but they allowed it to get far worse by their lack of action.

I had to supply my military discharge papers, any awards received during combat, and provide written background information as to the individual events. After all of the aforementioned was completed I was diagnosed with PTSD by a psychologist who worked for the Veterans Administration. I now see a therapist every other week and a different psychologist prescribes my meds.

I've been seeing doctors since I was very little and they all had some other explination as to what was wrong with me, all were rather messed up in my opinion. When I was 22 I started having intense flashbacks dealing with myself at a very young age and another young girl, when I say young I remember being maybe 5 or 6. I took this to my current doctor at the time and he said I was a pedophile for having those flashes so I left his office pissed off as ever and told him to go to hell. Then went to another psychotherapist that dealt with childhood abuse and asked him about those memories. He told me that I was likely to have been abused and he wanted to see more of me if I would allow him too. He was the first doctor to tell me I had PTSD and explained to me what it meant. He got me to open up about alot of things and I saw him for many years before he just vanished. Now I see a new psycho therapist that is very understanding. I am rather leery of doctors after the amount of torture I've go through with them. I'm glad to finally find a couple of doctors that I can trust.

jaa ne

Kat

I was diagnosed by a psychiatrist, the head of our local psych ward. I had attempted suicide(again) and Phil finally got me to open up in his office one day. His tactics are to not let up on you until you talk. I finally blurted out that I just can't stand the shit in my head, like pictures that keep poping up, or a movie that keeps showing just one clip over and over again.

He asked if I had ever had a traumatic event? I looked at him and answered, "Yeah which one would you like to hear about? The beatings, the mental abuse, the emotional abuse or the molestations? All created by my loving family."

I was dx'ed then. That was about 13 yrs ago, but have had flashbacks, anxiety, panic attacks since I was around 10 yrs old. I am 53 now. Fun, fun fun.

Perhaps in the U.S. it varies state-to-state. I was living in FL when I was diagnosed. My therapist at the rape crisis center told me she believed I had PTSD but she could not officially diagnose me that a psychiatrist had to do it - which is why I had a therapist and a psychiatrist mainly for the medications.

Diagnosed by a psychiatrist the first time. Began seeing a psychologist who specializes in PTSD and received my second diagnosis.

Right now, the only solid evidence I can use is the false heart-attack reports I have
read. Although they are not pleasant at the time, it is some consolation to learn that
there may not be some strange cardiac abnormality, or a broken rib still sticking into
the aorta. This has been the greatest gain of joining the forum. I'm not dying at the
rate I previously imagined. Hallelujah! Thank you, world.

To learn this means that perhaps, I can stop fearing for my life in these events, and
perhaps some PTSD symptoms remain. Whatever a medical staffer might diagnose is
unlikely to be based on the reality of the pain. Set them off on the wrong track if
anything, I'd predict. I'll listen to the heart first, and trust that it knows what it is
trying to achieve, in the long term, but time will tell. There's always therapy if all
else fails, eh?

It was in October of 1979. My best friend at work went to a psychiatrist after the Easter Flood that had devastated much of our city. We had had many discussions regarding all the traumatic incidents I had gone through. She said she trusted this woman psychiatrist, as she too had experienced childhood molestation, and believed it would be in my best interest to go see her. It was a hard task to face my personal demons. It was a long and arduous ordeal. Psychiatry has changed along with many of the medications.

The most valuable input I recieved though was from a nonprofit group for childhood abuse victims. It was there that I learned through a twelve step program how all the abuse and the traumatic incidents, as well as my family history, had a hand in shaping me into who I was. I went through it once for my childhood abuse and the second one was for the adulthood abuse. They actually gave the answers I wanted and needed all along that the psychiatrists and psychologists never gave. I feel that any persons wellness hinges upon their own awareness of all of the aspects. Little by little if need be, but don't allow these poor souls (like myself) to live lives of delusions that can easily be dispelled by sharing information.

2 psychologists and 2 psychiatrists. I should say that they have tried to diagnosis me with everything under the sun. From Bipolar, BPD, schizophrenia etc, etc but they all finally agreed on Extreme PTSD one of the severest cases that they have ever seen. Don't you just love second opinions.