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I Have Avoidant Personality Disorder

Recently Diagnosed...

By: atlstar08
Written on April 24th, 2012
I've recently been diagnosed with this disorder a couple of weeks ago. I'd never heard of it before my meeting with the psychiatrist and now that I have a name, something to call it... I feel so broken. For the first couple of days after my diagnosis I felt even more worthless than before, even a little angry. I still feel pretty depressed about it. I thought that if I knew what was wrong with me... I don't know really. I didn't think I would feel worse. I guess I'm just afraid that I don't have what it takes to get better.
By: atlstar08
Age: 22-25 , Female
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2 responses
  • AvoidantPerson
    AvoidantPerson

    Hi, I was just diagnosed today and I reacted the exact same way. For so many years, I always knew that something was not quite right with me. I searched for a name for it, and now that I have a label, I don't like it. Just like you I felt anger and I also wondered if I had the strength to overcome it. As soon as I got out of the doctors office I started looking it up. Maybe the way that we are feeling right now are all part of the disorder. I asked my doctor if this is something that I can change and he seemed to be optimistic and said "this is something that you learned, and you can unlearn it." So with hard work, he said I can improve. But yes, it felt like a death sentence and I have been ruminating over it all day. I hope that you are feeling a little better (since it has been about a month since you posted) and I wanted to let you know that I read your post, you're not alone and we can do this!

    May 22, 2012
    2 likes
    • atlstar08
      atlstar08

      I appreciate that! I have been doing so much better since the diagnosis. It does help knowing that I am not going through this alone and that there is a chance that I can get better. I’m not going to lie I have had my ups and downs, days where I just want to scream. It is going to take a lot of time and hard work to undo a lifetime of this learned behavior. That alone is scary. Support from others helped me a lot so far. It also helps that I have an awesome psychologist. The fact that we are seeking help speaks volumes. We can definitely beat this thing.

      May 23, 2012
      1 like