[Schtarflucz]

There's also potentially some pride to swallow, but it's badly placed pride in the first place. The life-prevalence of perfect mental health is near zero.

Gender and race discrimination have mostly been tackled, sexual orientation is on it's way. Mental disorders will be the next milestone IMO.

All the best to the lost sheep :-)

[azanar]

There's also potentially some pride to swallow, but it's badly placed pride in the first place. The life-prevalence of perfect mental health is near zero.

It's not just a matter of pride; for my sake is a certain amount of skepticism in what all has been pathologized. Regardless of what motives, or who's, you might believe is a result of this, we seem hasty in pinning on conditions and prescribing meds. That behaviors may be off the norm seems a priori evidence that they are bad behaviors, and need to be corrected, and our triggering deviation from the norm seems to be narrowing. But then, this could be because I tend to become friends with all of the outliers, and I have a sampling bias. :-)

I have thought about chatting with one or two mental professionals myself, but more out of a sense of curiosity than a sense that I need to be chemically renormalized. I'd like to first figure out what I might potentially be diagnosed with, and then begin the much more interesting discussion of where it becomes a problem, and whether it matters as more than just a label I could potentially exploit for preferential treatment.

[liamk]

Clinical psychologist do not prescribe drugs (at least not yet), so your concerns would only apply with psychiatrists. Clinical psychologists help individuals tweak the ways they think and behave using "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)", a therapy the author of this post might benefit from.

[groby_b]

I wish you were right. Gender and race discrimination are still alive and well. (Granted, much has improved - but it's far from solved) And sexual orientation... Yeah, you see how the gay marriage thing is going. It's a long uphill struggle.

But before I darken the mood too much - I can only second the advice of seeing a therapist. And if you don't feel you can connect with the one you see, switch. No point in toughing it out.

I've done it, and let me just say that both the opportunity to speak openly about issues and the proper treatment have improved my life tremendously.