UHNW and HNW WOMEN: WHAT DOES YOUR MENTAL HEALTH DIAGNOSIS MEAN?

facets of you – UHNW WOMEN & MENTAL HEALTH

WHAT DOES YOUR MENTAL HEALTH DIAGNOSIS MEAN?

DOES HAVING A MENTAL HEALTH ILLNESS DIAGNOSIS CHANGE YOUR MINDSET AND HOW YOU REACT TO YOUR ENVIRONMENT?

Join today’s conversation on why you as an UHNW or HNW Women are coming to terms with your diagnosis of a mental health illness and the effects of this to your UHNW / HNW status and life from this moment onwards. How is this changing who you think or believe that you are? Is the diagnosis a clarity to your new life going forward? Or, is it a hindrance to the destination that you want to get to? By having a mental health illness diagnosis has this changed who you are? Are people’s behaviour around you changing because of the mental health disorder label? Are you now more concerned about your actions and how people view you? Do you like being labelled with a mental health diagnosis? Is it an asset or a hindrance to your status as a wealthy woman?

You are an affluent woman. You are shy or an introvert. Perhaps with low level autism. You live in an affluent home. You live an affluent lifestyle. You have weight fluctuations. You have dietary impulses. Yet now you have to deal with having a mental health disorder and managing how this makes you feel. Warts and all.

You feel and sense that something is wrong with you in an area of your mind. In an area of your actions. You dip between durations of sorrow, sadness, extreme actions and thoughts, through to elation, highs, laughter, joy love and creativity. Some mental health conditions are common in urban and rural societies. Whilst others are specialist mental health conditions that require acute referrals for specific priority care.

What if anything does your diagnosis mean to you as a HNW woman? Are you satisfied with the diagnosis that you have? And how do you think about your diagnosis? What would be more acceptable to you 1. being diagnosed with a common mental health illness like anxiety, or depression? Or, 2. having a diagnosis for a complex mental health illness where you are referred to a specialist? Have you given thought as to why diagnosis is needed and can it ever be in error?

So let us start with a number; an estimation. Question: How many mental health ‘disorders’ do you think that there are?
Answer: According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) the list of mental health disorders is circa 200. In 2017 the WHO stated that mental health issues had risen to one in four people globally.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS?

	A World Health Organisation (WHO) selection of some mental health disorders
1	Acquired Aphasia With Epilepsy.
2	Acute & Transient Psychotic Disorder, Unspecified.
3	Acute Polymorphic Psychotic Disorder Without Symptoms Of Schizophrenia.
4	Atypical Bulimia Nervosa.
5	Bipolar Affective Disorder.
6	Cluttering.
7	Conduct Disorders.
8	Delusional Disorder.
9	Dementia.
10	Developmental Disorder Of Scholastic Skills, Unspecified.
11	Developmental Disorder Of Speech And Language Unspecified.
12	Elaboration of Physical Symptoms For Psychological Reasons.
13	Emotional Disorders With Onset Specific To Childhood.
14	Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder.
15	Enduring Personality Change, Unspecified.
16	Exhibitionism.
17	Feeding Disorder Of Infancy & Childhood.
18	Histrionic Personality Disorder.
19	Mania With Psychotic Symptoms.
20	Mixed And Other Personality Disorder.
21	Mixed Anxiety And Depressive Disorder.
22	Mixed Disorders Of Conduct & Emotions.
23	Moderate Depressive Episode.
24	Nonorganic Disorder Of The Sleep-Wake Schedule.
25	Nonorganic Insomnia.
26	Orgasmic Dysfunction.
27	Other Psychosexual Development Disorders.
28	Overeating Associated With Other Psychological Disturbances.
29	Paranoid Personality Disorder.
30	Post Schizophrenic Depression.
31	Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
32	Predominantly Compulsive Acts [Obsessional Rituals].
33	Receptive Language Disorder.
34	Residual Schizophrenia.
35	Schizo-Affective Disorder, Mixed Type.
36	Social Phobias.
37	Stuttering (stammering).
38	Trichotillomania.

WHAT IS A DIAGNOSIS TO A MENTAL HEALTH DISORDER?

There are many different mental disorders, with a myriad of representations. The presenting of a mental health disorder is usually characterised by a combination of abnormal thoughts, behaviour, emotions, perceptions and relationships with others.

Help for clients can be through the following:

1. Enabling the ability to diagnose using effective strategies for preventing mental health disorders, such as anxiety or depression.

2. Enabling the use of effective treatments for mental health disorders and a method(s) to alleviate the suffering caused by them.

3. Enabling clear signposting and access to health care and social services that are capable of providing treatment and social support is vital to a client’s well-being package, programme or schedule.

Mental disorders include: intellectual disabilities and developmental disorders including autism, bipolar affective disorder, dementia, depression, schizophrenia and other psychoses.

Help for clients can be through the following:

1. Enabling the ability to diagnose using effective strategies for preventing mental health disorders such as depression.

2. Enabling the use of effective treatments for mental health disorders and a method(s) to alleviate the suffering caused by them.

3. Enabling clear signposting and access to health care and social services that are capable of providing treatment and social support is vital to client’s well-being package, programme or schedule.

DOES IT COMFORT YOU OR DISTURB YOU TO FIND OUT THE NUMBERS AND LEVELS OF MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS THAT ARE OUT THERE?

Client: Ayuka

Ayuka: I am not surprised that there are so many diagnosis available. I must admit that it is overwhelming. Overwhelming that there is so much pain and suffering through mental illness in this world. Every one is different. Every one is complex.

Client: Jane

Jane: I feel disturbed by mental health. Disturbed that there seems to be more of it, rather than less of it. The established solutions cannot be working if there is still all this increase in mental health disorder.

Client: Wendy

Wendy: There will be some denials but I believe that every person on this globe; living or dead, has suffered at least one mental health disorder at some point in their life.

Client: Nikita

Nikita: The numbers of mental health are just increasing. It is a huge industry now. It is a money spinner. The more money you have the better you will receive help. The law of the jungle.

WHAT IF ANYTHING DOES YOUR DIAGNOSIS MEAN TO YOU?

Client: Nikita

Nikita: Diagnosis means labels to me. Without a label you cannot receive a treatment. Diagnosis = labels = treatment.

Client: Jane

Jane: For me it is very simple. Without a diagnosis you are not going to get the help that you need from the people who know best. Or who can refer you to someone else to take care of your condition.

Client: Freyja

Freyja: I view the value of any diagnosis in a very personal way. I often think why people feel a need for diagnosis. Why is it wanted. Why would you really welcome a mental illness label from a committee of people who view you as a case study just to access support? It is something to get your head around and come to terms with. Particularly if you are the type of person who is inquisitive and always asks questions. After all, you are putting your life in the hands of someone else who is going to meddle with your psyche.

Client: Ayuka

Ayuka: If you start the train of thought that psychiatry has a tyranny over society, then the thought continues that for some people they may be reluctant to look for support. That this idea of the psychiatry sector is going in a direction that is more about controlling a patient instead of helping them get better. That just means that your train of thought is going to conclude that you do not want to be a part of the system. The psychiatry system. That it is subverted and undermines your well-being.

HOW ACCURATE IS YOUR DIAGNOSIS?

Client: Freyja

Freyja: When I had my diagnosis I felt as though I was fitting into a pidgeon hole for the convenience for a diagnosis. A starting point for the diagnosis, which became a label for my condition. Labels are for things not people. I am sure that there are some disreputable people in the mental health sector who take advantage of a patient’s condition for the purpose of a case study. There is great rivalry in the sector. At the end of it all it all come back to the patient. The client. The person seeking help. The only good thing about a diagnosis is that it has enabled me to get support that I would not otherwise have received. There was a bit of a delay in getting the help that I needed and my condition was not getting any better during the wait, but the road to recovery can sometimes be busy with traffic all wanting to go in the same direction for help.

Client: Thina

Thina: I have to say that I am pleased with the diagnosis that I received. I have had anxiety and bulimia for years. It was the realisation that I had to face. At the back of my mind I knew I needed a diagnosis. It soon became apparent that it was urgent that it was dealt with face to face with someone. It was a huge relief when I had the conversation about the diagnosis.

Client: Jane

Jane: I cannot tell you how happy I was to have received a diagnosis and a diagnosis that made sense to me. That resonated with me. That other people were also going through. It was not just me being strange, being different. When you have a consultation about your disorder, you suddenly realise that there are mental health disorder levels of impact and that there are other people who are also suffering as you. That they are also going through a form of recovery to aid their well-being from the diagnosis.

Client: Wendy

Wendy: I look at any diagnosis from a matter of fact viewpoint. A statement and a label for the present. I take the label and I do whatever I choose with it.

Client: Ayuka

Ayuka: A diagnosis is a solution to better form of treatment. A diagnosis is a label that can lead you to better signposting as far as I am concerned. I have no problem with having a diagnosis, especially as it was good to receive after several years of denial.

SHOULD A DIAGNOSIS EXIST OR SHOULD THE CURRENT DIAGNOSTIC MODEL CHANGE?

Client: Nikita

Nikita: I have a dislike of my diagnosis. The primary diagnosis that I have been given is something called Broadline Personality Disorder. I dislike that diagnosis immensely. When you are affluent and people know you; or think that they know you, they all look enviously at your lifestyle. When you are affluent and people hear the rumbles of the gossip that you are mentally ill people begin to start seeing you differently. Family. Friends. Associates, Colleagues and Professionals. This last group of people tend to view you as attention seeking. Machiavellian. You are a pretender and the illness is not real. Not genuine.

Client: Thina

Thina: It is all very well for others with mental health issues to say that current diagnostic models should change or not even exist, because they dislike the diagnosis that they are given. For me, if I had to remove my diagnosis label instantly I would not be happy with that situation, because when I was diagnosed with bipolar it was an answer to my condition. Those that I had to inform about my mental health ‘disorder’ then realised that I was not doing whatever I was doing for attention. For instance, my attempting suicide. Or self harm. I was doing whatever I was doing because I actually have a brain disorder.

Client: Freyja

Freyja: I am a great believer that something needs to change with the way that diagnosis is assessed and delivered. Should diagnosis exist? Probably yes, but diagnosis is subjective from the view point of the person doing the diagnosis. I will give you an example. When I was hearing voices I was going to be given a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. My mum had arrived with me at the doctor’s office and she attended the appointment with me. Do you know what she said when she heard the diagnosis. She said “Do you think you could rethink that diagnosis, because it could potentially be extremely stigmatising in professional and social circles.” Do you know what happened? The diagnosis was changed. So you see the current diagnostic model is so much more about subjective viewpoints and opinions of the doctor. These subjective viewpoints and opinions really come into focus and action when these so-called professional mental health doctors; who are mainly white, have patients with dark skins. These non white patients are seen as guinea pigs for case studies. It is as though the doctors want to evidence their belief or ideals of racial stereotypes by sectioning those patients directly under any excuse that the diagnosis allows. Dangerous. Very dangerous. There are far too many consultants like that who are set loose in the mental health sector. Far too many. That is why it is always best to seek the consultant or doctor that you feel good with and that understands you. Do not always accept what you are given. It is your life at stake. Your well-being. Your sanity. Not theirs. Thank goodness for my mum being there.

WHAT IS THE DIAGNOSIS FOR?

Client: Jane

Jane: A diagnosis can be for the benefit of the patient. Or the benefit of the doctor. I like to believe that a diagnosis is solely for the benefit of the patient. That has to be the objective. Secondly is the need of the doctor. By that I mean that a diagnosis can aid the doctor to provide you with the perfect solution, or to send you to the right places where you can receive the solutions.

Client: Nikita

Nikita: Many people want to know what the purpose of a diagnosis is for. I see it this way. The purpose of a diagnosis is to serve professionals. Diagnosis are as varied as the people who think that they know best and make the diagnosis. The so-called professionals. The professionals who after years of training and development still get people misdiagnosed far too frequently. So making a diagnosis is very flawed. It is certainly not objective. It is not very scientific, at least that is my belief, judging by the experiences of others who have not had good experiences through wrong diagnosis. However, it does still have a purpose. It helps people to get the right treatment. Until something better comes up it will be a hit and miss affair with the professional that you see and the diagnosis that they think is correct for your condition.

Client: Ayuka

Ayuka: Diagnosis is for the individual who is suffering and needs support in order to live with the mental disorder as well as manage it.

Client: Jane

Jane: A diagnosis means that you are on a list and you need to be on the list to get help. If you want to take away the diagnosis label, then how are you ever going decide what you are? What you need? Where to get help?

Client: Freyja

Freyja: Diagnosis is diagnosis. Sometimes it works. Most of the time it does not. So it is not surprising when people call it pants. Diagnosis is at the hand of the person wielding the pen and ticking the boxes. I mean the labels that these professionals put you under keep changing.

I was celibate and now I am a lesbian. Not too long ago being a lesbian was seen as a mental illness. It still is in some societies around the world. We all know that viewpoint of society and so-called professionals is crap. Crap that is reinforced through mental health diagnosis. Society with an agenda to control.

Client: Wendy

Wendy: Diagnosis has to start from somewhere. Clearly there have been case studies and from the case studies you arrive at results. Results based on theory. Results based on practices. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is understood in most places of the world. It is good that countries are learning from each other and not maintaining their Neanderthal brains in arriving at conclusions. The more progression in learning throughout the sector the better. What is even more impressive is the scope of professionals from a variety of cultural backgrounds who have entered the sector. This is an improvement to the industry of mental health. There is more cultural understanding in mental health. This is a terrific way for us to gather information. To see better results. Quantitatively. Qualitatively.

ARE THERE ANY CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE YOU SHOULD CHALLENGE A DIAGNOSIS?

Client: Nikita

Nikita: A part of the problem with diagnosis is that I think that we should be much less focused on diagnosis. We should be more focused on the symptoms that the person is expressing or presenting, rather than putting labels on people. As soon as you put a label on a patient the next thing is to load them with medication.

Challenging a diagnosis can be strenuous. Incredibly so. You may not necessarily agree with a diagnosis, but to challenge a diagnosis when you are having an ‘episode’ is a problem. When you tell the consultant one thing that is real and happening to you, or a string of events that has happened to you the consultant can belittle your experiences and dismiss it. They can say; and they are allowed to say, “No, this is what you have.” So once you have been given a diagnosis label it sticks. That is it. Unless you hunt around for another consultant that you feel more comfortable with and understands what you are saying.

Client: Wendy

Wendy: I feel lost without my parents. They were my steadfasts. If they were here would they have challenged the diagnosis? Who knows. My parents were fairly easy going people. Not wanting to upset the apple cart. I miss them as a support to my life. I can try to deny it and tell myself I feel fine.  But I am not. I have new friends. I have the relationships that suit me and they have given me the strength to challenge things in life, where before I would have let slide.  In, challenging a diagnosis from my therapist I felt that it was simply the inner child in me wanting to rebel against a decision based upon someone else’s idea of who I am. Who I was.

Client: Ayuka

Ayuka: Wow! Challenging a diagnosis. You know something, you know yourself better that anyone else. You can find the time to research the condition. See if what is written resonates with you. Ideally; time permitting, go and see a therapist. Talk about the diagnosis. Talk about how you are feeling. This is your life after all. Take charge of it.

CAN A MENTAL ILLNESS EVER END?

Client: Wendy

Wendy: I know that some diagnosis illnesses go away. Personally; right now, I feel that my diagnosis is a label on a mix of unfortunate events that have happened to me. When I feel depressed I will simply say to myself “OK, so now I am a member of the depression club.” It is not a throwaway remark it is simply a solidarity with myself to understand, do something about it, get past the feeling and feel good with myself again. To restore a balance with myself. Like saying to myself that “We are in this boat of a specific mental illness and we are in this together. This is the deal. We are going to manage this. And that is all that we are going to do.” Then there is a kind of realignment to help me through whatever I am going through.