Hello Mastodon!

My name is Delilah. (it's my online alias, not a legal name). I am a psychologist and youth counselor, and I mostly work with people suffering from personality disorders, eating disorders, and ASD/ADHD/ADD.

I have had teenage patients as well as adults and even families. In my career I even worked at schools but ended up abandoning that path due to constant defunding, where I no longer could help people without struggling to pay bills.

I will be posting mostly about how mental disorders work and to share some information about them. However I want to make it clear, that what I post should never be a substitute for actual medical consultation, and that I will not do therapy on social media.
I want to keep myself somewhat anonymous to not reveal my real-life identity, and to of course respect privacy laws related to my profession.

Outside of that, I like to keep myself up to date with technology and privacy, as it affects our mental health no matter how much we tend to deny this. I'm a cat mom of two, and love to tend to my mini-garden of vegetables.

I am not from USA, and English is not my first language, so please excuse my mistakes. I also ask to respect my privacy and be kind!

Looking forward to meeting new friends, and hopefully there are some profession peers on Mastodon?

The American Psychiatric Association Publishing Textbook of Personality Disorders, Third Edition by Andrew E. Skodol, M. D. & John M. Oldham, M.D, 2021

The subject of personality-what makes us each unique and different from one another-has long been a topic of universal fascination. From a medical perspective, the empirical and clinical research on personality disorders has expanded with the advent of standardized diagnostic systems.

@bookstodon
#books
#psychiatry
#PersonalityDisorders

For anyone thay may need this: https://www.outofthefog.net/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=78fcb02b69f9553242f33948db2ce573&

A support forum for those that suffer or live with family with Personality Disorders, particularly children of PD parents.

#Support #PersonalityDisorders #BPD

Dialectical Behavior Therapy #DBT is a godsend for folks with #PersonalityDisorders, and I really think just about anyone - #MentallyIll or not - could benefit from its concepts.

As someone who simultaneously struggles with Borderline Personality Disorder #BPD and Attention Deficit Disorder #ADD/#ADHD, being able to consistently implement and maintain the principles of DBT feels like a monumental and discouraging challenge, not the least of which is the cost of attending traditional #therapy when my partner and I are struggling just to survive. And in order to become stable enough to survive, we need to develop the #CopingSkills taught in DBT.. but we can't afford it!

My ADHD augments my BPD, leaving me with zero self-discipline. For example, I've dabbled with Duolingo and have a 42 day streak going, it's probably the longest amount of time I've maintained a healthy habit in my entire life. I need help to focus and I'm tired of feeling too ashamed to say so.

I realize people need to be compensated for their pioneering work in #behavioraltherapy but I wonder if there's some way to "open source" the teaching and practicing of DBT for people like me who otherwise couldn't afford it, and will *never* be able to afford it without the skills therein! Chronic #poverty shouldn't be a nearly insurmountable obstacle to effective treatment whether it be mental health or otherwise.

At this point I'm essentially #SelfMedicating with #cannabis most of my waking hours to cope with.. well, the shitshow that is my personal life with #MentalIllness and the burning shitshow that is the world. I can't afford to do that long-term.

I truly, honestly believe DBT is a miracle but we need a way to #share the knowledge as a matter of improving overall humanity.

Thoughts? Ideas? Slipped into a coma trying to finish this? I understand.

EDIT: Made slightly more long-winded and repetitive, also sprinkled more hashtags to hopefully increase reach.