Too many doctors resist diagnosing people with chronic illness bc they think it's not worth it, or that people get "worse" and "depressed" after the diagnosis. Hmmm, maybe people appear visibly worse bc diagnosis validates them and they stop pretending everything is fine???
It's absolutely bizarre to me that so many doctors seem to think the diagnosis is what causes the discomfort, rather than the symptoms. It really feels like they're revealing the extent to which they believe what their patients are telling them.
Even if something can't be "treated", a diagnosis means recognition. You have terms to google, and a community with strategies to lean on. You can tell your workplace. Your family believe you. You believe YOURSELF that what you're going through is real and deserves care.
And yeah, maybe you will seem "sicker". You might be less likely to hide your symptoms, and more likely to tell people "hey, I have this condition, so I can't do that/have to rest sorry!". That's a good thing!
In an ideal world, we should be able to do that without a diagnosis, and I advocate for making your life as kind to your body and mind as you can regardless. But a diagnosis for chronic illness often does help, and I'm sick of doctors gatekeeping with such weak reasoning.
P.S. For those who think this isn't true, I've literally been told by a doctor that he does not want to look into fibromylgia re my pain shit bc he thinks the people diagnosed with it "end up in despair". Like wtf.....maybe that's because it's fucking hard?
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