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Many people lead normal happy lives with a mental health diagnosis. Something is wrong with everyone. Putting a name to the common class of struggles you strugg

• sageabilly 11y ago
  One of the most powerful moments of my life was realizing that I had binge eating disorder. Not "a lack of willpower", nothing that could be cured by just "trying harder", nothing that would respond to counting calories and bootstraps, but an actual DISORDER. A fucked-up wiring in my brain somewhere. Once I knew what the hell was actually going on I could then take steps to fix it correctly, scientifically, using proven methodology and techniques that worked for me. Instead of just throwing whatever at the wall and seeing what stuck I was seeking treatment that was targeted at exactly my issue and I could connect with others that were going through or who had gone through therapy for BED and who could relate to what I had gone through/was going through. Being able to name what's going on is an enormously powerful moment. Look at all the stories of people who have had some mystery illness or cancer or some rare diagnosis: they all talk about the relief they felt when they finally were diagnosed, even if the diagnosis was grim or didn't have an available treatment. There's a huge relief in knowing because then you have a starting point, somewhere to begin from, somewhere to rally yourself and set out away from, somewhere to call your personal "ground zero".