953anon

kids, to clarify, she did give me a phone number to call for the psychiatric department and told me to request an appointment with a psych NP. I asked her why, and she said I could speak to the nurse practitioner about my symptoms, giving her an entire overview of my feelings and things that have been going on with me (basically tell the NP what I told her), and the NP would be able to determine if medication was necessary. I openly discussed my doubts and fears about medication and I also openly told my therapist that it was possible that all of this "bipolar" stuff was just in my head since I did so much reading on it. I also told her I did not believe I was bipolar, I was just depressed and going through hard times (with loneliness, losing my friend, etc). She said that scheduling an appointment with the NP was entirely up to me and emphasized that the NP would be able to identify all of my symptoms when I spoke to her (which I found strange, since my therapist is a licensed psychologist). She told me that the NP might decide that medication would be unnecessary and that I just needed to do some more cognitive therapy, and that I could discuss that at the appointment if I decided to go. We ended that one session with her writing down the phone number for that department, leaving the decision up to me if I wanted to go. My interpretation of this was that she suspected bipolar as a mere possibility, and that the recommendation to see the NP was to let the NP decide about diagnoses. Does anybody interpret this the same way? She called me about a week later and left me a voicemail to see what I wanted to do for treatment and if I wanted to do any follow up with her and I did not respond (again, because I was very apprehensive about the whole bipolar thing).

Thank you all so much. I realized that I'm just extremely conscientious when it comes to this matter---I just don't want anybody, especially the BON, to think I'm hiding anything. You have all reassured me that I have nothing to hide and that bipolar was merely a possibility when symptoms of depression and mood swings came up. I suppose my knowledge of psychology made me try to self-diagnose, which as Viva pointed out, is not healthy. I've been doing so well the past few months (since the session I posted about), free of any emotional problems, and when I saw the word bipolar on the declaratory paperwork I guess I just felt like my past problems were coming back to haunt me. I know better now and I will not be disclosing anything. Thank you again. :)

(though I've spoken to the school counselor, I have not spoken to anybody else...she is the only person who knows about my depression, etc so I don't think it's on any medical records)

Just to clarify, vivalasviejas, I wouldn't need to disclose anything/fill out a declaratory order since I haven't really been diagnosed, correct?

Thank you so much for all of your responses and support. I feel so much better.. I guess I'm just panicking because I unreasonably think this little thing is something that might haunt me when I try to get my license. It's not like the BON will snoop around and research me later or anything (because 1, they wouldn't have/know of any reason to, and 2, they wouldn't have information anyway because of the confidentiality)...right? Just curious though, what would an "official" diagnoses be that would require a declaratory order? Would someone have to go through like a procedural bipolar diagnoses, and would that be on some kind of medical/mental illness record? I guess that's the question I had that started this whole thing.

Just want to add that I've never been on any kind of medication or had any 'manic episodes'; never done self-harm; never had any hallmark "psychotic" symptoms...I truly think that my therapist was just way off base

Hello all, this is a long post but I truly would appreciate a response because I don't know what to do! I got accepted into my school's Fall 2012 nursing program. I am filling out necessary paperwork/orientation stuff and noticed something regarding being diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, etc under declaratory orders. Now I need to give you background information about myself. In high school, I had a single best friend who was the only person I trusted. To cut the story short, our friendship ended 2 years ago when college started and it was very traumatic for me. I became very depressed for the past 2 years. I saw a university counseling specialist (that was her official title at the time, as of this year she is a licensed psychologist) around March 2011 for the depression. It was never serious enough to get in the way of my life or be dangerous but it was distressing to me because I was just sad all the time (typical depression). I stopped seeing her after a a month or so because I felt I just needed time to 'heal my wounds.' Then around March of this year, I went to visit her again because I was beginning to miss my friend again and was very sad about everyday life. To help you understand, most of my sadness was due to sheer loneliness. I talked to nobody other than my parents and occasionally some classmates. Anyways, I was experiencing ups and downs at the time because I was first of all depressed, but I was also very determined to cheer myself up. So I would try very hard to cheer myself up through movies, books, etc and I would feel happy for a while until I realized I was still just as lonely and sad. I told my therapist I was sick of trying to be happy and getting sad again. Basically, I think she interpreted this as bipolar disorder although she didn't explicitly say so. We just kind of discussed that people with mood swings might be bipolar. She didn't say that I was bipolar. In fact, during our discussions, I told her I've read up on bipolar and I don't fit the profile because when I'm "happy," it's not like a textbook manic/hypomanic episode (sleepless, irritable, racing thoughts, etc). I'm just simply interested in a book or movie that cheers me up...my positive moods weren't even visible to anybody. So we openly discussed bipolar, but the session did not result in an official diagnoses. She told me that I could look into calling the school's psychiatry department (rather than the counseling department she worked in) to talk to a nurse practitioner about my symptoms but I did not end up doing that because I felt the whole thing was going the wrong way. Since this session, I have done a lot of soul searching to see what it is that is "wrong with me" and I concluded that I'm simply just a negative thinker and I need to give people a chance. I think during that time, my periods of being happy were from being obsessed with fictional things like movies because I wanted to escape my sadness. I just need to let go of the past and try to be more positive, that's all. I've read inspirational self help books, gotten closer to my family, and have gone to church and I feel so much better without the help of a counselor. Even though I don't have close friends, I have nice acquaintances, a 4.0 GPA, a job as a barista, I don't do drugs or drink, I'm a very "goody two shoes" girl. I also want you to know that I am very interested in psychology and I have an understanding of mental illnesses and diagnoses and I can honestly say I am not bipolar. I'm not in denial, I am simply just not bipolar. I wouldn't want this one-hour discussion with my therapist to turn into something that could disrupt my career. My question is if this wishy-washy discussion about bipolar would be considered a "diagnoses of bipolar" that would require a declaratory order. If I don't fill out a declaratory order, would there be any consequences? Because I dont think I'm "diagnosed" and also the school counseling center has a confidentiality policy that keeps absolutely no academic record of my counseling and cannot disclose any of my information unless someone is in immediate danger (obviously nobody is in danger...) I'm so confused and stressed out! Please help me. Note-I don't really want to call the therapist to ask her about this because obviously that might lead to no good. Because I don't feel I was diagnosed, I am leaning towards just not filling out a form but I'm nervous and wanted to ask you all for your opinion.