Originally Posted by Sarah Mae

Tara,
Absolutely not. There's nothing wrong with having anxiety, and I believe I said that somewhere, though it may not have been in this post. I can't remember.

I struggled with depression and anxiety back in high school--majorly. It was mostly situational/circumstantial, not something that I will struggle with for life like a lot of people.

It's just that I don't want ANYTHING in a permanent record that isn't true. I don't want them saying I have anxiety, or cancer, or a job... anything that isn't correct should not be a part of my records, and I think he should have discussed it with me and asked me if I struggle with anxiety before "diagnosing me" on paper and not even telling me about it. I think it is just because of my fear of the shots, but one fear does not equal anxiety and panic attacks. (Yes, he stated I had panic attacks--I don't.)

I don't want this in my record just as I wouldn't want another mistake, even if it seems minor. If some doctor took me saying "I am helping to start a ministry at my church to reach out to those with disabilities or illnesses" and said "Has a job working with the church/those with disabilities", I would not be okay with that as well.

If a doctor thinks that I struggle with anxiety, that will reflect on the types of care that I can/cannot recieve and how they view the whole situation. It's not that I dislike or don't want to be associated with only anxiety. I think it's perfectly normal with people with a lot of medical problems to struggle with depression and/or anxiety. But, because I do not, I don't want them stating that I do... especially without asking me first.

Yes, I could be "in denial" and then I can see where they would put it in my records anyway--I realize that doctor's aren't required to get permission for the things they write about us.

I just think it's a courtesy issue... he is not a psychologist and isn't properly trained to diagnose those things, so to put that label on a permanent record can affect things in the future.

I will be talking to him about it, and telling him (politely) that I am upset about all of this. The man who did the psych evaluation made it sound as if I will not be able to move forward with the SCS process simply because I have "untreated anxiety" and that to move forward, I would need to undergo treatment or be on medicine.

Since I don't struggle with anxiety daily, but rather just have a few fears like everyone else does (heights, shots in my back, etc), I refuse to be treated and given medicine for something that I don't have! That is ridiculous. And everyone keeps saying "It's not the end of the world--a lot of doctors write things that we don't like." Yes.. but there is a big difference in my mind between writing something that we don't like (taking the truth and making it sound negative instead of positive, or writing things in our records that we wish we hadn't told them) and making up a diagnosis on the spot that is absolutely incorrect. It's frustrating that people don't seem to understand why this upsets me... they all seem to think that I look down on people who have anxiety and that I just don't want to be associated with the term because I think those people are weak... and that is not at all the case.