Jamie’s story
“Medical professionals treated me as ‘less than’ others… I was tarred with the PD brush”
Content warning: domestic violence, sexual violence, abandonment
I have a history of type 2 trauma. Starting with a violent and volatile childhood, being abandoned by mother throughout childhood, and several sexual assaults as a teen and young adult. And domestic violence in several relationships as an adult.
Medical professionals treated me ‘less than’, especially while in the mental health ward. They wanted rid of me so much that they released me into my known abusers’ care after being told by family and close friends of the risks to my life at the time.
I was medicated, sedated and told I had a “chemical imbalance” in my brain
I have a history of addiction as drugs were my unhealthy coping mechanism for almost 20 years. Since my early teens I was medicated and sedated, being told I had a chemical imbalance in my brain.Then in my early 20s I was misdiagnosed with DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) and years later in the mental ward being diagnosed with a personality disorder. How I was diagnosed was by reading a pamphlet and asked if I could related to said pamphlet.
In the last 2 years I have had the support of the trauma Informed education provider I work for now, alongside my soon to be husband and my psychotherapist. I have had my diagnosis changed to CPTSD (Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) and undergo EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) trauma therapy fortnightly.
I have used my lived experience in the last 4 years to support those like myself who find themselves tarred with the Personality Disorder brush, to see their true potential and for most be treated with a trauma formed approaches for the first time in their lives.
Speak your truth: your own experiences can help create change
If you want to share your experiences around this diagnosis you can take part in Platfform’s Truth Project.
Platfform are campaigning for a review of the use of the diagnosis of PD. Add your voice to our call for change by sharing your story. We will share these with Welsh Government and use them to strengthen our campaign.
For more information, and to access the survey, click here.
If you are in a mental health crisis, please read this paragraph
If you have been affected by anything in this story and would like to talk to someone you can call Samaritans on 116 123. You can also call the national mental health support line for advice on 111 (press 2).
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Stories from: The diagnosis of personality disorder
This diagnosis doesn’t tell us the full story – or the reasons behind people’s distress.
In these stories from within the medical system, people share their first-hand experiences, their lives after diagnosis, and the stories that the label can’t tell us.
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Share your story: the diagnosis of personality disorder
Platfform has been campaigning to have the use of the diagnosis in Wales reviewed. We want to make space for people’s stories to be heard within those calls for change.
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The Truth Project
Platfform’s Truth Project is our approach to hearing and bearing witness to people’s experiences. We will be looking at different aspects of the mental health system, and more widely, to understand what is happening to people.
