Advice about support/assessment letter please!

[jitterbug]

I’m supposed to be studying right now but I’ve been sat here for over 2 hours now just worrying about what to do about something. – I keep meaning to sign up to the online talking service my GP recommended, or failing that, find somewhere less ‘ongoing’ that I can go to for a little support for ‘my GAD’, OCD etc, but the same thing seems to stop me every time and I can’t see an out. The assessment I had was much less than satisfactory, with the lady having a very cold demeanour and (I felt) not really listening to most of what I was trying to say. She made me feel very anxious and on the spot and I clammed up somewhat, not really saying a lot of I went to talk about and missing things out.

A while later, I got the report and was surprised to see it did actually echo what I originally got referred for, however, before ‘GAD’ there was a little question mark. I know it sounds really silly but the fact that I didn’t go into all the details properly at the assessment and the fact that that horrid little question mark is sitting there before the sentence plays on my mind so much that I worry that the question mark means I don’t really have it, that the diagnosis wasn’t official, the assessment wasn’t proper, and I can’t tell anyone about it or seek any advice/support for it because it’s not really officially real and I can’t bring myself to tell anyone “I have GAD” or “I need to talk about GAD” if I don’t know for certain that I properly do. So I just spend a few hours worrying about what to do and never doing anything.
I'm also worried that because I didn't go into everything properly, the diagnosis isn't legitimate. I left a fair amount out because of how she made me feel and the report mentioned a more 'obsessional focused' ocd, whereas it's more of an even split.

I know it sounds very complicated but this is a recurring issue for me and I don’t know what to do about it as I don’t want to annoy my GP by taking this there and there’s no one else to ask. I don’t even know if there is a solution.

Has anyone had a similar experience or assessment letter? Any advice?

[Lynz]

If you've only just started to be assessed they're not going to officially diagnose you until they've explored more of the problem, to find out if it is actually GAD or one of the many other anxiety disorders that are similar to it. That is why there is a question mark. It most likely means that the person assessing you suspects you have GAD, but that more information is required before making a proper diagnosis, or it could be that the person who assessed you isn't qualified to diagnose you, so you will be diagnosed by a therapist when you see them or someone similar. My OCD wasn't diagnosed by my GP. My GP in her notes wrote that she suspects I have OCD but she didn't want to diagnose me which was why I was referred to a consultant psychologist and it was him who diagnosed me as having both OCD and GAD.

I wouldn't get too hung up about this. I know it can be frustrating waiting for a proper diagnosis but it can take time to officially diagnose someone, especially with an anxiety disorder, because there are so many of them and they can all present with similar symptoms.

[jitterbug]

Thank you very much for your quick reply. I don't think I was clear enough before though, sorry. The assessment was after a referral from my GP, done by a 'psychologist' and it was her letter (also forwarded to the GP) that stated this.
She also said that no further treatment would be given at that centre and advised that I seek counselling through alternate services and no follow up is taking place. As far as assessments go, that was it.

However, I'm finding it really hard at the moment getting hung up on the fact that I left a fair amount out, she didn't seem to listen to some of what I said and the little question mark preceeding the sentence. I don't know how I can go for counselling when I'm doubting the standard of assessment and unsure of the validity of diagnosis. I'm not sure what the answer is but my mind seems to be preoccupied with it all and I'm finding it difficult to know what to do.

[Lynz]

Ah ok I see now. If that is the case then I would go back to your GP and explain everything that has happened. Mention that you left a lot out when you were being assessed, perhaps write all of it down what you want to say? That's what I did when I went to my GP. I wrote like 3 pages of notes detailing my condition, how it manifests, how my thoughts present themselves etc., which she read, and she asked to keep them so she could use them in her referral letter. I also took these notes with me to my first appointment with my therapist and he referred to them as well when assessing me and making my diagnosis.

I did all of that because I knew I would probably be hopeless when trying to explain it verbally. So I ensured I wrote everything down that I wanted to get across so that nothing was left out.