Problem solved

[CullenSch]

Problem solved

Edited February 27, 2014 by CullenSch

[donkey]

Your mom "diagnosed" you with Dysthymia and told the original therapist who went along with it , or the original therapist diagnosed you with it?

[CullenSch]

Mothers can't diagnose, silly! :P

Sorry for the ambiguity. The therapist diagnosed me with it without telling my mother or me until two years after the fact.

[Guest]

Some questions first: Are you AD now or a civilian applying for a flying position? Did you ever receive any MH counseling/treatment as a military member or dependent?

In the Air Force, the condition is usually known as "dysthymic disorder" (just a naming preference) and is part of the "depressive disorders" bucket. As you say, it sounds like you don't meet the dysthymia criteria in DSM-IV. If you can provide enough supporting evidence that you were mis-coded with dysthymic disorder, and the correct diagonses should have been adj. disorder, that pulls you out of one fire and into another. Adjustment disorder for greater than 6 months usually forces a reclassification from a "disturbance" condition to a mood or anxiety disorder. It may not be worth fighting over the semantics. Suggest you push for a waiver in the depressive disorder category and allow the Flight Surgeons and Waiver authority to analyze the specifics of the treatment/counseling. You should be eligible for waiver as you are more than 2 years from last treatment/counseling. You can't really call something like patient history a "black mark." The waiver will be assessed on your severity of condition and history since recovery. The most important thing to do now is get copies of as much of your record as you can. If you can't access anything, you'll need to coordinate (and likely pay) for another eval.

The applicable waiver guide sections are "MOOD DISORDERS (BIPOLAR DISORDER and DEPRESSION)" and "ADJUSTMENT DISORDERS." Link in my sig.

[CullenSch]

Some questions first: Are you AD now or a civilian applying for a flying position? Did you ever receive any MH counseling/treatment as a military member or dependent?

In the Air Force, the condition is usually known as "dysthymic disorder" (just a naming preference) and is part of the "depressive disorders" bucket. As you say, it sounds like you don't meet the dysthymia criteria in DSM-IV. If you can provide enough supporting evidence that you were mis-coded with dysthymic disorder, and the correct diagonses should have been adj. disorder, that pulls you out of one fire and into another. Adjustment disorder for greater than 6 months usually forces a reclassification from a "disturbance" condition to a mood or anxiety disorder. It may not be worth fighting over the semantics. Suggest you push for a waiver in the depressive disorder category and allow the Flight Surgeons and Waiver authority to analyze the specifics of the treatment/counseling. You should be eligible for waiver as you are more than 2 years from last treatment/counseling. You can't really call something like patient history a "black mark." The waiver will be assessed on your severity of condition and history since recovery. The most important thing to do now is get copies of as much of your record as you can. If you can't access anything, you'll need to coordinate (and likely pay) for another eval.

The applicable waiver guide sections are "MOOD DISORDERS (BIPOLAR DISORDER and DEPRESSION)" and "ADJUSTMENT DISORDERS." Link in my sig.

Thanks for the very helpful post! What do you mean by AD? I am 15 right now, so it is impossible for me to be a part of the military. Additionally, it will definitely be 2 years since treatment. Anyways, I have ceased going to any therapist or mental health care because both the "second opinion" therapist and my mother has deemed it unnecessary or at the very least, not wholly necessary. (In complete truth, the therapist said something along the lines of 'Almost anybody can benefit from seeing a therapist, but the decision is yours and your parent's')

Anyways, if I am able to prove that I was mis-coded with dysthymic disorder, would I necessarily need to be re-diagnosed with another disorder due to the length of time I spent with a therapist? I believe that I do not have any chronic mental issues. If I do not exhibit symptoms of other disorders, would it simply go off of my medical record, or at least be noted that it was a misdiagnosis? If I can't do anything about it, dysthymic disorder isn't the worst thing to have on your record, and the statistics on waiver handouts look pretty good as well. I just want to maximize my chances.

[Guest]

Unless I misread something, you didn't state your age or employment history, and I presumed anybody posting here is already in or nearly in a position to be competitive for a military career. Don't go to any further counseling unless you need it. Request copies of the documentation from both therapists. If you can't get the earlier one, the latest one would be fine, but getting both is preferable. Don't bother about how you were coded--just get the paperwork and give everything to the recruiter who will forward everything to MEPS (or the USAFA or however you intend to join), and they'll determine your eligibility for joining and eligibility for a waiver, if necessary.

Also, come back when you're at least 18.