#reminder that having ANY MH diagnosis is dangerous in a medical setting

[fenrichaita]

Not only is having a mental health diagnosis in your records not neutral, but it is dangerous. Not just in the medical setting, but, yeah, including within the medical setting.

You are immediately less likely to be believed. You are immediately more likely to receive lower quality care, no matter what symptoms you're experiencing or whether or not it's considered a "physical" vs. "mental" issue. Everything will be attributed to your diagnosis, and depending on the nature of that MH diagnosis. Considering that most of these diagnosis are based in racial and gendered biases, among other things, they are "scientific" ways of declaring certain demographics less deserving of care in the medical setting.

A mental health diagnosis should not make you a second-class citizen during a medical emergency. The stigma is baked into these diagnoses, and it's killing people.