I have been used to having my discomforts diagnosed, pathologized, and medicated. I was inarticulately soothed by having a personal need both valued and easily met. I realized I would be overloaded if I took the written exam in the main room. I asked to take the test alone. Again, easily, without judgement, I was able to complete the work in a way that maximized instead of stressing my ability.
Psychiatry uses diagnostic labels for authorization to intervene and fix.
I thought a lot about how my treatment disabled me. Here, I was experiencing the language and attitudes of anti-discrimination law. I was surrounded by the implicit valuing of my differentness. In mental illness circles there is much said about stigma. Stigma is an attitude and attitudes are very hard to change.