u/probablybirdie

I’m 34f with a chronic illness that limits my ability to exercise. I’m cleared by my doc to lift but I have to limit my sessions to 2, max 3 days a week. I LOVE Ladder workouts but wonder if it’s worth using the app if I can only workout 2-3 times a week. Anyone have thoughts?

Also, I was doing Align during my free trial but would love thoughts on any other teams (or if Align would be best) that could be friendly for chronic illness. I have a gym membership and some limited home equipment. I have no movement restrictions or anything, just less energy overall and I have to be mindful of overdoing it. Thanks!

Hi, I’m 34f, not officially diagnosed but my therapist and I suspect schizoaffective, depressive subtype. One of my most distressing symptoms is a sense of noise or chaos in my head. It’s not just voices, though those are present at times, even though I’m medicated. I don’t know how to describe the noise as anything other than that—noise. Can’t tell if it’s anxiety, thoughts, internal voices, memories (I have PTSD), all of the above or none of the above.

It’s so distracting that it impacts my social life and work: I lose track of conversations and I have trouble following direction in work meetings to the point that it impacts my ability to do my job properly because I don’t know what to do with the task since I missed how to do it in the meeting. When I’m not talking with someone, I always have headphones in because it helps me calm the chaos a little. I have a really hard time tolerating not having headphones in.

Does anyone have experience with a sense of overwhelming noise or chaos in your head? Any insight as to what it is? Thanks!

(TLDR at end) I’m 34f currently diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and ptsd. I hear voices (internal, only external very occasionally), as documented by both psychiatrist and therapist. The voices started in 2017 and I have been on meds (Zoloft, Abilify) since then. I also get paranoid at times and have delusions, but meds help a lot with those. Voices are still there even with meds but not as bad. Years ago, I trialed going off Abilify with my doc’s guidance and it was awful. I was nonfunctional, paranoid, hearing so much, just bad.

My therapist thinks I have schizoaffective, depressive type, however, my psychiatrist doesn’t think I have a psychotic disorder. My therapist is new to me (I’ve seen her about a month) so she’s deferring to my psychiatrist and is recommending I ask him what he thinks about schizoaffective disorder. I don’t have an appointment with him for a few more months (I have an hmo) so I’m trying to decide how to approach the conversation or even if I should.

I have a rocky history with misdiagnoses so I’m a bit wary. For example, I was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder in 2018 but that was taken off my record a year ago because I don’t meet the criteria. It’s unclear if I ever did. My previous therapist (3 years) and current therapist (1 month) both say I’m not borderline. I’ve suspected schizoaffective for years but I have trouble getting doctors to take me seriously because I appear very functional and I’m self-aware so, to them, I can’t have a psychotic disorder (their thinking, not mine). My current psychiatrist is very good and actually listens to me so I’m hopeful that he’ll hear me out.

All that to ask, is it worth it to push for a diagnosis from my psychiatrist if both I and my therapist think I have schizoaffective disorder? Or to put it another way, was a diagnosis worth it for you? My therapist said the right diagnosis is important so I can get the right treatment. I think it might also help me clarify to me what the heck is going on in my head because it gets so confusing sometimes. What do you all think, from your own experience? Tia

TLDR: therapist suspects schizoaffective but psychiatrist doesn’t think so. Therapist wants me to push for diagnosis from psychiatrist but I’m scared to because of past misdiagnoses. Asking others for perspectives.