My name is Gabe Rhodes and I have a triple diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, Major Depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Below I will explain what co-morbidity means in the context of having multiple diagnosis.
I would like to talk about co-morbidity and what it means in a mental health context. Co-morbidity is usually used in the context of discussing a person with a mental health challenge while being co-morbid with a learning disability of some kind. The Big 4 major mental health challenges are 1) Major Depressive Disorder 2) Bipolar Disorder 3) Schizophrenia and 4) Schizoaffective Disorder. When it is said that a person has a dual-diagnosis or co-morbidity it usually means that they have one of the above said mental health challenges while co-morbid with a disability like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder or something else. Notice all of these diagnosis have the word disorder attached to them. This is an way of categorizing as a means of establishing order in the midst of all of the chaos. In the mental health and therapeutic community there has to be a justification for using resources to help a person with a learning disability, mental health challenge or some kind of ‘disorder’ as it is so aptly put.
Inset is a picture of me. Looking at me as merely a prima facie you would not think that I had a triple diagnosis of 1)Autism Spectrum Disorder 2)Major Depressive Disorder and 3)Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. All of those diagnosis have the word disorder in them. Disorder implies that the person is defective in some way shape or form. This is simply to justify the person getting help. Regardless however, a diagnosis is not a human being. We define ourselves in spite of what the Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association says what is wrong with us. We need to stop focusing on what is wrong with us and start focusing on what is and what can be right with us.