Receiving any type of negative medical diagnosis is a tough experience. If you’ve lived through it, you’re aware that everything changes: your mental and physical health and treatment, your day-to-day life, and the way people treat you. That’s why it can be so devastating to learn that this diagnosis was incorrect. You may have had to undergo unnecessary treatments, or use medications that cause more harm than good. On top of that, you need to go through the process of being diagnosed again, and all the trauma that comes after it. It can be a lot to deal with. However, there are a few tips that may make it easier to deal with these types of situations.
Seek compensation
If you can prove that your medical diagnosis was due to the neglect or fault of your healthcare provider, you may be able to try and receive compensation for their medical error. While financial compensation may not make up for the emotional trauma you underwent, it can help you in the search of finding a correct diagnosis and paying for the correct treatment. This may also give the people at fault a wake-up call and lead to them changing their behavior.
Therapy
Receiving a misdiagnosis takes will certainly take its toll on your body. Not only have you delayed getting the right treatment and medication, but you may very well have been receiving the wrong ones. However, it can be said that the emotional impact is even greater. This is a traumatic event, and you may not have the tools to adequately cope with it. In this case, it may be best to seek therapy. This will help you work through your emotions and eventually help you reach a place of acceptance. There’s no shame in therapy – everyone should engage in it.
Receive a proper diagnosis
A huge part of the anger that stems from a misdiagnosis is the fact that you’re back at square one, with no proper diagnosis and therefore no treatment plan. One way of helping you heal and move forward is to receive a proper diagnosis. Try to get opinions from as many sources as possible, to prevent this from happening again. Keep in mind that the correct diagnosis may also be a negative one, but if it’s accurate, at least you’ll know which steps you can take and what you can do to improve your symptoms. You may feel some anxiety while waiting for a diagnosis, but this is normal, and a negative diagnosis is better than not knowing what’s going on in your body at all.
Focus on your healing
While what happened to you was wrong, you don’t want to spend the rest of your life feeling angry. Try to move on from this event by focusing on your healing – mentally and physically. It’s a good idea to have something to focus on so that you don’t dwell on the past. We recommend focusing on your health and making it a priority – this will help you in various ways.
Ellen Diamond did her degree in psychology at the University of Edinburgh. She is interested in mental health, wellness, and lifestyle.
