Am I mentally ill? Should I look into this?

[BurningExplorer]

So I've been lurking around a lot recently and I've noticed, though posts and general trends, that a lot of people here tend to be on the spectrum, have bipolar disorder, ADHD, OCD, etc. As someone who has been interested in wearing diapers for a while and just recently got into it, I am generally having a lot of self reflection about whether or not there may be mental health issues present that I just have not been aware of until now. I've been in therapy for a couple years now for general anxiety disorder and depression, and I am currently on antidepressants. I've been through the ringer in terms of traumatic experiences over the last few years in college as well as extreme stress due to my career goal of choice. I won't get into those details unless it becomes relevant though, but feel free to ask if needed. I can't help but wonder if those experiences may have affected my subconscious and my stress coping mechanisms and thus made me more interested in diapers.

I guess I am just wondering if I should look further into this and if any of you have worldly advice about your experiences and mental health journeys, in and away from the AB/DL community. Anything helps and is appreciated. All of you seem like really sweet and supportive people in this community.

Thank you!

 

[mistykitty]

So I've been lurking around a lot recently and I've noticed, though posts and general trends, that a lot of people here tend to be on the spectrum, have bipolar disorder, ADHD, OCD, etc. As someone who has been interested in wearing diapers for a while and just recently got into it, I am generally having a lot of self reflection about whether or not there may be mental health issues present that I just have not been aware of until now. I've been in therapy for a couple years now for general anxiety disorder and depression, and I am currently on antidepressants. I've been through the ringer in terms of traumatic experiences over the last few years in college as well as extreme stress due to my career goal of choice. I won't get into those details unless it becomes relevant though, but feel free to ask if needed. I can't help but wonder if those experiences may have affected my subconscious and my stress coping mechanisms and thus made me more interested in diapers.

I guess I am just wondering if I should look further into this and if any of you have worldly advice about your experiences and mental health journeys, in and away from the AB/DL community. Anything helps and is appreciated. All of you seem like really sweet and supportive people in this community.

Thank you!

maybe they could (but i'm not a doctor so i don't know for sure), but the one thing that is usually true is that it is just something the mind remembers that is comforting and therefore continues to enjoy them. I have adhd in addition to my epilepsy and i know diapers and acting little help me with the anxiety and stress that my adhd causes which is one of the reason i enjoy wearing but for me at least i know it also has to do with some childhood events i experienced. there is no simple answer really there may be one reason there may be multiple reasons but the simplest way to put it is your mind at least to some extent has selected diapers as a coping mechanism for something. as for your other statement, no this is not a mental illness there is nothing wrong with you at all. everyone here is very supportive accepting and helpful so you can talk to anyone about whatever most times.

 

[ORBaby]

I don't think abdl has anything to do with mental health. I think that those of us that can be open about being abdl are also open to admitting that we have mental health issues. I do have major depression and am on meds so maybe.

 

[RedZaku]

So I've been lurking around a lot recently and I've noticed, though posts and general trends, that a lot of people here tend to be on the spectrum, have bipolar disorder, ADHD, OCD, etc. As someone who has been interested in wearing diapers for a while and just recently got into it, I am generally having a lot of self reflection about whether or not there may be mental health issues present that I just have not been aware of until now. I've been in therapy for a couple years now for general anxiety disorder and depression, and I am currently on antidepressants. I've been through the ringer in terms of traumatic experiences over the last few years in college as well as extreme stress due to my career goal of choice. I won't get into those details unless it becomes relevant though, but feel free to ask if needed. I can't help but wonder if those experiences may have affected my subconscious and my stress coping mechanisms and thus made me more interested in diapers.

I guess I am just wondering if I should look further into this and if any of you have worldly advice about your experiences and mental health journeys, in and away from the AB/DL community. Anything helps and is appreciated. All of you seem like really sweet and supportive people in this community.

Thank you!

Hi Burning explorer, I have a couple thoughts on this as someone who is both ABDL and experiences anxiety and depression. Therapy can be super helpful. It can be especially helpful if you experience anxiety or shame surrounding your ABDL side (as I did). But, and I can't stress this enough, I have two pieces of advice

(1) Make sure you and your therapist are aligned. I've had several therapists over the years and I've gelled with a few way better than others. A not great relationship makes therapy really hard. It can be helpful to do a brief phone call before your first session to discuss what you'd like and whether your styles align

(2) if you're gonna talk about ABDL things I heavily suggest a kink-allied therapist. You can find whether they are online. They'll advertise it Nothing hurts more than telling a therapist you're abdl and you're looking to be more comfortable with that and having the therapist look and speak to you like you're a freak (especially when those are the thoughts you're trying to get rid of).

Good luck! I hope you find a good one!

 

[mistykitty]

Hi Burning explorer, I have a couple thoughts on this as someone who is both ABDL and experiences anxiety and depression. Therapy can be super helpful. It can be especially helpful if you experience anxiety or shame surrounding your ABDL side (as I did). But, and I can't stress this enough, I have two pieces of advice

(1) Make sure you and your therapist are aligned. I've had several therapists over the years and I've gelled with a few way better than others. A not great relationship makes therapy really hard. It can be helpful to do a brief phone call before your first session to discuss what you'd like and whether your styles align

(2) if you're gonna talk about ABDL things I heavily suggest a kink-allied therapist. You can find whether they are online. They'll advertise it Nothing hurts more than telling a therapist you're abdl and you're looking to be more comfortable with that and having the therapist look and speak to you like you're a freak (especially when those are the thoughts you're trying to get rid of).

Good luck! I hope you find a good one!

great recommendations here

 

[Anemone]

My (ex-)professional opinion: If it is negatively affecting your life it is good to address it. You are already open to therapy and it sounds like it didn't come up. If this is because it felt like it should but is scary to talk about then it probably is important; if it didn't seem important to address then I would trust that gut reaction.

You have clearly experienced some terrible negative experiences in life and maybe your ABDL feelings are a reaction to this but it could also be true that they are a positive force which have come about naturally. Trauma affects you and it can make everything feel awful but you are so much more than your trauma, even when it tells you otherwise.

 

[Anemone]

I don't think abdl has anything to do with mental health. I think that those of us that can be open about being abdl are also open to admitting that we have mental health issues. I do have major depression and am on meds so maybe.

My pet theory is that ABDL is strongly informed by attachment style and therefore correlates with mental health issues, neither causes the other but they likely interact. Addiction; depression and gender identity disorder for me, for instance.

 

[Anemone]

(1) Make sure you and your therapist are aligned. I've had several therapists over the years and I've gelled with a few way better than others. A not great relationship makes therapy really hard. It can be helpful to do a brief phone call before your first session to discuss what you'd like and whether your styles align

(2) if you're gonna talk about ABDL things I heavily suggest a kink-allied therapist. You can find whether they are online. They'll advertise it Nothing hurts more than telling a therapist you're abdl and you're looking to be more comfortable with that and having the therapist look and speak to you like you're a freak (especially when those are the thoughts you're trying to get rid of).

1) This is good advice always. They are obligated to be on your side but a relationship does take work to establish.

2) A sex therapist is often a good way to go. If you speak to a therapist and their response is anything other than acceptance - with or without surprise - then that is a damning appraisal of their unsuitability for the role. Sadly I don't know of any way to tell the good from the bad without getting into doing some work together, by which point it is not an ideal time to find out. Recommendations may help I suppose but that's hardly a perfect solution.

 

[BurningExplorer]

Hi Burning explorer, I have a couple thoughts on this as someone who is both ABDL and experiences anxiety and depression. Therapy can be super helpful. It can be especially helpful if you experience anxiety or shame surrounding your ABDL side (as I did). But, and I can't stress this enough, I have two pieces of advice

(1) Make sure you and your therapist are aligned. I've had several therapists over the years and I've gelled with a few way better than others. A not great relationship makes therapy really hard. It can be helpful to do a brief phone call before your first session to discuss what you'd like and whether your styles align

(2) if you're gonna talk about ABDL things I heavily suggest a kink-allied therapist. You can find whether they are online. They'll advertise it Nothing hurts more than telling a therapist you're abdl and you're looking to be more comfortable with that and having the therapist look and speak to you like you're a freak (especially when those are the thoughts you're trying to get rid of).

Good luck! I hope you find a good one!

That's some really helpful advice, thank you so much! It didn't even occur to me that there may be kink aligned therapists. I absolutely adore my current therapist, she has helped me through a lot of things, but I don't think kinks are exactly in her area of expertise. I definitely struggle with self acceptance with regard to AB/DL tendencies, so thank you for the advice!

 

[alfieruru]

possibly but i wouldnt look that much into it, if your thinking about it a lot or are worrying about having a undiagnosed illness id do some reasearch on some illnesses you think you might have/identify with and see if you relate to any of the symptoms or causes. and if you truly think you might have something id press it to a therapist or a psychiatrist. this is coming from a diagnosed autistic bipolar and schizophrenic person and it took me years of research and explaining to finally get the meds i needed and if you think you might actually need help go for it