The Game

Been busy trying to find sponsors for Blogathon 2009. Letters requesting sponsorship are not the funnest thing to write, and it makes it harder when you have a pounding headache! Check out the side bar for more information about Blogathon and how you can help!

On another note, I have a psychiatrist appointment today and I cant help but think, 'okay, what strategy will i use today?' Am I just jaded from my years of experience with mental health system or do others play this same game? Having a minor in psychology, friends in pharmacy and, as mentioned, years in the system, generally i have a pretty good idea what is going on with me and my disorder(s).
[Of course I still am in need of 'experts' and I am not denying that, but when it has been suggested over and over again that, for instance, perhaps i have seasonal affective disorder even though that diagnoses has been ruled out multiple times (my episodes occur through out the year for different lengths of time) it gets rather frustrating and its easier to preface a discussion with 'but its not SAD'.]
Anyways, today i have a pretty good idea of what I need and so I'm trying to strategize the most affective way of getting this. Now I do not plan on manipulating my doctor or using any other malicious strategies but I find the power differential between patient/client and Dr/'expert' can make it very difficult to feel that one has a voice that is important enough to be considered. Dr's hold a position of legitimized authority. Their university etc degrees give them a certain power as this education allows them to be considered 'the holder of truth' when it comes to health. The patient's opinion or personal experience with their body or mind or life becomes secondary to this authority. This is exacerbated because we, those people with disorders, can often be labeled as 'irrational' (read: unable to know 'truth').
Sometimes, i know for me, i just wanna yell "listen to me, i have tons of experience with what i am going through, how bout you consider my opinion instead of what it says in some book! a book that doesn't even sufficiently describe what i am going through!"
But, again, that may just be me...