Thank you for reaching out; your situation must be incredibly frustrating. It’s strange that you were falsely diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder? Most mental health professionals are reluctant to diagnose this because it overlaps with other disorders and there are massive stigmas and social connotations attached to it.

Here are a couple of articles about this reluctance: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2922389/

https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/October-2017/Why-Borderline-Personality-Disorder-is-Misdiagnose

Is this stigma contributing to why it’s so challenging to receive proper support? Or do these clinics tell you that they are not trained in how to help? Either way, that’s incredibly unfortunate and sounds very frustrating. I want you to know that you absolutely deserve proper support- especially if you’re stuck with such a majorly stigmatized diagnosis.

Keep in mind that this is coming from an American, so my understanding of Canada’s healthcare system is going to be limited, but from what I do know, you have public health insurance for free or low-cost treatments. The best example I could find is called OHIP. Are you part of this program? If not, this will show you how to sign up for it: https://www.ontario.ca/page/apply-ohip-and-get-health-card.

I have done a little research and found some more potential resources specific to Ontario and Canadians in general:

https://www.ontario.ca/page/find-mental-health-support

https://ontario.cmha.ca/provincial-mental-health-supports/

https://www.camh.ca/en/health-info/guides-and-publications/looking-for-mental-health-services

https://www.ontariohealth.ca/about-us/our-programs/clinical-quality-programs/mental-health-addictions/programs-resources

Additionally, the office you are trying to book an appointment with likely knows the laws and rules regarding insurance and should have payment plan options for you.

If you are struggling with advocating for yourself and feel this diagnosis is wrong, it’s okay to disagree with your doctor/healthcare provider. Ask them to explain why they feel this diagnosis fits you and let them know why you disagree. You are NOT trying to argue; you are trying to better understand what’s going on with yourself and your mental health, and demonstrating that you possess self-awareness.

This article explains the importance of advocating for yourself and has some handy resources: https://www.chatelaine.com/health/self-advocate-health-care/.

Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions.

Socially-distanced hugs,

Angelica Barile