Your head may be spinning.  Now you have this new medical diagnosis, this new medical label you didn’t have before.  Or perhaps it’s your loved one… You may not know what to do, what to think, how to feel… You are not alone… Neither with the diagnosis or with the range of feelings you may be having.

• If at all possible, try to get more information from the diagnosing clinician.  Take notes. Ask questions. What are the symptoms that led the clinician to the diagnosis? What are the next steps to be taken? Be sure to schedule your next visit before concluding your appointment.  Try not to “call back” to make the appointment while you are with your clinician.  Your mind is likely to be swirling with questions. It is very reasonable to expect you will forget much of what you don’t write down.
• Second opinions are a good thing.
• While there are many online sites to review, be careful that you do not go overboard. Choose one or two … print out what you are reading if you can.
• Prepare a list of questions for the diagnosing  clinician
• http://www.nami.org and http://www.webmd.com are excellent sites for mental health and health information.
• You may wish to join a support group for persons/partners of person with the diagnosis.
• If you are the person who has been diagnosed, work with your clinician to identify what kinds of help you would like to ask for from your friends and loved ones.
• If you are the loved one/close friend of the person who has been diagnosed, ask what you can do to be helpful.
• Do not overtax or over commit yourself.
• Do not try to determine out whose “fault” it is that the diagnosis is a reality – that is useless and harmful.
• Remember that regardless of what the diagnosis is – it is good that you now have a diagnosis… it can help to put your feelings and behaviors into a new perspective and give you some ideas about what to do to be helpful to you.

Remember that your loved one/friend/colleague/neighbor is still the person you care about. She/he is not a label.