Proprietrix
Posts: 756
Joined: 7/15/2005 From: Ohio/West Virginia Status: offline
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I’ll speak to this subject the same way I speak to any "mental illness" in regards to the lifestyle. I don’t think that the two have to be mutually exclusive. Some Dominants may have this disorder. Others may not. The disorder does not make the person. It is simply a part of the person. If they choose BDSM because they have the disorder, or they realize they have the disorder after having lived in the lifestyle, it’s really no consequence. It doesn’t matter which came first, the chicken or the egg. Perhaps they are using BDSM as a way of exploiting the symptoms. Perhaps they are using BDSM as a way of managing their disorder. Perhaps they are totally unaware. I don’t place much stake in "diagnoses", just like I don’t place much stake in other labels. The DSM is way out of control, especially here in the US. Labels are being slapped on every Tom, Dick, and Harry for every little quirk they display out of the status quo. Criteria are way too broad, subjective, and vague. I would guarantee that most people, if they walked into a psych. office looking for a label, could quite easily obtain one. If I meet a person who carries a diagnosis, it means virtually nothing to me. I am going to get to know them as a person. I may have to adjust our interactions based on some of the ways they behave, but I’m going to have to do that with everyone, regardless of psychiatric labels.
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IMO, IMHO, YMMV, AFAIK, to me, I see it as, from my perspective, it's been my experience, I only speak for myself, (and all other disclaimers here).
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