The Psyciatrists Have No Idea What To Do About Us...

[bbgirlmichelle]

I was just searching google for the term: adult baby Not really looking for anything but I came across this:

http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/160/11/1932

It's an interesting read written in 2003, in the end they couldn't figure out what to "diagnose" Mr A with. According to the article, he didn't give much information, and they weren't able to uncover anything that may have caused his infantilism, and couldn't find anything in the DSM IV that matched him.

Guess that means we aren't nuts

*huggles*

Michelle

[Baby Bethany]

They know very little about us, besides I feel there are many different forms of adult baby. I'm not even sure there has been that much research on this.

Beth

[Sophie ♥]

I'm a nut, regardless

-Sophie

[bbgirlmichelle]

They know very little about us, besides I feel there are many different forms of adult baby. I'm not even sure there has been that much research on this.

Beth

According to that article Dr Pate was very bothered by the lack of written information about us.This is probably the reason:

Unusual behaviors may escape psychiatric classification if they do not create subjective distress, do not distress others, and do not involve functional impairments or legal problems. Entire subcultures related to these behaviors may exist outside of the awareness of psychiatrists and other mental health professionals

[bbgirlmichelle]

I'm a nut, regardless

-Sophie

Well, actually I think I am too, one of my favorite sayings is: "Sanity is overated".

[langtab]

San...what?

[Baby Bethany]

I think the report is correct in saying there is some cross over between ABism and Transvestism. Some of the emotions are the same.

Beth

[bbgirlmichelle]

Well said square duck.

As I said, I found it to be an interesting read, not that I feel that we need psychiatric help. We don't hurt anyone including ourselves, as long as we balance our lives and are still able to function in society as adults. I have fantasized myself about falling into the black hole many time, living fulltime as my Daddy's little girl and leaving the adult stresses out of my life. It will never happen for a number of reasons. I had stepped away from my AB side for a few months and found that I was getting incredibly stressed out with adult life issues, to the point where I was having heart problems and that caused even more stress. Coming back into my AB side has allowed me to escape some of the real world issues, it's given me time to de-stress and relax and my heart problems have gone away. I need to remember that this is a part of me, and if that balance isn't there then my life goes unbalanced and I start to crumble, it's definitely a better escape than drugs or alcohol.

*huggles*

Michelle

[drynot]

I admit that in my early years I thought wanting to wear a diaper strictly for enjoyment was a little odd. I am sure many of us are familiar with similar feelings. I could never truly 'purge' myself of diapers due to the bedwetting but needing them didn't help with the self esteem when I WANTED them.

Nowadays I have adopted a much more neutral stance. I can wear a diaper and enjoy it just fine without having to experience the guilt and shame that I once felt. I don't hurt anyone. I don't force anyone to 'accept me for who I am'. I don't make anyone else deal with my diapers when they need dealing with. Overall I am quite content right now.

It's tough to articulate what I am trying to say here, but there once was a time where I worried about having this aspect of myself accepted by society. Now I just do what I want in the privacy of my own little world.

[Saschadzg]

I think the report is correct in saying there is some cross over between ABism and Transvestism. Some of the emotions are the same.

But these groups separate strictly from each other whereas AB is much more secretive.

[Knuxie Fawks]

We're not nuts? Darn!

[Baby Bethany]

But these groups separate strictly from each other whereas AB is much more secretive.

Correct Kvetinka, probably too strictly separated in fact. Because a lot of ABs (guys who like to be girls) also like adult female things. I take on board what you say about ABs being more secretive though, I mean it's more common for a guy to go out dressed like a woman than a baby, lol.

Beth

[Guest]

I'm not gonna change to make someone else happy

Well, if somebody nicely asks me to change my messy diaper, I might change to make somebody else happy.

[Sophie ♥]

I think i am going to use that "Sanity is overrated" line. I really adore it.

Honestly, i would love to know some psychological mumbo-jumbo about ABs or DLs. I strictly support cognitive and developmental views of psychology, and have an immense disbelieve in neurological understandings. That's why i hate psychiatry. I'm not a fan of medicine either. I dont like messing with my body's natural compounds, even if they are abnormal. I may browse the net for some cognition (mental processes underlining the behavior) of ABs or DLs. I want to know if perception, learning, memory, attention, language, and emotion have influence on whether someone becomes an AB or DL. I also want to know if there are any constants with the way ABs or DLs percieve or understand the world and how it influences the way they act within it.

I'm considering psychology to me a career choice... but i just cant decide.

-Sophie

[tris]

I feel like I'm maybe one of the few members of this board who sought the assistance of a real psychiatrist for my issues relating to being an AB.

I agree that AB and Tranvest are similar in the eyes of the psych community -- they come from much of the same place, as far as a mental stance goes. The wearer is using garments to achieve a particular mindset -- whether that be "I'm a pretty lady", or "Goo goo gah gah".

When I originally saw my therapist, it was for the issues my mother and I were having at home. Bascially, when she realizes (for the second time) that she's having a hard time controlling me and my life, she enlists a very expensive helper for most of the wrong reasons. (under the pretense of "I'm trying to help you") However, since I was the only one that understood that most of the problems were because we didn't understand each other, I took the opportunity to better understand myself. I cried, I confessed, and at the end of it all, he didn't have anything to say, for like, 45sec. That's a LONG time when you've just told a stranger your biggest secret.

When he spoke, he was calm and understanding and said that he'd heard plenty of other weirder things -- like guys who resort to stealing women's tennis shoes to take them home and sniff/jack off in them.

And of course, he asked me what I wanted to do about it, and that I had a choice to make. Do I fight it, or do I accept it? He, like me, was leaning toward acceptance for a number of reasons, not the least of which was that it was the easy-out.

Until there's an AB serial killer, or some kind of major call to attention to the AB lifestyle, we won't get any of the recognition we deserve, both socially or medically.

[Sophie ♥]

Dont jynx the serial killer thing. The last thing we need is someone thinking all ABs kill people.

And i dont believe your the only one to consult a professional for this sort of thing. There are probably many like you. I CERTAINLY would see a therapist about it if i could. I want someone to talk to about it professionally, not to change who i am... just to figure out more about it. The problem comes when i dont have the money... and even though my parents have volunteered to put me through therapy for "other" reasons, i dont like the idea of them signing his/her check... because i dont believe in the doctor patient confidentiallity as much as most do, and i dont want my parents knowing...

-Sophie

[Guest]

GoD I hope nobody steals my shoes and jacks off in them! Ew!

...and if they do, I hope they don't return them.

and if they do return them, I hope they at least TELL me.

[Sophie ♥]

Well, if your shoes ever turn up missing and they are mysteriously returned by a creepy looking male, dont wear them again.

-Sophie

[bbgirlmichelle]

I think i am going to use that "Sanity is overrated" line. I really adore it.

Feel free to use it Another favorite of mine: I'm a sane person in an insane world

Honestly, i would love to know some psychological mumbo-jumbo about ABs or DLs. I strictly support cognitive and developmental views of psychology, and have an immense disbelieve in neurological understandings. That's why i hate psychiatry. I'm not a fan of medicine either. I dont like messing with my body's natural compounds, even if they are abnormal. I may browse the net for some cognition (mental processes underlining the behavior) of ABs or DLs. I want to know if perception, learning, memory, attention, language, and emotion have influence on whether someone becomes an AB or DL. I also want to know if there are any constants with the way ABs or DLs percieve or understand the world and how it influences the way they act within it.

I'm considering psychology to me a career choice... but i just cant decide.

-Sophie

Psychology/Psychiatry is one of my 3 choices in career paths if I ever get a chance to go back to school. Human type creatures fascinate me, I love finding out why people act the way they do and what makes them tick.

*huggles*

Michelle

[smarti]

I read this. Once again we are mischaracterised. This time by some HNG who tries to hit on the psychiatrist.

We may not be nuts but there's still far too little in the psych literature about us. If this guy is the sample, it's not a step forward. Tris meanwhile shows the depths of ignorance prevalent in the profession. Makes me want to write a book myself.

Just my tuppence.

smarti

I was just searching google for the term: adult baby Not really looking for anything but I came across this:

http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/160/11/1932

It's an interesting read written in 2003, in the end they couldn't figure out what to "diagnose" Mr A with. According to the article, he didn't give much information, and they weren't able to uncover anything that may have caused his infantilism, and couldn't find anything in the DSM IV that matched him.

Guess that means we aren't nuts

*huggles*

Michelle

[bbgirlmichelle]

I read this. Once again we are mischaracterised. This time by some HNG who tries to hit on the psychiatrist.

We may not be nuts but there's still far too little in the psych literature about us. If this guy is the sample, it's not a step forward. Tris meanwhile shows the depths of ignorance prevalent in the profession. Makes me want to write a book myself.

Just my tuppence.

smarti

That is definitely one view of it, if all he wanted was a Mommy, he probably paid $150/hour to see the psychiatrist, he could have used that for an actual AB Sitter (unless his medical from the police force covered the visits).

I feel that he did want want help, but he was on the fence about it and decided that he didn't actually want to work with the doctor when it came down to it. Like any of us he probably went through the guilt roller coaster and decided to try to look for help in the guilt cycle. However, he wanted the "black hole" as sqaure duck put it, the escape from real life fulltime. There are definitely underlying issues that he wanted to escape from. IMHO

Michelle

[enfant]

Once again we are mischaracterised. This time by some HNG who tries to hit on the psychiatrist.

In his defense, hitting on therapists and psychiatrists is extremely common. There's a phenomenon called "transference," where the emotions a client feels about someone else or about some event in the past is transferred to the therapist. For a lot of clients, this means they start to think they're falling in love with their therapists, and therapists are trained to deal with that appropriately.

So yeah, maybe this guy embarrassed himself, but I doubt if he looked all that bad to the therapist; she's probably seen worse. And in fact, she acknowledges in the article that she had some countertransference feelings toward him as well--which means she was getting emotionally attached to him, though in her case not in a romantic way.

[diaperpt]

While I didn't read the article cited in the first post, I think this thread is very interesting - and thanks to several posters, quite amusing as well

I like the comparison between AB's and crossdressing - I guess there's a little of both in me. From anything I've read here or on other sites - and in the conversations I've had with admittedly only a scattered group of us - there is a huge spectrum of us. Of course, we aren't 'normal' but what the hell is?

As I spoke with a couple who are going to be married soon, the guy started telling me how he came from a very normal family. Then he proceeded to tell me his dad and mom had been married in an arranged marriage. When that failed after something like 20 years, the father married his wife's sister...and it went downhill from there. Now no one is 'nuts' in this case, but is this 'normal'??? Yeah, I grew up in a normal home too, but I could go on and explain that too... there is no normal.

In my own situation of ABDL-ness, I've only gotten sucked into this fairly recently in my 60 years. I'd like to think I have things in a good balance...but I know at times I do obsess and I do let it get in the way of what I really know I ought to be doing. This isn't just guilt taking over, but a little bit of rationality. There are many times when I look back over time spent and I do regret, not the diapers, but the lack of focus on matters I really do want to be more important in my life. So at times like that, I kind of agree I've got a 'problem'...

I wonder about some of the people who post about their desire to make themselves incontinent...some who desparately seek a Mommy or Daddy and want to be babied 24/7...others... Now I'm not talking about everyone who posts in this way, because I don't want to be overly judgmental, but I do wonder. I think there are some people here who have some serious, serious problems...I can't make any projection of more or less than in general society, but still some serious problems that adversely affect their life in the real world. I don't know if you call them 'insane' - 'nuts' - 'normal' or what. We've also had posts from people who want to abuse existing healthcare support systems to deal with their fetish - the person who wanted to bring in public health nurses to change him. There may be others who go out and steal diapers...those who like diapers and do like little kids...of course there is overlap in all areas of life. We are incredibly diverse...in good and in not so good ways.

There may or may not be alternate ways for them to find 'happiness'. I'm not so sure any of us need to fit some mold created by society - regardless of how loose or strict the specs are. I'm not even sure what constitutes happiness, sanity, contentedness, or whatever. Talking things out with a person trained to facilitate our thinking and reflection can be a good thing - as long as that person doesn't use us for their own personal needs and just twist us all the more!

God, am I rambling! But maybe that's cause its 1 am and I'm exhausted and want to be sleeping!!! I guess if I want to draw a conclusion, its simply that we need to find some sort of peace in life. Some of us have that peace already, others are in various states of needing to find that peace.

For some of us, its just a coincidence that we like diapers. For others of us, diapers help us find that peace, and for others we may be seeking that peace through diapers, but they just mask the real problems.

Sane, insane??? I don't know. I could use some good therapy of one sort or another, but I wouldn't dare bring up diapers...bras and panties...other issues which might actually shed light on why I am the way I am. I don't need to be locked away somewehre or even 'fixed' necessarily...and I guess I'll continue to find my quest for peace...

My best to all of you...apologies for rambling and thanks for your contributions...

[sarah_ab]

hey and dont forget that large portion of us who also find this a sexual turn on, as well as a nice diversion...

i look at this as any other fetish, you are going to have extremes in every area of life, those who wish to live it 24/7,those who want to cause bodily harm to themselves, those who have behaviors we consider deviant (by this i mean such things as harming children or forcing people to do something against their will i.e. rape etc..).

i agree there are some people in this lifestyle who may need the help of a counselor, whether it be simply to come to accept themselves for who they truely are, or for some perhaps to delve deeper so as this fetish does not become an obsession, the only thing they can focus on.

When any interest takes over your life entire so you become unable to function in your everyday life and that includes in the roles the society you live in expects of adults, then yes, i believe counseling is necessary,

however, i do not believe there needs to be na official dsm-iv tr diagnosis for everyone who professes to be an adult baby or diaper lover, but rather for those who are in the extremes to the point where daily functioning is severely impaired.

[Baby Bethany]

I agree with Tris, we don't really get much interest from the medical community for the simple reason that most of us don't ask for or require treatment. I've never sought medical help, although I did consider I may need it in my teenage years. This was because I had never heard of anyone else wanting to act like a baby......I thought I was alone. Then when I was about 19 I saw a tv show about AB's.......ahh I thought, I'm not the only one. Sounds naive I know, but there was no Internet then.

I believe that all of us have some "thing" that could considered by others a little weird. Aside from the sexual fetishes, there are things like Fen Sui, or reading Taro cards. You could even argue that religion is an odd thing to believe. All of the three things I've mentioned are believed by millions of people for no more reason than that they bring the person emotional and psychological comfort.

I once heard a psychologist say that there is no such thing as being "normal". For instance, most people wear underwear. So if you decide you don't want to wear underwear, then you could argue that you're not "normal". But in reality, you just don't like underwear.

Beth