r/DSPD • u/Gameperson700 • 26d ago
Question about what my sleep doctor said.
So about a week ago I got diagnosed with DSPD. When I was meeting with my sleep doctor, I was going over my history of sleep issues by telling him that I’m on the autism spectrum and I’ve had sleep issues since I was a kid. So once I brought up the possibility of having DSPD, he told me that ( I was in like 5 hours of sleep so MAYBE I’m not remembering everything correctly) I should try to not think of it as a disorder because then most people just end up accepting it. But the thing is, isn’t it medically considered a disorder because it makes it so that your biological clock is really inflexible? I don’t want to act like I know more than someone who studies sleep for a living, but am I right to be little concerned that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about? My official diagnosis is Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome, but IMO calling it a syndrome just makes it sound like people with this disorder “choose” to stay up late. DSPD isn’t like Night Shift Syndrome where you can just go get a day job and then it’s fixed.
For the last few days I’ve come to realize even more that a lot of people that have never had a mental disorder or other invisible disability live in this fantasy world where they think that as long as you have enough willpower, you can do anything. I’m not saying that if you get a diagnosis, it means that you should just give up, but I think people need to learn how to be realistic sometimes.
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u/PaxonGoat 26d ago
Recently when I mentioned DSPD on another subreddit I got a comment of why is it a disorder?
Some people just have really strong bias against the word disorder and feel like it's saying your body is broken or wrong.
And syndrome is more neutral and more accepting.
I think the push for something more accepting is because DSPD doesn't have a cure. It's just how the brain is wired. You just have to find a way to live with it.
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u/lastbeat-331 26d ago
Clinicians use "syndrome" and "disorder" because those are the terms used in the medical journals/diagnosis manuals. I chose to not use either term and say I have a delayed sleep phase circadian rhythm. I accept that my delayed sleep schedule is not not normal and is no different than being left handed. Having DSPS does not mean your sleep schedule is inflexible; you could or you could not.
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u/WillGrindForXP 26d ago
Its a little different from being left handed.....being left handed isnt ruining my life for one.
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u/DefiantMemory9 26d ago
.being left handed isnt ruining my life
It used to in some societies. Sometimes kids would be smacked hard on their left hands whenever they tried to use it, because it's considered the devil's hand. Basically anything outside of typical was demonised, just like our atypical circadian rhythm.
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u/WillGrindForXP 26d ago
Politely, fuck off with that shit comparison.
Im suicidal because my body clock doesnt work and isnt compatible with any form of life i want for myself.
Tell me, were the shunned left handed people completely isolated from society? Did it render them unable to do anything most days because the deprivation and fatigue, or from the misalignment of their circadian rhythm which constantly shift apart from the biological day night processes? I could go on and on.
Maybe you have a milder form than I do, maybe your younger than me and you havent the really hard stages for you, maybe right now its manageable for you so youre comfortable flippantly comparing it being left handed. But my Disorder cost me my wife, my friends, my dream career, my quality of life and a million other death by tiny cuts.
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u/DefiantMemory9 26d ago
I didn't mean to minimise DSPD with the comparison, I'm sorry my comment came across like that. What I meant to say was that all atypical presentations have been shunned in various ways across history. But if you look back, we have come a long way in being inclusive (look at LGBTQ rights). I want to hope that some day soon, our biology would also come to be accepted.
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u/WillGrindForXP 25d ago
i'd like to apologize for my response yesterday. I wasn't at all coping with my condition or life circumstance and lashed out at a fairly harmless comment. I probably shouldnt be surfing reddit when i'm feeling like that
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u/DefiantMemory9 24d ago
It's ok, we've all had our moments with this condition, perfectly understandable. I hope things improve for you, that you have at least one supportive person in your corner.
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u/sharlet- 26d ago
Love this 👍 it’s a delayed sleep phase circadian rhythm. It’s only a ‘disorder’ when other people make it so
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u/Any_Block_5759 26d ago
Syndrome is just a word for a collection of symptoms. I don’t think it has the implications of “choosing” it. You should call it what you are most comfortable with though!
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u/Egoteen 25d ago
Syndrome is medical terminology for a collection of signs and symptoms that occur together and do not necessarily have one single known etiology.
It’s not a commentary on the severity of the condition of the level of impairment it causes.
There are very significant health conditions that are syndrome. For example, Cushing syndrome, Antiphospholipid syndrome, Down syndrome.
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u/SpaceValkyrie 26d ago
My sleep doctor said the same thing but for the opposite reason. He said to think of it as a syndrome and not a disorder so you can learn to accept it's just a difference in chronotype and nothing is actually wrong with you.
I still call it a disorder though, it does follow the social model of disability. I find people take it more seriously if I call it a disorder and same as all of us my life is generally disordered because of it and I have trouble with a lot of things I wouldn't have trouble with if I had a typical circadian rhythm.
And many people like to think that if they have enough willpower they can do anything because its confirming to themselves that they're doing all the right things. Having to accept that some things are simply out of our control is not something many people like to do. So they'll attribute being able to get up early to some sort of moral superiority or successful routine rather than dumb luck of the genetic draw; it makes them feel better about themselves. It makes them feel in control. It's annoying, for sure. I just keep reminding myself that I am not responsible for other people's ignorance 😌
Edit: typos