How My Local Paper Destroyed My Life and My Mental Health

What happened to me could happen to anyone, is likely to happen to more people more often, and has already — silently — claimed many victims

A few weeks ago, a Mayo Clinic L.P.C. (therapist) diagnosed me with a severe psychological “adjustment disorder” almost identical to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Specifically, I was diagnosed with an “Other Specified Trauma-and-Stressor-Related Disorder” which brings with it all of the torturous hallmark symptoms of PTSD consistently, yet silently, for the last four years.

UPDATE: After publishing this article in 2020, I became suicidal and severely depressed. After meeting with a psychiatrist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota in 2022, my diagnosis was changed. In her expert opinion, I was wrongly diagnosed in 2020, and did meet the criteria for PTSD. She changed my diagnosis to PTSD, as well as Major Depressive Disorder, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

So what happened to me?

The Tribune and The Troll

Five years ago, things were good — actually, they were great! At the age of 25, I was named a finalist for Person of the Year by my local paper, The La Crosse Tribune; I was living my…