Does dyslexia being ignored cause low self esteem?

Question

I have dyslexia and was diagnosed in adult years. I went through college being labelled 'lazy' and was a target for bullies. I suffered a lot during college being undiagnosed but despite this I left with the highest grades and I am now in university doing well. I pushed myself 10 times harder than the rest of the class but it wasn't a good experience to be honest.

At university I met other dyslexics and dyspraxics and after talking to them I began to wonder if I had learning difficulties. I took myself to the learning disabilities department and from there they referred me, I'll cut the rest out but basically I got diagnosed with dyslexia and communication problems (what made me a bullying target).

Now 90% of my close friends are dyspraxic or dyslexic and we all know that we have periods of forgetfulness etc. The problem is when we talk to professionals they dismiss our 'other' symptoms which are widely known and stick to the reading and writing side to things.

People that don't listen to a dyslexic whether it be professional or not can make us feel misunderstood, work against us and bring down our self esteem.

Answer 1

Yes, it can. If you were bullied for it, that could trigger low self-esteem. Moreover, having  a condition that no one believes you have makes you seem like a liar; that can't be good for your self-esteem. If anyone has ever been told that they can't do something, or are inherently bad people (i.e lazy) for having a condition, that condition can obviously lead to esteem issues. So, yes; dyslexia and dyslexia that is ignored can trigger such issues.

It is good to see that you have been able find others who are going through the same things. Find a support group, many times, they know more than doctors do about symptoms not in the books. Psychologists and psychiatrists don't know the answers to everything, even though, some believe they do.

Forget those who don't believe you. Stick to those who do. Life is too short and you don't need that negativity.