I am as sure as I can be that I have learning difficulties although never diagnosed as such. I am sure it was the reason I started very well academically and gradually went downhill. In terms of getting a diagnosis I was probably born several decades too early. Now there is more recognition of overall high intelligence with specific areas of cognitive difficulties, but it was much less the case from the early 60s to mid 70s which covers my period of education.
Along with the learning difficulties came social interaction problems, and it was negative peer reactions resulting in teasing and bullying that was the catalyst for first social anxiety and then other symptoms ie general anxiety and paranoia especially.
I am sure if I had had help for the learning difficulties and social deficits I would have functioned much better.
It is something I tried to pursue briefly with an appointment with the psychiatrist only for the psychiatrist to dismiss the conversation after asking a few irrelevant questions.
I have never had the nerve to pursue the matter further as pursuing things in the past got me a public enemy Number 1 standing with the pdocs etc(branded "awkward,demanding and troublesome) .
As it is the damage has been done and it’s not as though time can be rolled back . A more holistic psychiatry would have helped-one that looked at the whole person.
I try not to think about it too much as it makes me very bitter.