Is Learning Disability a mental disability?

Do I have a learning disability?

• Lately I began to think that I have a learning disability. I always have trouble understanding in class and sometimes I have a hard time understanding people conversation. Most of the time when I talk to people I sometimes tell them to repeat what they said. When people told me to repeat the sentences or summarize what they said, my sentences doesnt make sense. I was born and raise here in the United States and Chinese was my first language. It wasnt until first grade that my parents told me to stop speaking Chinese and start speaking English because I didnt speak like an American born. Whenever I read a book I have hard time understanding it. I even reread a paragraph so many times and still I dont understand. I never liked reading when I was a child so I didnt have a foundation. Sometimes I understanding, sometimes I dont. The reason I'm struggling is it because I dont try my best or is it because I really have a learning disability? Do I really have a learning disability? Is there any cure? I believe having a learning disability is ruining my life

• Answer:

  Self-diagnosis never really works. Usually, you can misinterpret symptoms of a disorder and thus attribute that to yourself. I mean, I could have been labeled as a hypochondriac because I was frequently concerned that I had some kind of mental disorder - mainly because I needed a reason to explain the thoughts that run through my head (disorganized thoughts, grisly thoughts, etc). I got over it and realize that I don't really have a problem, just that I'm a human and quite a bit different from the average person (both good and bad). You could be talented in one field, but you just haven't exactly found it yet. Once you find that talent and that focus, you'll realize that every problem you thought you had was all mental.