This is the same narrative as the self-absorbed "alcoholic" industry. People focus so much on their "specialness" of being an alcoholic - ALWAYS an alcoholic - that they almost can't focus on anything else.
I worked with, supervised, such an "alcoholic," and that contrived status consumed her life. Going to meeting after meeting, even while out-of-town on company business, hamstrung her to the point that she couldn't function. It's a ready crutch to point to when you screw up.
AA is such a big psycho-babble crock!
Catering to a mental illness is basically the worst possible thing you can do for a mentally ill person - it reinforces the illness.
Unfortunately, that’s the only “treatment” available in a world where all financial incentives line up against curing a patient.