Self diagnosis

Before I start, I just want to say that this is my opinion as an autistic woman that struggles with mental illness. Some people that have professional diagnosis might disagree with me which is completely fine but this is an important subject and I want to give out the informations. I do invalidate self diagnosis but I still do not recommend it.

During the past couple years, some health issues have become quirky and people seemed to want to have them to follow the trend so many self diagnosed themselves for the "trending" problems. Some people will justify this action by saying that having a diagnosis done by a professional is a privilege. I strongly disagree and will explain why.

Are self diagnosis safe? No they are not. There is a reason why people don't do it with diseases like cancer, diabetes or asthma. Because if you use the treatments for it but don't have the illness, you will do more harm than good to your body. So if you self diagnose an illness that is "trendy", talk about it to a doctor and take the treatment, it can be extremely dangerous. Doctors see their patients once a year or less so they can't tell if the patient is lying or telling the truth about their symptoms. Mental illness, ADHD, Tourette syndrome and Autism can't be confirmed by physical testing so the specialists have to basically believe what the patient says.

But having a professional diagnosis is a privilege. No it's not. Diagnosis are like labels and once it's there it will stay as long as you live. They come advantages but also consequences that many people are not aware of which I don't blame them because if you don't live with it, it can be hard to understand. Society and many professionals will treat you differently even when you say you want to be treated as a whole human. The diagnosis will also be a very big part of you for your entourage and their behaviour might change a lot.

You also don't have a diagnosis only for fun. Doctors and other specialists give it to their patients because they are struggling and want to understand why. They have it because the struggle in question is so big that it affects the everyday life in a very bad way. Once you get the diagnosis, you have to accept that everything will change. Like mentionned, the behaviour of people will change and you can notice that society is not adapted to this situation. Especially if the diagnosis in question is about disability.

In all honesty, if you are on the way to have an official diagnosis done by a professional, be patient fort the results. During the evaluation, be 1000% honest it will help in every way. If you get the diagnosis, try to see the positive side and if you don't get it, try to see that it might be better this way and that you have spared yourself a label that might make your life a bit more difficult.

If you consider self diagnosis yourself, make sure you understand the disorder in which you did it. Do it safely and of course do it for the good reasons. Do research about the treatments and what having the disorder actually means. How it will affect your life. Make sure to do it in order to help yourself and not only wanting to be in the "trend".

In the end, I want to add again that this is my take on this subject but people will agree or disagree it depends. On that note, it can't only be bad when it's done correctly.