The Growing Self-Diagnosis of Mental Health Conditions
We are hearing the term "self-diagnosis" a lot lately. It is misleading.
KEY POINTS
- The so-called “self-diagnosis” of mental health conditions, such as ADHD and DID, is an influential trend among young people on social media.
- “Diagnosis,” however, is a misleading concept because it implies that in labeling their experience, lay people are engaged in medical practice.
- In cultural spaces like social media, diagnostic categories are freed from medical control and the implications of psychiatric disorders.
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"So-called self-diagnosis of mental health conditions is a growing trend among young Americans. The explosion of user-generated content on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram encouraging identification with a disorder is widely documented. For instance, hashtags on TikTok in 2021 include 2.7 billion views for ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), 2.5 billion for Tourette's, and 1.5 billion for DID (dissociative identity disorder). Clinicians have reported spikes in these conditions and others, such as obsessive compulsive disorder, autism, and borderline personality disorder.
Personal experience videos appear to be the most influential. In these short recordings, creators share their struggle with a condition, demonstrate or identify symptoms, explain how a diagnosis brought an epiphany of self-understanding, recount the steps they are taking to address the problem, and the like. A recent study reported that of the 100 most popular ADHD videos on TikTok, the highest engagement was with personal experience videos, averaging nearly 3.9 million views each. An earlier study of ADHD videos on YouTube found the highest number of “likes” for personal experience stories.
People I have interviewed over the years often speak in terms of “self-diagnosis.” They refer to Google searches, newspaper and magazine articles, talks with friends and family, and pharmaceutical advertisements as sources of stories and ideas about particular disorders that resonated with them and persuaded them that they suffered from a particular condition. Most then sought professional help. Although calling this identification a “self-diagnosis” is common practice, it is misleading. For one, a “diagnosis” is a conclusion that follows a medical examination by a qualified professional. Lay people may apply psychiatric labels to their experience before or even in the absence of any professional consultation, but those labels have no formal standing. That’s why, when writing about “self-diagnosis,” authors are forced to contrast it with an “official" diagnosis—that is, one made by a doctor or nurse practitioner and carrying medical, and legal, authority.
Of course, patients contribute to a diagnosis by initiating the medical consultation and presenting symptoms for consideration. They may even play a role in negotiating the diagnosis. But at the end of the day, they cannot diagnose themselves. Confusion in this regard may be one reason why people who have given themselves a diagnostic label often get angry or change doctors when the clinician does not concur.
More importantly, “self-diagnosis” is misleading because it implies that in labeling experience, lay people and doctors are both, and similarly, engaged in a medical practice. Doctors are not my focus here, but it is worth noting that their “official” diagnoses are also often flawed. Studies show that many professionals make diagnoses based on reports of distress without regard for the diagnostic criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The most comprehensive epidemiological study of mental health to date, for instance, found that in only half of treated cases of “mental disorder” did the person being diagnosed meet even the minimal diagnostic criteria. What doctors are doing in such cases hardly seems properly medical if medical means treating a disorder."
Read the full available article on Psychology Today
Reflection: What are the positives and negatives of self-diagnosing?
#MentalHealth #Self-diagnose #Lable
@professionalVision2624 Self-diagnosis can be misunderstood. Listening to our own bodies and minds can be very beneficial and result in early diagnosis of every issue.
However, diagnosis is very complicated and should be performed only by professionals. Even among experienced mental health specialists, differential diagnosis is common as the human brain is very complicated.
That's why observing the signs is extremely important but jumping into conclusions won't really benefit anyone.
Thank you for the post.
@calmDew1576
Amazing response! Yes I agree! The diagnostic work should be done by a mental health professional since self-diagnosing can certaintly cause more harm than good. Thank you for your comment!
@professionalVision2624 I tried to have a discussion on self-diagnosis in disability, and I do regret some of my posts there as what I intended to be a discussion for that community, I did end up treating it more like my personal support thread. At that time I just wasn't in the space to drop the defensiveness about self-diagnosis.
At this time it isn't as touchy of a subject to me, but I still feel rather strongly about it. My experiences are all physical conditions, but a lot of it applies to any type of condition.
- doctors can misdiagnose
- sometimes enough information is known, but a legal official diagnosis cannot be made
- sometimes someone does know what they have, based on standard criteria but is awaiting to see a specialist
- there are also situations where the condition is diagnosed, but an acute issue is self diagnosed. For example, if I have a sore throat I will self-diagnose as a laryngeal angioedema attack - the HAE is officially diagnosed.
I think there is way too much judgement when it comes to self-diagnoses, particularly when they are being done with the professional medical resources that one can reasonably access are being accessed and the self-diagnosis is being made with that context.
@AffyAvo
Thank you for sharing your experiennces! I understand it can be a touchy subject and there is nothing to feel bad about. We all have certain triggers and topics we feel very strongly about. It's good to stand up for what we believe in!
Self-diagnosing can cause more harm than good and is sometimes nescessary if doctors do misdiagnose or don't take all our symtoms into consideration, since our own research and knowledge of our potenital "diagnosis" can help doctors to diagnose us correctly, but we sometimes have to "help them out" if we feel that they don't share the same view as you do regarding a diagnosis.
@professionalVision2624
Self-diagnosing is a very important topic!
On the downside, it can be misleading and lead to the wrong diagnosis.
However, I can see why sometimes we feel we know ourselves better than anyone else.
Regardless, I feel people should not self-diagnose.
Thanks for the article! 💛✨
@innateJoy9602 What alternatives would you suggest to people who are waiting years for an official diagnosis?
@innateJoy9602
I agree! Self-diagnosis is very important and it has become more and more prevalent in social media. There is a downside that people who self-diagnose does so wrongly, and thus causes people that are proffesionally diagnosed with a certain illness to feel offended or ridiculed. I remember a case where a person on tik-tok pretended they had tourettes. That did cause an uproar and a great deal of resentment from those people who had been "offically diagnosed".
I belive the same as you, that as a general rule, people should not self-diagnose, however in certain situations it can be necessary
@professionalVision2624
It is very positive and empowering that there is so much information and resources, as well as support groups, available to people thanks to the Internet.
Many conditions are apparent, and people can identify them by themselves.
The role and contribution of mental health professionals is helping to heal, not to provide the perfect DSM5 paragraph to define what we supposedly are.
Many mental health professionals are mediocre, so empowering of patients to discriminate the bad from the good, by exercising their judgment, is crucial to their ultimate success in getting better.
Educating themselves on their condition, certainly helps to improve their good judgment for that.
Not to mention that many people, even in rich countries, can't afford a psychiatrist or psychologist.
Most of the people on this planet, I guess.
In this context "self-diagnosis" versus "professional diagnosis" is just a word game.
The article exposes the worst side of the mental health professions, their arrogance and contempt.
Most therapists are good, compassionate people that only want to support and heal their patients.
They don't care about the DSM5.
Except for bureaucratic reasons, when interacting with some governmental or insurance scheme.
@HealingTalk
Thank you so much for your comment! It's amazing that you highlight both the dangers and the benefits of self-diagnosing and that it can be used as a tool for clients to advocate for themselves and their illness picture if they do come into contact with a "mediocre" therapist.
@professionalVision2624
At the end of the day, we know ourselves better than anyone. So it's just logical that people self-diagnose. But they should still talk to someone who understands a bit more about their issues and who can help them after.
@LovelyMarlee
I agree! Self-diagnosing is something that happens as a result of us knowing our symtoms and perhaps spending time googling, thus diagnosing oursleves with something. But yes, it's always a good idea to talk to a proffesional about it that can either dismiss or enhance our already self-given diagnosis
Thank you for such a thought provoking article. I was mulling over this very topic last week.
When a good friend came and told me, that he now self identifies as autistic. With no medical input whatsoever, to back it up. I agree that it is a worrying trend. If in doubt.....get it checked out.
@sooty41
Awww I'm happy you liked it! And yes, it's always good to "double-check it" with a mental health proffessional
@professionalVision2624 “ The most comprehensive epidemiological study of mental health to date, for instance, found that in only half of treated cases of “mental disorder” did the person being diagnosed meet even the minimal diagnostic criteria.”
Yeah, or, maybe the DSM is just a catalogue to justify insurance payment. If you open the DSM to any random page, your diagnosis is probably 50% on target anyway. When you add to that, validation by means of tests like MMPI, which is literally random paragraphs from Beowulf Middle English, then it’s no wonder SSRI is your voodoo of choice. So when you cry that people are self diagnosing, maybe part of the reason is you have your head so far up your DSM your patients can see right through your Rorschach. Excuse my Freudian, must be my ADHD, now…what were we talking about?
@helpfulAvocado7912
Amazing response! Hahah good one my friend! <3