#selfdiagnoses

[inkskinned]

i both firmly believe that self-diagnosing saved my life and i think that the way tiktok and instagram have recently been spreading misinformation about mental illness/neurodivergence is incredibly harmful.

people who are looking for answers are already people who are in a vulnerable situation.

much of the misinformation appears logically sound; and is presented as definitive fact (prefaced with claims such as "research shows"). it's imperative we remember correlation does not prove causation. it is incredibly dangerous to make definitive statements like "if X happened in your childhood, you now Z as an adult." real scientists will almost always use may or other less-definitive terms. similarly, equating one behavior/experience with any single condition is also unsafe. many conditions have overlapping symptoms; and many people "mask" their key symptoms, even to themselves.

we cannot discern from a singular data point any conclusion. in official diagnosis, for a behavior/experience to be considered a symptom, it must significantly influence your life. many people enjoy an organized space. that is a preference. disrupting your daily life even at personal cost in order to prioritize organization is more likely a symptom.

again, a single data point is not an effective diagnostic tool. it is necessary and important work to catalogue and consider all unwanted/distressing behaviors in order to understand a complete picture of the person.

i will see creators in paid partnerships make generalized behavioral/emotional claims that apply to a large portion of a community, and then they will suggest that the "solution" to that behavior is through their paid partner/through their personal support. "follow for more psych tips/facts" is an incredibly evil marketing tactic. i very rarely see unpartnered/unbranded content on how to aid/comfort those behaviors and feelings.

much of the misinformation employs a subtle technique (called confirmation bias) of setting up a conclusion before "proving" the conclusion. "you know you have X when you experience A,B, and C." no person's experience of their conditions/behaviors will look exactly the same as another's. while knowing certain things might be a sign/symptom of a condition, it is irresponsible to consider it definitive.

confirmation bias is unfortunately extremely effective on tiktok specifically. the algorithm will notice that you interacted longer with the video that "proves" (through a singular video) that you "have" a condition. it will continue to feed you related videos that further confirm what you believe.

this is dangerous because we are, unfortunately, not good at knowing ourselves. i did not know it was unusual to vividly nightmare every night; i didn't consider it a symptom. i was similarly dismissive also of any other signs of my PTSD - i incorrectly assigned them to anxiety/adhd. on the small scale, this can mean a longer journey to healing. on the larger scale, it can mean people with extremely difficult situations are unable to get the help they need.

please, if you can, and you're looking to self-diagnose: be careful about what you assume about yourself. try to keep an honest journal of what you're thinking/feeling/doing for a few days.

do not go in with an assumption. try to keep an open mind. i think we all "suspect" we have something - but like i said, i completely missed my own PTSD symptoms, because i suspected the ADHD the most, and only "saw" those symptoms.

do your own research. if the tiktok says "research shows", google that research. figure out who paid for that research. do further research related to that study - has it ever been repeated? is it peer reviewed? do other researchers seem to accept it as conclusive?

if you feel you really resonate with the materials of one person's experience with a condition, find other examples. see if you relate to other creators who identify similarly.

and please - please do not stop once you come to a conclusion. i fully believe that the diagnostic process should be seen as a first step, not a destination. by knowing what you might be struggling with, you gain an incredibly powerful tool on how to gain peace with that condition.

if you feel yourself emotionally respond to a tiktok/etc that suggests something that might be true about yourself, i'm glad you had that experience. but it's also important to not relax into the "easy" answer. interrogate it. start googling what else that could mean; what ways you could work on healing that wound.

healing does not "belong" to any one condition. i want you to begin to look into healing no matter if you have "proven" you have a condition or not. it is never selfish to practice responsible self-care. even if you don't relate to having adhd, you are not harming me by using adhd-inspired study tips. it is not making my condition worse for you to seek peace by asking for more time on tests. even if it was - the fault would be with the system, not in your need of something the system makes inaccessible.

remind yourself that everything you experience is real. and because it is real, it is complicated. while things might be related - even sometimes clearly related - a stranger on the internet cannot make that discernment for you. you as a person deserve the work, attention, and care that goes into the process of unravelling the harm that has been done to you.

it makes me very, very upset to see how popular these videos have become, because they're so irresponsible. and they clearly are targeting a vulnerable group. for example, making generalized claims about children of unloving caretakers is targeting those who have experienced neglect. there is no way to use 30 second videos to correctly analyze what that neglect might have caused in your adult life. i'm sorry, but it's snake oil.

i know it is so powerful soothing to recognize that you aren't broken. that others exist like you out there. i want every person looking for answers to find their answer. i want you to feel seen and heard and understood. i want you to find your community.

i just want it to happen safely.

[scarefox]

A win for the ADHD crowd

(x)

[harmonyrosesaga]

Coming up sometime this week, I will release a blog post about self-diagnosis Autistics and why we're valid. For those of you who were able to afford a diagnosis, either with help from family, through your own funds, or etc. However you were able to do so, I'm happy for you. More than happy and I'm not undermining your experience.

However, for those of us who are unable to afford a diagnosis, I ask the same respect in return. Don't belittle me or undermine mine or anyone else's experience because there are multiple real reasons why some of us are unable to get tested for a legitimate diagnosis.

Unless, of course you're willing to pay for my diagnosis, then please feel free to do so, but until then, leave me and anyone else who's self-diagnosed alone!

[astronomicality]

im self diagnosed as autistic.

i have done extensive research on autism and am working to get properly assessed.

feel free to ask any questions, but please be respectful!

[anglerflsh]

How did you find out about the autism?

My dad told me that his psychiatrist said he was autistic (and also me by extension), when I was around 17/18. Kinda sucked that the psychiatrist later told me he would have never told me.

I really didn't like him lol.

I met a group of people that were professionally diagnosed when I was in England and after two weeks of knowing me they asked if I knew I was autistic

I've done decently extensive research on autism + a lot of my family members have shown the same non-neurotypical traits as I have. I wouldn't say I have it just based on that happening lol. I'm not in a space where I could get a professional diagnosys yet

[cheesedissolvesmostofmyworries]

Feeling the Enormous weight of assuming the mom role to orphaned kittens.

Pmdd 3-person0.5 for doing it through gritted teeth and devilish horns growing out of this pmdd character forced upon me during the luteal phase

[griaustinis]

funny how when i was eleven i thought i had, like, superpower hearing because i could hear things others couldn't (ex. what two people at the end of an empty hallway are talking) but then i understood that i can't hear shit when it's the person sitting next to me in class saying something or when we are in the loud corridors or the cafeteria during the break.

[skyetenshi]

Gay Friends are for cuddling.

Straight Friends are for cuddling.

I just wanna cuddle .

Peters einziges Lebensmotto, dass nicht mit Sport oder Verbrechen zu tun hat. Und weil ich glaube, dass er ein sehr taktiler Mensch ist.

[msmxy]

Self-Diagnosis/Self-Diagnosed.

» Just because a licensed doctor hasn’t made it official, it doesn’t mean what you’re experiencing isn’t REAL.

» People are allowed to THINK they have a mental illness, without an official medical diagnosis.

Yes, there are unfortunately people who self-diagnose for attention and fun. The ones who take online tests and diagnose themselves based solely on that. The ones who claim to have a certain disorder or mental illness and then proceed to run with it, without so much as thinking about seeking further help. The ones treating mental illness like a trend, purposefully acting on the misinformation commonly shown on social media.

Those are the people who fail to realise just how damaging they are to individuals truly struggling, by creating people who LOVE to categorise the group mentioned prior with those who are doing the complete opposite.

-Those of us doing our endless and extensive research from credible sources.

-Those of us in the extremely lengthy process of self discovery, trying to use self dx as a starting point.

-Those of us who understand just what self-diagnosis actually is and are aware we do not know every single subtlety that the diagnosis we're looking for consists of.

-Those of us aware we could very well get a diagnosis that disproves what we have at a later point. 

(Albeit It’s the same for those who can’t seek treatment or obtain a formal diagnosis at all, for reasons like lack of finances and insurance, or merely due to the fact that they’re an oppressed minority- immediately bashed, and for what?)

Self dx is very literally a step towards treating yourself and getting further help effectively and efficiently. It is okay to use self dx as a basis in order to gauge if you need specialist help.

People looking for answers are already people in vulnerable situations or circumstances, and often want nothing more than a sense of community and belonging amongst a shitload of uncertainty. Which is exactly what makes it so saddening that the same people are denied that and are made to feel incredibly lonely, or even fear talking to/interacting with other neurodivergent people etc in fear of being SHUNNED, IGNORED and INVALIDATED.

Point is that people need to stop assuming they know strangers on the internet better than they know themselves and drop their preconceptions when they hear the words ‘self-diagnosed.’ :))

[cas-coding]

autism rant

im usually a very low support needs autistic, meaning i can handle most of my needs by myself even if they are different from neurotypical needs, but damn i forgot how much standardized tests take it out of me.

i got home from my four hour exam today after a speech loss episode while i was driving (i am a very verbal driver, so this was deeply unsettling) and could not even tolerate the stimulus of watching my favorite tv show. i eventually figured out that i could watch it if i put it on a small screen with no volume and dimmed brightness. sensory overload is a bitch.

thankfully, my family was busy today and not at the house so i had lots of time to myself. i eventually just decided that tv was too much for me and that fanfiction on darkmode would be better. by hour two of reading i was stimming like crazy (internalized ableism means i dislike stimming, despite the relief it gives me, but at this point it was worth it. stimming is good and i love seeing other people stim bc it means theyre happy or trying to feel better. i just have guilt about stimming personally)

then my family got home and all my hard work and self care was out the window. they had all been at a loud event and thus were shouting and did not realize. they turned all the lights on in the house and made me eat dinner with them, them all bickering and overlapping their words and talking about things i did not understand without bothering to clarify for me.

one thing led to another and i shutdown for about thirty minutes, which usually consists of very limited movement, fight or flight reflexes, and limited verbality (easy phrases like yes and no, not much more really). this is like a full body reboot and is always incredibly brutal for me.

i'm not really sure what my point is. i think my point was originally that my day sucked but now i think my point is that support needs vary. on a good day, i can get up and go to uni and handle thirty people talking to me at once and only get a little anxious. today, testing took most of my energy and i had to resort to basic survival instinct and, because i can usually manage better than this, my family did not accomodate me.

support needs vary and always always always, neurotypical or neurodivergent, ask your loved ones/friends/people around you if there is anything you can do to help them if they seem a bit off or tired. if one of my family members had asked that, i might have been able to avoid a shutdown and that would have been cool

[thedeepweb]

dont know why not a single doctor or psychologist diagnosed me yet the moment i knew i had adhd i have been able to manage better in some aspects because i recognize what i'm doing is a sympton. for example im so stressed with having to do hw and i just noticed i have 3 bottle of water around me, in the first two's case being that i didn't see them bc im up in my head with my problems. otherwise i woudl just think im just clumsy

[harmonyrosesaga]

I find it funny how this person. Attempts to pick a fight with me, but once they saw I was willing to stand my ground and not back down for anyone, they backed off!!

The epitome of coward!!

Pick a fight until I say something, then runs off!!

Also, those of you who think self-diagnosed is wrong, DON'T BOTHER MESSAGING ME!!

SELF-DIAGNOSIS IS VALID!!

[kitwing-moving]

VIVIAN HOME FROM WORK i nap and finish xenoblade vivi drawing

[urtotallysanefriendtetra]

are you plural/a system? /nf /gq

I have no idea tbh

[disgustingposer]

i aint even diagnosed mane tf

[kstarvibes]

How to Self-Diagnose, Treat, and Manage Insomnia

Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. It can manifest as difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up too early and not being able to return to sleep. In this blog, we will discuss how to self-diagnose insomnia, as well as provide tips on how to treat and manage this sleep disorder. Remember that self-diagnosing should only be a starting point,…