comment: >
  
  Autism is severely misdiagnosed in women. Completely under diagnosed. Actually, plenty of things are. The actual problem that we have is parents refusing to let their children get professional help or a diagnosis. Most doctors will diagnose you with BPD as a woman(aka the new female hysteria of our century), maybe put you on some anti psychotics and send you your way. In most countries, a diagnosis/specialist is not readily available, or there is a long waiting list. Even so, the doctors are not know it all. I have seen plenty of doctors, I got different diagnosis almost each time. They ask you some general questions (about your mood, the way you sleep, if you can concentrate, if you harm yourself, if you have suicidal ideation, if you can socialize properly, if your parents were diagnosed with anything, if you have hallucinations or delusions, the works) and then based on that, they will give you a diagnosis. If you use your common sense and information on the internet (given you are knowledgeable on the subject), you can take a good guess on what's wrong. Obviously, some people will exaggerate like with anything (seeing the shadow dude once in your childhood is not a sign of psychosis, neither is hearing your name called when you are alone once in a blue moon), but if you have visual and auditory hallucinations, perhaps weird tactile feelings/hallucinations (spiders are crawling on me, etc), delusions, tend to be forgetful and out of teach with reality, there is a good chance you do have psychosis.
context: The diagnosis process for a lot of psychiatric conditions are surveys and questionaires. You can go to a psychiatrist and ask if you're anxious and they'll give you multiple choice questions and diagnose off of that. Or you can just google the form yourself and self diagnose. A lot of psychiatric disorders are about how we feel and think. Not about sending off some blood sample to a lab and getting a positive result come back.
  
  Overall I think the self diagnosing is a bigger problem with todays youth wanting to be victimized or have an excuse for their actions and weirdness instead of just being straight up with it. For such an “accepting” generation people should really just own up to who they really or without craving attention or an excuse for it
  
  What you're describing are all neuroses that could indicate some deeper psychiatric condition. Whether a person has a mental health condition or not, thinking of ourselves as weak victims is never helpful in any context, yet it's something we all feel from time to time.
  I'm a disability support worker, so when someone tells me they've got a self diagnosed condition, it's not offensive to me or any disabled person I know, it doesn't come across like they're invalidating anyone else's condition. However I do think everyone should talk to a doctor about any condition they feel they might have. >
  
  Piggybacking off of this: You’ve spent your whole entire life inside your own brain. A therapist will spend a period of hours with you and give you a diagnosis. Who do you think knows your personal reality better than yourself? >
  
  Yeah exactly, especially with conditions such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, PTSD, and many other psychiatric conditions. These are things people know they have even before they get a diagnosis. The diagnosis stage is more about treatment and management.
  People might be unaware of how severe or mild their condition is, some people think they have only mild PTSD despite constant nightmares and suicidal ideation. Some people will think they have severe ADHD because they can't concentrate for long times on things that don't interest them. It's good to get some perspective from experts but ultimately people know when they are struggling to focus or to struggling to stop stressing all the time or struggling to not be miserable. Struggling with our thoughts and feelings is evidence enough to self diagnose. >
  
  I was recently diagnosed with ADHD as a woman so I find this viewpoint interesting.
  Firstly, autism is not a mental illness. An autistic person may have mental illness in conjunction with autism, but autism alone lies under the neurodivergent umbrella. Neurodivergency can include autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia and other similar conditions.
  Why women are often underdiagnosed
  These are serious disabilities that can really impede a person's life, especially if they struggle to find help and acceptance in their community. A lot of women start their journey towards diagnosis later in life due to a number of factors such as:
  
  Poor diagnostic tools and inexperienced professionals
  A misunderstanding that autism and ADHD are more common in boys
  Advanced masking techniques to cover their 'traits'
  
  Why women are often diagnosed later in life.
  The process for many women and men who are diagnosed later in life often includes a level of burnout or breakdown. After a while everything becomes too much, the mask begins to slip and your traits go into overdrive.
  Why does self-diagnosing seem to be on the rise?
  A common way of finding out you could possibly be neurodivergent is through media and people who are aware of these traits appear.
  In the past few years, I have seen an increasing awareness of neurodivergence in women pop up in the media. This is useful for people like myself who had no idea wtf was wrong with them for a very long time. For me, a GP actually suggested I seek a diagnosis due to some struggles I was going through.
  As someone who went through this process self-diagnosing is commonly the first step as an adult. You might be directed to a questionnaire and are asked to evaluate yourself and your experiences thinking back to your childhood. If there's some merit in your experiences than you move to the next step which involves seeking a professional. Waitlists are often months to years long so many people live in limbo for a long time.
  Methods of living with ADHD can help everyone. And everyone experiences ADHD traits from time to time. Given a large amount of stress we have all suffered collectively, I don't doubt there are a lot of people with increased mental health issues that mirror neurodivergent traits. Some mental illnesses can get very severe and alter your brain chemistry and behaviour.
  My takeaway from this is that the mental health systems set up to assist these people are a much larger issue and cause for serious concern than self-diagnosing.
  Apologies for the spelling and grammar errors. Grammarly and Reddit don't play nice. >
  
  I think it's two things. One, people have identity crises, especially teenagers. We all know that type of person who tries on identities like hats. That's pretty embarrassing. You usually grow out of that.
  Two, from personal experience, giving yourself a label or a diagnosis makes it feel more contained and easy to communicate. It's easier to tell someone that you have X and have them understand what you're going through rather than telling them you have these vague symptoms resembling what you imagine X is like. In that respect, it is pretty understandable, possibly good, and not embarrassing. There's something that is sort of reassuring if you can finally get a word to put on what you're experiencing.
  People often sympathize with the diagnosis but not with the symptoms. Tell people at work you're autistic and they will sympathize with you and possibly not attack you. Tell them you do not understand social cues and they will probably just make fun of you. >
  
  I understand the desire to put a label with a disease, and this is not necessarily bad, but the diagnosis needs to be correct. If you want to tell others that you are autistic or depressed; you must actually be those things. A person can almost never correctly assertion their disease, only their symptoms. People might better understand you if you say your autistic, but you may incorrectly understand and describe yourself. If one wishes to put a name with symptoms, they should find a doctor to pick the label >
  
  for sure but unfortunately our medical system is a joke and even if you are experiencing very severe symptoms it can be nearly impossible to see a professional or take months on a waiting list.
  Even then a professional may be reluctant to slap a label on you for fear of what the consequences of that might be. I saw someone for a very long time who resisted any sort of actual diagnosis because the truth is that what I was experiencing didn't fit neatly into any of the boxes and pretty much belonged in this vague "other" category which isn't particularly helpful. Not to mention that misdiagnosis happens all the time even by professionals. 
  I just think it is sort of understandable because I think a lot of stuff is kind of a spectrum anyway and just different levels of severity. Things can be really confusing and hard to nail down and thus communicate in a way that causes someone else to be understanding rather than judgemental. >
  
  Are you under the impression this is a new phenomenon?  Because it's definitely not.
  People - especially young people! - crave identity.  The world is a confusing place, knowing who you are makes it a little easier.  Sometimes it's self-diagnosing mental illness or learning disabilities, or exploring sexual identity, or cliques, or subcultures.  There's nothing embarrassing about it, it just is what it is. >
  
  It’s ok to want to express individuality but not to the extent of totally destroying the definition of a real thing and making it hard for actual mentally Ill ppl to get a diagnosis. Why can’t people just accept that they’re different rather then giving themselves a label? >
  
  people on TikTok claiming to have disorders that they don't doesn't affect the precision of psychiatrists diagnosing actual patients. There's no TikTok-said section in the DSM. Why do you think that it does? >
  
  It just encourages more people to get diagnosed possibly skewing the meaning of the mental illness >
  
  Skewing it towards statistical accuracy? If people are actually diagnosed at higher rates, we have a better Guage of population-level mental illness, neurodivergency, etc. Better data is more usable, so that research actually means something actionable, ASIDE from the identity boost for young people. >
  
  I think what OP is driving at, but utterly failing to explain, is that they think that the fakers will be accommodated by the psychiatric system and diagnosed on the basis of fake symptoms. my sense is that isn't a problem but I don't have data. >
  
  Definitely explained it a little better then I could lol >
  
  Where do you see evidence of that? Any articles about fakers? How about a statistic? If not, it’s just a fear you seem to have. >
  
  I think the salient line here is this one:
  
  Neurologists were able to quickly determine that the subjects were not 
  suffering from Tourette's, but psychogenic tics driven by anxiety. >
  
  Women are not born with less autism, but are much less likely to be diagnosed as children than boys. This is partly because boys generally have similar symptoms and behaviors. 
  So of course more women are self diagnosing autism, since their diagnoses were missed as children on a much higher rate. >
  
  Alright, I'm diagnosed OCD, PTSD, chronic depression. Diagnosed by a professional so I think I have some grounds to talk about this.
  First, let's tackle your women comment about autism. You see, I understand where you're coming from, but you lack the nuance of recognizing that mental illness, and illness in general, is heavily under-diagnosed in women. The medical culture is heavily favored towards men and is rampant with mysogyny, and that's not just me saying it as I've had medical professionals blatantly tell me it's a problem in the field when questioned about it. I've also had some tell me that it's just because women whine a lot, so yanno make of that statement what you will.
  Now that we've covered that let me address the self-diagnosing issue. So, do you want to know what my therapist thinks of self-diagnosing? Well, when I asked them about it they said that self-diagnosing is an important first step to seeking help. Psychiatrist said the same thing. It's normal, expected even, for people to self-diagnose their issues then seek help for them. You can't exactly just peer into someone's brain, no, that person has to tell you what they think is wrong and why they think it is. 
  What you actually have a problem with is not self-diagnosis, but with people not seeking or not being able to get medical assistance and assuming they're right. You have a problem with people using these issues for attention, which I do too, but once again self-diagnosing is not the problem. Finally, you have a problem with the medical system that forces people into the position of trying to figure out their mental illnesses, but having no ability to get help for them. >
  
  I think I did it >
  
  Sadly no lol, it was not done properly. Do you need a link to the rules? >
  
  I already read them i think I’ll figure it out in a bit sorry for the hold up >
  
  Because everyone else is being aggressive: you have to comment with ∆ or !delta and then explain how your view has been changed >
  
  This delta has been rejected. You can't award OP a delta.
  Allowing this would wrongly suggest that you can post here with the aim of convincing others.
  If you were explaining when/how to award a delta, please use a reddit quote for the symbol next time.
  ^Delta System Explained ^| ^Deltaboards >
  
  What gives you the authority or knowledge to know this is the problem? >
  
  You don’t think it’s a problem that a lot of  young ppl are willing to go to the extent of saying they are mentally Ill either for attention or to excuse their weirdness? Just accept that your different. It’s not wrong to believe you’re different without a label >
  
  You did not even try to answer my question. >
  
  I’m sorry I was confused on what you meant >
  
  If you are mad at people for self diagnosing themselves because they don't have the knowledge or authority to do so.... what gives you the knowledge or authority to diagnosis this as the problem behavior... basically are you just a kid that is annoyed, or is there some actual studies out there that is claiming this is a problem. >
  
  If you don’t think that people consistently seeking attention for mental illness or craving a label so badly to justify themselves rather then being themselves. That just shows what your views are >
  
  Dont you think we should leave the diagnosing to the professionals? >
  
  I mean yeah >
  
  Would you agree that you are diagnosing these people by saying that they are only seeking attention and do not have a real mental illness? >
  
  I’m assuming >
  
  There may be some truth to people wanting to be different, however with mental illnesses being more accepted in today's society, many people are a lot more comfortable with being neurodivergent. Additionally, self diagnosis is common because the alternative is spending upwards to $1000-$2000 for a clinical diagnosis. >
  
  I know costs suck, but self diagnosis can be much more harmful. A web.md page that tells you your depressed when you may actually be bipolar can lead to really messed up results. I would even go as far as to say that no diagnosis at all is preferable to an uninformed one >
  
  Well.
  ​
  
  It’s really weird how so many people crave being different so bad 
  
  So you already know why they're doing what they're doing in addition the fact that you know that they're not Autistic? If your claim is that they can't know and only a doctor can, what makes you more qualified? You start out your argument admitting that you have a bias.
  
  they’re “neurodivergent.
  
  Neurodivergent is an umbrella that covers both Autism and ADHD, which sometimes get mistaken for each other. So if you're upset that they're self-diagnosing, this term should be more welcome than "Autistic" because it's more generalized.
  
  nd when you ask them how they know they’ll say “oh I have this weird tick when I uh laugh when someone says something funny “ or “I have a hyper fixation on this topic so I must be autistic
  
  How else should they communicate it to you? The list of aspects of Autism, especially for how it presents in women, sounds a lot like this. You're not a doctor, they don't have to prove anything to you by going down the entire list of every possible part of their daily experience that might be on the spectrum.
  
  Women statistically are born with autism on a far lesser scale than men.
  
  Nope. Women are diagnosed less often than men because the original diagnostic criteria for Autism was for Autism as it presents in males. It presents differently for females and is harder to diagnose, especially at younger ages. 
  
  Overall I think the self diagnosing is a bigger problem with todays youth wanting to be victimized
  
  Todays youth want to be victimized? Why would anyone want to be victimized? Something tells me you're missing the mark with this terminology.
  
  or have an excuse for their actions and weirdness instead of just being straight up with it. 
  
  So if someone is Autistic and that makes them weird, you'd rather them just be forced to not get to have a name for it, and get the therapeutic treatment that would help them?
  
  For such an “accepting” generation people should really just own up to who they really [are] without craving attention or an excuse for it
  
  Some people are autistic. If they find out and it makes them feel good, that doesn't mean they're craving attention. And if they are craving attention, it's because they're normal people and everyone does. 
  If someone thinks they're autistic but it turns out they're actually not, chances are they suspected it for a reason. They might have ADHD, a personality disorder, a mental health issue, or simply a slightly different way of experiencing the world that feels unique to them and there's nothing wrong with that. 
  You seem to think that other people do things for you. People generally don't. They do things for themselves. This is especially true of people on the Autism Spectrum who may not be able to easily use other people's experiences to reference when constructing their view of the world, and can only use their own. Your interpretation wherein they do it to evoke a response from you says more about you than it does about them. >
  
  You’re being deliberately obtuse. OP is completely correct. Most of the people these days who say “I’m ADHD” or “I’m autistic” or “I’m neurodivergent” are absolutely not diagnosed as such and are doing it to seem unique or get attention or as some excuse for why they did x y or z. >
  
  I'd like to point out that while some are perhaps attention seeking, many people self diagnose simply because they don't have access to free medical/psychological professionals to get proper diagnosis and help with their issues. I also know someone who doesn't want to get an official diagnosis because he's afrad it will affect his insurance rates or somehow come back to bite him if he's offically labeled with having a neurological disorder. 
  There is a wealth of knowledge on these subjects available online for those interested.  And if they are truly interested in self diagnose they can likely do that accurately enough for all intents and purposes.  Most of these people who search for the sake of better understanding themselves or their loved ones will openly admit that it's a self diagnoses,  or say they THINK they have x,y, or z.  But in some situations it's just as well to say they have it if they feel certain anyway, and it's just a passing comment, and not a discussion on the matter. 
  In other words, just because they self diagnose doesn't mean they're wrong, nor does it explain their motives.  I also don't see how attention seeking (for those who ARE doing that) is really hurting anyone else. Fakers gonna be fake, that's more a "them" kind of problem.  ANNOYING, but mostly harmless. >
  
  Unless you have a doctor's diagnosis you don't have the disorder. Even if you are broke there are programs to help with costs. 
  And yes it does affect me when someone is treating me like shit and tries using the I have such and such as an excuse and then people get mad at ME for calling them in their bullshit. >
  
  No. You have to have the disorder before you CAN  be diagnosed, so obviously there are undiagnosed people who in fact "have the disorder ".  Your refusal to acknowledge an undiagnosed disorder does not mean they don't have it. Your personal experience with people supposedly using a fake diagnosis to treat you badly, sounds unusual.  How do you know they DIDN'T have it? People who do lie and just want to be jerks will do that regardless of what methods they decide to try. The methods are irrelevant. And that motive is not typical of most self diagnosers . >
  
  Sounds unusual? You must not get out a lot because it's become a pretty regular thing. Every single person I know (about 8) that have self diagnosed themselves as neurodivergent or with a mental illness like Bi-polar all use it to excuse their shitty ass behaviors. 
  Too many disorders can mirror other ones. Just because they think they have 2/3 symptoms doesn't make them right by a long shot. Keep living in your bubble. >
  
  You don't have to have a relationship with anyone. If they treat you badly, regardless of an official diagnosis or not, you don't have to tolerate them.  It makes no difference what they have or don't have. What would it change if they got diagnosed and actually have it? >
  
  Self diagnosing has been a thing forever
  And it's not a problem im 99% sure me or any other autistic person doesn't really give 2 fucks about people who wanna fake disorders. It doesn't stop us from getting help, we have doctors notes, medical files, sometimes even volunteers, you need those files to get into let's say a special education class, or a life skills course.
  So unless you were diagnosed by a professional you're probably not gonna make it far faking it.
  (Excuse my shitty punctuation) >
  
  It doesn’t bother you that they’re making others take the actual meaning away from what you were born with? I mean I’m sure autism hasn’t made your life easy and seeing ppl claim it for attention to be quirky probably has to annoy you a little right? >
  
  At the end of the day I still have ADHD and I still need help with it. More people being diagnosed with it doesn’t change that fact. In fact I was diagnosed because I realized I related to so many tiktok memes, and I’m sure others are in my same boat. 
  In fact I think so many people talking about ADHD helps. It means more people who possibly have tips for me, people who are suffering who can’t afford treatment have an easy way to learn about how to improve their lives, and more people who are aware of my disorder. >
  
  I think people do diagnose themselves too often without seeking professional help. BUT mental illness is not the same as being neurodivergent. >
  
  
  It’s really weird how so many people crave being different so bad that they’ll go as far to say they’re “neurodivergent.”
  
  While this is the case, I don't really see how it's a "problem" per se. I guarantee that these people still make lifestyle decisions based on what they think is best, or based on what they want to do.
  
  but it’s extremely weird seeing that the majority Of these people doing this are women
  
  Do you have any statistics for that? I haven't experienced it that way in my own anecdotal experience, and I'd be curious to look into the data to see how much that truly does skew in that direction.
  
  wanting to be victimized or have an excuse for their actions and weirdness  
  For such an “accepting” generation people should really just own up to who they really or without craving attention or an excuse for it
  
  I understand what you're trying to say here, but I don't really think these things are connected as much as you think they are. People see something wrong with themselves, so they either playfully or seriously consider the fact that it could be a condition that they have similar symptoms to. Not that it never happens, but just because someone categorizes themselves into a disability group that could potentially excuse their "quirks", doesn't mean they think that behavior is unacceptable in any way. People see a problem, and assume it's linked to this other issue that seems similar that they already know about. >
  
  I agree with the conclusion that self-diagnosis is a real issue, and I wouldn't be surprised if the data indicated it was on the rise. I wouldn't necessarily frame it as a simple desire to "be victimized" however. While it is purely speculation, I do believe there are a number of conditions which might lead towards a more frequent experience of symptoms associated with mental illness - a rising wealth gap, perpetual anxiety from a 24-hour news cycle, intensification of self-commodification, the student debt crisis in certain countries like the US, and so on. So people are experiencing symptoms like low energy, mood swings, etc. that can be associated with mental illness. The issue with self-diagnosis then becomes that it may correctly identify the symptom, but incorrectly identify the cause.
  This video from the YouTuber HealthyGamerGG does a good job of explaining what some of the issues with self-diagnosis are, and for me it was a good starting place for thinking about this more.  
  EDIT: I forgot this video literally starts with this same topic being brought up on this same subreddit lol >
  
  A great theory based on reasonable causes with an educational video from a psychologist(I assume) as evidence to back it up. I applaud you sir. 👏 >
  
  Why are you embarrassed by other people's issues? >
  
  I’m a 30yo male. If I had not first self diagnosed with ASD and OCD, I never would have found the language and resources to get a formal diagnosis and help.
  Prior generations have been so fixated on avoidance of diagnosing mental disorders, and research was previously so lacking that we are only just now (through those that do get diagnosed) realizing how common mental disorders are. That plus the lack of mental health resources for neurotypical and neurodivergent I think is how we end up in this situation of many recognizing their symptoms in the new discourse, but lacking the resources to overcome the barriers to proper diagnosis and treatment. >
  
  It’s not the best thing, no. 
  As an adult FINALLY diagnosed (by a licensed therapist) at 41, I can tell you why ‘self diagnosis’ is so tempting. 
  In the US at least- mental health, and official medical diagnosis are almost completely inaccessible, especially as an adult. Most of us grew up before Autism was a spectrum, and ADHD was just boys who acted out in class. We felt like aliens. We couldn’t understand why we didn’t have many friends, or why we didn’t like the ‘right things’, and generally spend the bill of our lives feeling ‘wrong’, ‘broken’ or just simply like we didn’t belong. 
  Finally understanding the WHY, and even better, finding tools to addresses our issues is a huge huge weight off the chest. The relief of having a name and a strategy- either therapy or medicine is such an amazing relief!! >
  
  I only kinda agree if I had not done my own research I would have never found out I have sjorgens syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis I know TikTok people tend to diagnose themselves and it makes it look cringe but when you live with a incurable illness sometimes you have to work to find a diagnosis >
  
  Well, what do you do of you absolutely know you're neurodivergent, but your parents decided not to get you checked? My mom once told me "we knew you had something, we just didn't get you checked because they would have just put you on pills". So I struggled with being different, socially unaware, impulsive, obnoxious, agressive, selfish, for the better part of my life without having the self awareness to understand why I was these things, and why people wouldn't want to be around me. 
  In my late 20''s I asked the question, what if I'm actually autistic? I looked up the symptoms, and 9/10 matched. As a child I couldn't handle loud noises, restrictive clothing, I didn't talk until I was 3. I would throw fits for seemingly no reason, I had obsessive interests. I've always really struggled with eye contact, and I never cared for conversation unless it was something I liked. I mean, when the final piece of a puzzle fits so incredibly well, it's really hard for it to be wrong. 
  Self diagnosing actually really helped me grow as aj individual. I became aware of all my divergent behaviors, and why it might be annoying for someone else to deal with. I came to the realization that I was the one who was different, therefore I needed to change. It's way harder to make everyone around you cater to your needs than to overcome the things that upset you. I'm at peace, I have good friends that I can connect with on a pretty deep level. I no longer smash coffee tables when I lose, I can now appreciate that if I lose it just means I have more to learn. I can keep my house clean, I can reasonably hold myself accountable. What exactly is the harm in all that?
  Besides, it would be pretty pointless for me to try and get a diagnosis now, I've put the effort in and largely come out the other side. Anyone diagnosing me would just say I was normal, but they wouldn't have the intimate knowledge of me that I do. I guess it doesn't matter if people don't believe me, I don't go around shouting that I'm autistic. I will say, it would be really nice if people appreciated the effort I put in to get to get to a place of normalcy, something others take for granted, but it's okay, we all have our struggles. >
  
  I feel you on all that. To play devil's advocate, mental healthcare in the U.S. is not cheap. Many people go to the internet and confirm their bias about their current health >
  
  I feel you on that too OP. I agree 100% with your entire statement. >
  
  It's a problem, but not a new one. In the 1990s there was briefly a surge of people with a type of delusional parasitosis, that is, the false belief that they were infested with parasites. Except this one was supposedly an infestation with tiny fibres. They would come to doctors with a whole list of symptoms to back up their incorrect self-diagnosis.
  To a certain extent, these are social contagions, which come and go, and often actually end up leading to people having real problems. Like, the young women you mention, a couple of decades ago may well have ended up with anorexia, or self-cutting. These days it might be a self-declaration of autism or a belief that they have gender dysphoria or that they have multiple systems living in their minds. >
  
  Wow I did not know that. Maybe it’s just so prevalent today due to social media. Social media has only made these things worse imo >
  
  Even before it being self diagnosis of a mental illness it was always something. Remember all the emo and goth teenager? >
  
  It depends on the context. For example, if they've done a substantial amount of research, can name a good amount of symptoms they have and reasons they have whatever mental illness and don't have access to the necessary tools to get a medical diagnosis, it's totally different. Some people don't have the money to go out and get a diagnosis, or sometimes it would be better to not get a medical diagnosis. I believe that the reason that a lot of people self diagnose themselves with things like Autism is because they want an explanation as to why they are different, and they could be right or wrong. I think the most important part is that if you go to a psychologist (or even two, I know a lot of people prefer getting second opinions) and they say you don't have it, that you need to admit you were wrong. It's ok to be wrong about your mental health, and the key is to keep looking and to not give up. I can completely understand the frustration in people completely missing how difficult it actually may be to have a mental illness. I was clinically diagnosed with Depression, Anxiety, and PTSD when I was seven, and I've had some experience with people faking mental disorders for attention, and more often then not, they have another mental disorder that needs attention. Recently I had a (now ex) boyfriend insist he had PTSD after being tested twice and the psychiatrist saying that he didn't have it. What he does have is Depression and Anxiety, but he absolutely insisted he has PTSD despite never exhibiting symptoms and the only evidence being a test he took online that was supposedly a "real PTSD test." People faking mental illnesses only harms people who really have them, as these people tend to exaggerate symptoms and use their self diagnosis for attention. I believe that I am autistic, but I don't list it as a diagnosis because while I have read articles and taken the RAADS-r test, I don't have an official diagnosis, and I could very well be wrong. As for women faking illnesses more often, something I've noticed is that things like Autism, ADHD, ADD, etc are more often diagnosed in boys rather than girls- mostly because when they were first discovered, most of the research was done in boys. Autism shows up differently in girls, and can often be blown off as early puberty hormones. If their hyperfixations are those of stereotypical feminine things, it's just a girl liking whatever, and if they hyperfixate in stereotypical masculine interests, they tend to just be viewed as weird, but not autistic. It's normal for people to question, but I agree that to a certain point, self diagnosis can be harmful, but only if not done correctly. >
  
  First and foremost not a new problem at all, very common, we used to call it "Being a hypochondriac" until it aparrently became reconized which in it self is confusing and a bit contradictory.
  ANYWAY
  It isnt really a problem, no doctor is gonna write the perscription for medication without a diagnosis of some sort.
  At most there is the vauge "But what about those who actually have it who arent taken serious" dont worry, we wouldnt have anyway. Thats kinda how invisible illnesses work.
  Overall the 101 hypochondriacs screaming about the symptoms they read in the ICD might help make the knowledge more common and help people better reconize if their colleagues or friends happen to show symptoms of something. >
  
  It’s pretty expensive in the US to get diagnosed. Personally, I’ve self diagnosed myself out of frustration of the way I process things. I’ve always felt slow & my anxiety/depression was deep because of it, but I was raised in a family that doesn’t believe in mental illness. It was always “if you work hard enough, all your problems will go away”. Meanwhile, i was racking my brain on how to make myself think faster/smarter & it would result in psychotic episodes. I’ve gotten fired from jobs, dropped out of school. I started self harming because I hated myself and my brain & almost commit suicide bc I had no idea what was going on.
  The relief I felt once I finally got a therapist who validated me & was the first to talk to me about mental Illness. It blew my mind and all of a sudden things actually made sense to me. I currently think I have ADD, and sometimes I’ll tell people that but will preface it by saying I’m not professionally diagnosed. Still, I use mental tools that help me get through the day and build my confidence. I’m a lot better at processing conversations, making lists that help me remember things, unmasking, slowing down my thoughts… etc. I’m less frustrated and can see the beauty in how I process things. I still want to get diagnosed but I have to get health insurance….. lol >
  
  Self diagnosis, regardless of being factual is a process where the individual realizes that they might have a mental health issue. People who can do this are more likely to seek professional help compared to the people who think they are “fine”. Going to a professional, licensed psychologist or a psychiatrist will eventually diagnose them with the correct disorder from there, and professionals have the skills to communicate with them and they can together evaluate if the person’s complaint is the issue or not. There is nothing embarrassing about discovering one’s self. It would be a problem if people would identify with an issue and don’t have any willingness to seek help. Sometimes overreacting is better than not reacting. >
  
  The majority of people who are self-diagnosed with autism have done extensive research into it to come to that conclusion. I personally went through the DSM criteria with a fine-tooth comb, made a list of all the ways I met it and discovered that there’s not a single criteria i don’t meet for autism. I didn’t read about anything else but autism for weeks, approaching it from all angles before coming to the conclusion that it’s highly unlikely I am not autistic. I’m waiting to hear back about an assessment, but I’m not waiting to go and be told something I already know before I start advocating for myself. 
  Oh, and I absolutely did not want to be ‘different’, in fact my life mission to just blend in and be average is the root cause of most of my problems, but here we are. >
  
  This self diagnosing young people do isn’t the problem. The problem is that our society encourages it.
  Our culture is not set up to accommodate a wide spectrum of human needs. You may need things that I don’t. I may need things that you don’t. But in most business settings, academic settings, or even places like restaurants or leisure places, the world isn’t built to accommodate everyone. Our world and society is a “one size fits all” approach, and most people don’t fit snugly inside of that system. 
  If you can classify what is “wrong” or “different” about you into an easily digestible form, people are generally more able and more willing to accommodate you.
  For example: if I tell my coworkers that I need to leave work early because of a headache, I’ll be shamed for it. And in some cases I’ll be told that “headaches aren’t that bad!” Or “You don’t need to leave.” Or “I have a headache too, just deal with it!”
  But if I tell my workers that I need to leave due to a painful neurological condition that’s flaring up (I have chronic migraine, which is a neurological condition), they will respect it 100% of the time. It’s met with sympathy and not criticism.
  This happens for all sorts of things. “Sorry Im late, I slept in.” Sounds a lot worse then, “sorry I’m late, my insomnia has been terrible lately.” 
  Our culture forces us to use these labels even when they’re untrue just to receive sympathy or acceptance. The problem isn’t people who decide to use these labels, the root problem is that our society refuses to embrace and accommodate people who are outside of the “norm.” >
  
  Speaking as someone who's had an autism diagnosis since age 7: if someone declares they're autistic when they're not, that's obnoxious at worst. If someone is told they're not autistic when they are, that can cause lifelong harm from denied care and understanding. I have seen this happen to a close friend of mine.
  Therefore, I'd much rather err on the side of acceptance. If you think you're defending me and others like me from impersonators, we'd rather not have your help.
  
  I know people will disagree but it’s extremely weird seeing that the majority Of these people doing this are women. Women statistically are born with autism on a far lesser scale than men.
  
  Case in point: women are diagnosed with autism far less than men. Recent studies have pointed to decades of systematic misdiagnosis. The more visible autistic symptoms sometimes manifest differently in girls, the way they're socialized may help them hide it from a young age, and of course lots of doctors just say "your daughter can't be autistic, that's a boy thing."
  We're learning that there are hundreds of thousands of autistic women who slipped through the cracks and were denied the recognition and support they needed because of dismissive, gatekeeping attitudes just like yours. >
  
  There’s a difference between having a disorder and relating to a disorder. If the tools or language associated with a disorder helps someone live better though then cool, it’s all still odd. Also autism presents differently in woman, and a majority of our research on it is on men. Best practice is probably to support them and encourage them to seek treatment.