comment: >
  
  Have you seen any of the people that self diagnose with DID? They're absolutely bragging.
context: I'm an adult with ADD. I'm tired of people using it as an excuse. Being on medication helps a lot. But just because you have issues concentrating. Or you might be slightly hyper doesn't mean you have attention disorder. >
  
  Exactly, like I said, there’s nothing wrong with suspicion, it helps people come to terms with the way they work, but in order to be able to self diagnose, you need to RESEARCH, research the hell out of it and if after all that you believe you have it, seek further actions. I’m just tired of people causing stigma because it causes people with the disorder to be more judged and it puts more pressure on them >
  
  I know a large number of mental health professionals they all hate self-diagnosis and believe it causes harm to the groups in question >
  
  I think one major problem that contributes to people self diagnosing is the initial barrier in getting diagnosed in the first place, particularly with any kind of disorder such as autism or adhd. Just standard testing is costly. I'm in college, and testing for just adhd is about 600 without insurance. I dont have that money and most people don't have that kind of disposable income.
  In addition, most doctors only know a very standard set of symptoms when it comes to mental disorders. Again, speaking from personal experience. Studies have shown that adhd and autism is shown differently in males and females, but doctors are so much more familiar with the common symptoms in males that if a woman goes in for testing, oftentimes she won't be diagnosed simply because she doesn't exhibit the behaviors that are typical of autism in males. >
  
  That makes sense and I understand that. I’m not saying all self diagnosing is dangerous, because it’s a tool, it’s a huge help to some people. I just mean that it’s dangerous when people use it to cause issues in the community they’re trying to be a part of when they know they don’t have it and they’re just trying to cause trouble for the people that have it >
  
  If done incorrectly, absolutely. I think what the people against self-diagnosis fail to consider is that often doctors incorrectly diagnose.
  A lot of people that turn to self-diagnosis have gone years/decades getting misdiagnosed by doctor after doctor. They’re tired and frustrated and have exhausted their options. 
  True self-diagnosis is about taking an active process in your medical care. If I’m going to go see yet ANOTHER doctor, I’m gonna bring something to the table, so that I’m not left being tested for stuff I already know that I don’t have. >
  
  Oh absolutely, I am 100% with you on that. I mainly mean clout self diagnosing. Like, the kind where people do it for attention and not for the mental relief of knowing what’s going on >
  
  Completely agree. >
  
  saying what your dealing with is similar to x is an incredibly helpful way for people to communicate to loved ones their issues in a way they can understand and also seek coping mechanisms prior to diagnosis. self diagnosis or even actual diagnosis doesn’t give you an excuse to be a dick, those are completely separate issues. 
  Access to formal diagnosis is an incredibly major issue too especially for young people (TikTok’s main demographic) and is why schools will provide accommodations without formal diagnosis. 
  Also since I have technically speaking self diagnosed before let me give you the perspective on it from someone who did. 
  I self diagnosed with (quite severe) dyslexia this is a learning disability and neurological condition (autism and ADHD are also neurological conditions) 
  My symptoms were apparent from being as young as 5. Whilst I had delt with a lot of dismissal of my symptoms as is common for people with neurological conditions (e.g for people with autism sensory issues can get dismissed as just being picky) at times I even questioned if maybe just maybe I was just not working hard enough to improve/just bad at x ect. But the fact is that when looking at my experiences and symptoms it was obvious I was just dyslexic. 
  An additional element of self diagnosis that people often overlook is informal diagnosis. When I entered high school I had a screening test done, this test did indicate clear signs of dyslexia but was not a formal diagnosis. Nor was the repeated consensus of special educational needs staff and other teachers at my schools that I clearly had dyslexia. Along with several other things. 
  But even with all of this reason to believe I had dyslexia I was still self diagnosing and I kept self diagnosing until I entered university and managed to get a diagnostic assessment with an educational psychologist that confirmed what I (and everyone else) had known for a long time before. >
  
  Exactly. Agree completely. It’s one thing to tell people you suspect you have something. I have a strong suspicion I have dyscalculia and say as such because I match its symptoms almost 100%. But I won’t claim I really do have it unless I get diagnosed (which can be hard for adults since most testing is focused on kids). I think a lot of people who say they have something but have never gotten diagnosed are doing it for attention. >
  
  Exactly, I was diagnosed with BPD, before that I was certain I had it because I matched all the signed and symptoms, but I didn’t tell anyone I had it because there was no diagnosis, it’s not safe for people to self diagnose genuine problems. People on tiktok romanticize mental illness and issues but they don’t understand the extreme turmoil that these problems can cause >
  
  Yeah, no kidding. I have diagnosed bipolar 2. It’s not fun at all. Definitely not romantic. >
  
  I see a lot of people with self-diagnosed ADHD saying stuff like "i can't do this because I have ADHD" "I can't help at home because ADHD" - I've got diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 11 and I'm a normal person bro. I can do everything, I might have a weird way to organize my routine, to study by myself etc AND IT WORKS. Don't treat yourself like you're disabled because you aren't! I don't even take meds. If I can you can as well since 95% of the times they're just excuses >
  
  How do you know someone is self diagnosing? Have these people said it outright or are you just assuming that everyone who says they have ADHD/autism on the internet is lying about it? I’ve seen so many people assuming this and as someone who is professionally diagnosed with ADHD it bothers the crap out of me, you literally can’t know someone is self-diagnosing unless you ask the person individually. >
  
  I’m not at all saying that everyone is wrong, self diagnosing is an amazing tool to start understanding what is going on with yourself. I mean people who do it for the attention of it, the people who go around and tell everyone they have it when they don’t match any of the symptoms whatsoever. I’m very sorry if I said something that upset you, I didn’t mean to come off that way. 
  Another example of this is people self diagnosing BPD, I have a professional diagnosis and it pisses me off when people pretend to have it so they have an excuse to be an asshole. people who are just doing it for the attention are a danger to people who have the disorders because a lot of people do it and create more negative stigmas around already highly stigmatized disorders. >
  
  I’m still just lost as to how you can be certain that someone is “pretending to have it.” >
  
  You can’t be certain most of the time but when people constantly brag about it and over exaggerate symptoms for attention is where the problems arise. You can never be certain of what is truly going on with someone, I’m more so saying that it’s bad for people to take something serious and use it as a joke or a way that is negative to that community. As someone with a genuine  diagnosis of autism, MDD, and BPD who has two siblings with ADHD and autism, people who intentionally seek attention by trying to make a joke of serious issues is extremely frustrating and it’s dangerous to the community of people who do have the disorders >
  
  Maybe they aren’t bragging and just overwhelmed but a debilitating disorder