Why are people self-diagnosing mental illnesses?

-7

This is literally my ultimate pet peeve. You wouldn’t self-diagnose cancer or diabetes or a blood disorder, why are mental illnesses any different? You don’t just wake up one morning and say I have social anxiety or I have anorexia. Only a medical professional can truly determine what you have, what you may think of as an eating disorder may actually be depression which is why self-diagnosing is so dangerous. And if you started to tell cancer patients that you had cancer and you never diagnosed, how would they feel? How do you think all of the people who battle with mental illness feel when some person comes along and says that they are anorexic because they skipped one meal but their BMI is 35. It makes that person feel horrible. Also, so many mental illnesses have overlapping symptoms, that it is easier for a professional to diagnose. You could have something MEDICALLY wrong, why risk it by taking a couple of online quizzes and automatically saying it is a mental disorder? Why are so many people so keen on self-diagnosing mental illness?

They are probably the worst things to self-diagnose. Just see a doctor, please. ONE therapy session can get most mental illness diagnosed and a falsely diagnosed/fake mental illness is like a ticking time bomb.

It seems like people on this site WANT to have mental illnesses which makes it seem to me like their faking it. Who wants to have a mental illness? I would gladly give mine away for free. Everyday is a struggle but I went to a doctor and got properly diagnosed.

***Doctors go to school for YEARS to learn how to diagnose properly. Human’s tend to think the worst, so they DISPLAY the symptoms that they read, whether or not they were originally feeling them. NO 15 – 25 kid can properly diagnose a mental illness. How to you think “just labeling an illness” feels to those who actually have the illness?*********
THERE IS SO MUCH WRONG WITH JUST “WANTING THE LABEL”; THAT IS WHY MENTAL ILLNESS IS STIGMATIZED SO MUCH IN THE FIRST PLACE. You all are the reason why people look at real sufferers of mental illness poorly.

You all have literally just told me that you give yourselves mental illness names to try to fit in and feel better. Which is exactly what I’m accusing you of so I rest my case. YOU ALL ARE FAKING MENTAL ILLNESS TO FIT IN. THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE TELLING ME. This is literally fucking crazy. Mental illness is not a fucking trend.

THE REAL WORLD WILL EAT YOU FAKE ASS FUCKERS ALIVE. Good LUCK.

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galleriahallsong

13 Answers

I agree with the previous answers. It's about understanding yourself better and just mentally organizing something by putting a title on it. It has nothing to do with wanting the label. Doctors are people too, they make conclusions on what they observe. We do the same thing when we self-diagnose. The original post is very generic, but most people don't self-diagnose in one day. It's about gradually watching yourself slip into a behavior that isn't you, and not being able to really do anything. Doing research and trying to find out what is "wrong" with you is completely normal. If someone, however, had a bad day and felt sad, I do not think it would be accurate to say they are depressed. There may be people like that out there, but based on my experience, I don't find that accurate. But, if non certified people diagnose themselves with something, I don't think it is fair for a non-certified person to say they DON'T have it. It's hypocritical, and your reasoning does not make sense.
Do not past judgement on an individual if you do not know everything about the situation. I apologize, but that is a silly mistake on your part. If the people on this site annoy you, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE ON IT. Be more considerate before you anonymously complain about someone you don't fully understand. :)

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Madison

117

i think it's a comfort thing.

We take comfort in labelling our issues (among many other things) because it helps relieve some of the confusion and makes us feel less abnormal. We often gain some sort of understanding. Just discovering that there is a name for a problem is enough to let an individual know they're not alone or that they're not the first ones to experience it. This provides comfort and belonging. When we're unable to name our problems, we end up feeling lost, alone and helpless because we're unsure how to resolve it or which direction to search in for the solution.

i'm not saying that this is the proper or "right" thing to do, it's just why we do it (in my opinion).

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kelly

I self diagnosed when I didn't have access to professional care. I self-diagnosed myself with depression, anxiety, and ADHD. I spent months researching them, looking at the symptoms and people's experiences, etc. I just wanted to know what was going on with me. When I started talking about dealing with these disorders, I got harassed for "faking" and self-diagnosing.Well, I eventually had access to therapy through my school. Well, guess what? I have all three things I self-diagnosed with. My depression and anxiety came out on as "severe" on the inventory thing the therapist had me do. So turns out I had been harrassed for supposedly faking things I had actually dealt with for many years.Many people don't have access to professional diagnosis but want labels for what they're going through so that they can talk to others dealing with the same issues. That's exactly why I self-diagnosed.I am still self-diagnosed with an eating disorder because I'm too scared to talk to a therapist about it. But I clearly know what's going on when I'm consistently counting calories and weighing myself many times a day and eating as little as I get away with.I'm really sick of people getting mad at self diagnosers. The vast majority are struggling with the same type of things you are. I didn't magically actually have depression, anxiety, and ADHD because my therapist said I did, I had them long before I had access to that. What else was I supposed to do but figure out myself what was going on with me?Self diagnosis does not affect those with professional diagnoses. Stigma about mental illness comes from society's ignorance about them or media portrayals of it.

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DykeElf

I completely agree with what you are saying, and I see where you are coming from, but you can't really blame them. Yeah, some people do it for attention or the glamorization of mental illnesses. But a lot of people take comfort in being about to put a name to their confusing thoughts or emotions. They aren't really doing it to offend anybody, but rather to help themselves feel a little more at ease.

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Mia

To be perfectly honest I used to self diagnose quite a lot. I can't speak for everyone but why I did it was I needed a sort of explanation for myself. It's scary know that you're different from everyone else but not knowing what it is that's making you feel like a freak. If you know of a mental disorder that can match up with what you feel it gives you some kind of consolation, well it did for me anyways. You have some kind of idea of why you feel different. It could be a totally wrong diagnosis, but still having something that's totally false is better than nothing. Some people keep it to themselves, some people inform others of what they think they have, it's not meant to offend, they just want to make themselves feel better. I don't self diagnose anymore as i've come to accept my flaws and quirks but I still remember what it's like to be scared shitless by your own mind, hopefully you can understand.

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goodnightowl

Everyone will have individual reasons as to why they self diagnose, I have done it and my reason was that it made you feel as if for once you fit in somewhere, regardless of whether it is a nice place to be it is still a place where there are others similar to you, who can possibly understand. You seem to be under the assumption that it is a competition. If someone self diagnoses something, even if they may not 'officially' have the mental illness, they most probably have good reason to think it. There is nothing wrong with that, if they walked around telling people hoping for attention then I could slightly see you issue but even then it could be Munchausen's disease if that is their reason. Mental illnesses are far far different from physical ones. If they were the same then you could take a drug and be fixed, or have an operation, but it does not work that way. Drugs help, they do not cure. So no, to say self diagnosing them both is the same is a vast small minded generalization. The thing is too, it that when ANYONE goes by their own will to see a health professional it is because they have acknowledged symptoms, and are worried. How is it any different that other acknowledge symptoms but just choose not to go? Further more how does it affect you in any way that someone believes themselves to be anorexic? It doesn't mean that someone else isn't, or that they are making a big joke of it, if they are sincere in their belief, why should you get to tell them that they are wrong? That what they feel and do is not true? As I said before it is not a competition, just because someone says they have it doesn't mean you or anyone else doesn't have it, fighting over who suffers more or who has what 'official' label is not something to be proud of, most especially on this site. Granted on the other hand it can be a problem if there are other things causing the person to feel like that and it is not looked into, but if putting a label on yourself makes someone feel a slight bit of comfort then let them have it.

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Silent

-4

I completely agree! I once had a 13 year old venter on here who insisted that they had depression. Now, given the circumstances that they've been living in, I wouldn't be surprised if that diagnosis was true, except that until you've been clinically, professionally diagnosed by a real person, there is still a chance that you don't have it.And most people would be HAPPY to hear that they don't have depression, right?Not this chick. This girl went absolutely MENTAL at me when I tried to tell her that she might not have depression. She got SO angry, like all she wanted to hear was me TELL her that she has depression. But when I asked her if she wanted me to tell her that, she said of course not.Not only that, but this girl diagnosed herself from online quizzes and a FLYER.So to you, galleriahallsong: people who self diagnose usually just want the attention. They can't be bothered or don't have the resources to get themselves medically checked out, but they still want the credit for being mentally ill; they still want the care, the attention, the asset - they still want to be able to tell people that they're depressed/anorexic etc. Just ignore them. They're real life trolls.

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Lily

216

You have some valid points but not everyone that self diagnoses themselves is doing it to fit in with this current trend that having mental disorders is a cool thing. Months before I was diagnosed I started feel hopeless, tearful, I pretty much lost the will to live, I looked into it online, depression was a common result. After that I found myself having terrible anxiety when it came to being social, my self-esteem plummeted and I'd have panic attacks whenever I left the house. Google told me Social Anxiety disorder, I took these results to my gp and got referred to a counsellor, I was diagnosed with both disorders. I didn't want to fit in with anybody, I wanted to be alone and hated my existence. I knew I was ill and I was ashamed. If I had known about a website like this I'd have come here asking if people thought I was sick too.

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Staceylou

967

oh dear. no, it's not about wanting to fit in and getting attention. a lot of people do that, it's true. but some people also self-diagnose so that we can deal with whatever we have by ourselves, or so that they just know. I'm pretty sure I have anorexia, and that's because I stopped eating for a while and I can't look in the mirror without thinking I'm fat, which are the symptoms of anorexia. But you are right, I can't be sure unless i visit a therapist/doctor. I do agree that people who self-diagnose to get attention are annoying.

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twistedAria

Yes, some people do feign mental illness because it's "cool" or "glamorous" - blame certain social networking sites for that. But some people (with genuine illnesses) do it because it brings them comfort: it's terrifying knowing that something is wrong with you, but not knowing what it is. Putting a name to it - even if it's the wrong name - makes it easier to cope with in the short-term. (Example: My aunt and I were both diagnosed (professionally & separately) with depression and social anxiety disorder - for a long time, we both knew something was wrong with us, but learning that it had a name and known treatments was a huge relief. It made the problem quantifiable.) As long as people who self-diagnose eventually seek a professional diagnosis, I have no problem with them. But I agree, those who never seek a doctor's help, or those who have no illness in the first place, are simply creating more problems for themselves and others.

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Howittzer

I think people self diagnose because only you really know what's wrong with you, or how mentally stable or unstable you are, because at the end of the day no matter how many therapist or psychologist you see only you know how you feel. But it helps if you do have a educated opinion, but the only reasons we would seek out these people is because you thought or felt something was wrong or off... But idk that's just what I think.

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Seagoat

I agree that self-diagnosing is dangerous and often annoying, but sometimes it is necessary. Not everyone has the resources to go to a professional, in fact many of my friends would only have the opportunity to ask for help from their primary care physician once a year. Sometimes it's about money. Sometimes young people don't have parents that take them seriously. Or some people fear that doctors or professionals won't take them seriously. So yeah. While I agree with you, there is another side to it.

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nuclearmutant

yes this is dangerous but you have to understand, that some people who really have these issues suffer from the confusion of their feelings and not knowing what is wrong. They fear telling people , reactions, the way they will be treated, what they will have to go through to get better, and how relationships will be affected. Most people go searching for these answers and until they can have an idea of what is going with them selves, and can start to accept that something is wrong, do they feel safe to seek help and ask for it. Just saying it out loud in a joking manner is a coping mechanism used to protect yourself from misjudgment, and to kind of let it out as a joke is also like a form of denial. It's confusing to say the least, so don't judge them. Everyone deals with things differently. so everyone has their own opinion and it can get annoying but what people are dealing with affects their actions and behaviours. So keep an open mind before you judge

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helpfulcanuck