Self-Diagnosing: Do or Don’t?

Recently I’ve heard quite a lot of discourse concerning whether or not it is okay to self-diagnose mental illnesses. Many claim that self-diagnosing is helpful in some ways while others believe it is something that should never be done.

I have seen many people on social media saying things such as “just because something mildly sad happened in your life years ago doesn’t mean you can self-diagnose yourself with depression.” As a psychology major, it annoys me that people are trying to dictate what can or can’t make a person depressed. People on social media have gotten into the habit of putting trigger warnings on things that could possibly trigger someone’s mental illness. Why do we do that? Because people are triggered by different things and while you might not be triggered by someone talking about a certain thing it doesn’t mean someone else won’t. It’s relatively the same with depression.

I once had a psychology professor who liked to call each individual’s preference for anything whether it be the cars they like or their moral beliefs, their “taste of chicken” (there is a story behind this phrase that I simply can’t remember, something about chicken soup maybe? I don’t know). We each have our own ‘taste of chicken’. That includes the things that trigger different emotions in us and we cannot expect someone else to have the exact ‘taste of chicken’ as us. Someone might show symptoms of depression because of something that happened to you, might seem very simple but that does not invalidate their feelings. So with that being said, don’t give people rules and limitations on their emotions because you don’t understand exactly how this person is feeling on a daily basis, only the minimal amount they have made known.

So we’ve established that it isn’t okay to self-diagnose someone else with a disorder but what about self-diagnosing yourself?

The times I’ve seen “just go to the doctor” regarding self-diagnosis is unbelievable. There are so many people out there who aren’t financially capable of going to the doctor.

For those who are underage it might be cultural expectations or shame that hold them back from telling their parents they want to get help.

You should not self-diagnose unless you have no other options available and it is your last choice. If you are going to self-diagnose it is crucial that you do extensive research on what you believe you might have as well as other relating mental illness that include the same symptoms you’re having. It is not okay to self-diagnose with more severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or psychotic disorders.

One way to break the stigma concerning mental illnesses is to talk about them and our experiences with them. Please do not assume that someone is making up an illness simply because it is easy for them to talk about their past experiences, it is not up to you to determine whether or not they are making it up. I understand that it is aggravating to see people faking a mental illness for attention or to seem “cute” but assuming someone is lying and accusing them of it simply because you think they are can cause even more damage.

Also as a reminder, being sad or feeling a little anxious does not automatically mean you have depression or anxiety. There are certain amounts of symptoms and certain amounts of time you need to have these symptoms for it to be considered depression or anxiety.

Please do not romanticize these or any other mental illnesses because they are not things that should be taken lightly, these are very serious things that are much more than sad Tumblr posts.

To those currently struggling with mental illnesses: I believe in you and I believe that you will make it.