Self-diagnosed issues

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Erevetot

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This is, IMO, an issue. But I want your views as well.

Some years ago, i was officially diagnosed with anxiety and depression. Some of the stuff that came with it, is overthinking, and a log of negativity. It affects me on everything

So, lately I'm trying to get back on my feet, fight my depression and be better. I have no money to visit a doctor, and I dont want to as last time I did, it actually made it worse. So, Im googling a lot of my feelings, trying to find a way to handle them, and I keep identifying them as symptoms of a LOT of other mental diseases
Normally, I just find details, and then look for a treatment, get a basic idea of what I should do/avoid and just skip it, but on my "bad" days, it scares me, to know I have so many issues etc. Im not going as far as getting medication for things I think I got, but sometimes I try to fight things that I diagnosed myself, and I keep sinking into the pit of anxiety.

So, for me, sometimes self-diagnosing is bad, as the depression amplifies everything and makes me not think clearly and relate to a lot of other issues, ending up having a huge list of problems that I probably don't even have, problems that I possibly think I got on my low moments because Im so weak and everything seems bad etc


This is not as much as a "help Erevetot" thread, it's more of a discussion on that, on self-diagnosing, if you think it's good/bad and if anyone else is doing something similar etc
 
I took a depression test online (one you have to pay for) and it said I have a depressive mindset, and am not depressed, which after reading about it, I agree! So instead of saying I have depression, I did some research before I started saying I did.

I think some people can self-diagnose, because they do the proper research and talk to the right people for information.

I think others just watch a tv special and think "Oh my gosh, I have this!" Then they blame behaviors on a mental illness they don't really have. I think that is the issue with self-diagnose. My boyfriend drives me up a wall, because he will read something online and think "I have this because of this and this symptom" and then go to the doctor and it be nothing. He has even been tested for things he thinks he has. I know it's better safe than sorry, but come on.
 
my impression is that doctors in mental health tend to overdiagnose and put people in boxes (you are - bipolar, you are - borderline, etc) even when they are just going through a difficult period, not sure why.
I guess that to diagnose yourself correctly you just have to read a lot and think a lot, no way around it. And also try to be very detached/scientific to avoid the effect Nicoleit mentions.

In the end, you know yourself how functional you are, from what you write you sound still "pretty together", and if it is so you still have a choice, to accept a diagnosis that someone made and go with it/accept it and live with it (which usually means letting go of the hope that you can change things), or think that whatever difficulties you are experiencing at the moment depend on some factors that can be changed or affected, and work on that.
I understand that some people just can't do it, and I guess that is where clinical anxiety or depression show their true colors.
So, if you are still functional, if you still can work on it, it doesn't matter if you have a big problem or small, because little step after little step you are going towards being better, and you can still walk this path, although it would probably be better to have professional help, but not always, considering that at least half of them are really bad doctors ;)
Do you have a community, some other people to talk with who are in the same boat? Exchanging experiences and diagnoses also can help with understanding what your problem is.


PS: I can endorse some of these, especially Horwitz the loss of sadness : http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/charting-the-depths/201402/the-ten-best-books-about-depression


wow, just found a torrent called Criticism of psychiatry and psychoanalysis- a collection
I cannot endorse illegal activities in this forum, but in case someone comes across that, it seems interesting
 
I self-diagnose everything because I find my doctors aren't very good at diagnosing things correctly. I treat everything myself without drugs if I can and have been successful every time.

On rare occasions I have to go to a doctor to get a prescription or to get a doctor's opinion. I think a doctor's opinion is helpful as they are trained and know what they are talking about, but it's just that - helpful. I use their advice to help me diagnose things myself. They recognise that I'm like that and that they don't always have the answer and ask me what I think it is so they can run the appropriate tests.

While doctors are knowledgable, and I agree with this, they are restricted by their training, degree of experience and what is standard practice - they often diagnose the symptoms instead of the cause and they can't go onto the internet and find a drug-free treatment that hasn't passed their clinical trials.

You should only self-diagnose and self-treat if you know exactly what you are doing, research everything heavily and are confident in it like me, otherwise you may end up falling for lots of scams and buying potentially fatal treatments like you see people doing on the news. Even I take my diagnosis to a doctor in the rare case that I'm uncertain.
 
Whether or not self-diagnosis is harmful probably depends on someone's subconscious intention. If they're looking to "explain" themselves and fit in, they can start aligning themselves with a group, pigeonholing themselves into the stereotypes or symptoms, and explaining absolutely everything they do with their disorder. I'm sure it happens with diagnosed folks, too, but the self-diagnosed ones are digging their own graves.
 
I dont mean to undermine self diagnosing, or say that everyone that's doing it is wrong, Im sorry if it came out like that
What i meant, is that I catch myself, when im feeling really bad, relating to things I normaly shouldnt, just because i feel bad and think everything is bad
 
Therapon said:
I self-diagnose everything because I find my doctors aren't very good at diagnosing things correctly. I treat everything myself without drugs if I can and have been successful every time.

On rare occasions I have to go to a doctor to get a prescription or to get a doctor's opinion. I think a doctor's opinion is helpful as they are trained and know what they are talking about, but it's just that - helpful. I use their advice to help me diagnose things myself. They recognise that I'm like that and that they don't always have the answer and ask me what I think it is so they can run the appropriate tests.

While doctors are knowledgable, and I agree with this, they are restricted by their training, degree of experience and what is standard practice - they often diagnose the symptoms instead of the cause and they can't go onto the internet and find a drug-free treatment that hasn't passed their clinical trials.

You should only self-diagnose and self-treat if you know exactly what you are doing, research everything heavily and are confident in it like me, otherwise you may end up falling for lots of scams and buying potentially fatal treatments like you see people doing on the news. Even I take my diagnosis to a doctor in the rare case that I'm uncertain.

I kinda agree with Therapon here.

Also, what you said here..
Erevetot said:
I dont mean to undermine self diagnosing, or say that everyone that's doing it is wrong, Im sorry if it came out like that
What i meant, is that I catch myself, when im feeling really bad, relating to things I normaly shouldnt, just because i feel bad and think everything is bad

... yes, it is definitely much easier to think you might be experiencing some of the symptoms of the diagnosis just because you are feeling down because then your judgement or view is clouded and thus you cannot make a proper or I'd say, a more accurate diagnosis.
 
Hey Erevetot.

Self-diagnosis is rarely a good idea, in my experience, unless you have a good awareness of your own body and exactly what's going wrong with it. People will convince themselves without much provocation that they have an illness because they have symptoms some website listed or read a post on some forum that lined up with their own experience, when it may be something completely different to what they think it is.

An example would be a friend of mine (who is something of a hypochondriac anyway) having gastrointestinal problems and diagnosing themselves with irritable bowel syndrome. This went on for maybe a year and the symptoms kept getting worse, so they were eventually forced to go see a doctor. The doctor sent them to get a full battery of tests over the course of perhaps a week and it turned out that they were genetically predisposed towards high cholesterol levels which, coupled with a few unhealthy lifestyle choices, quite effectively mimicked the symptoms of IBS.

Of course, after being diagnosed, my friend immediately assumed that they were now doomed to live a life of progressively failing health and more extreme illness, when all they have to do is make a few relatively small lifestyle changes to curb the most damaging symptoms and take medicine for the rest. As tealeaf so wisely said, many people will very easily pigeonhole themselves into an illness, whether it be subconsciously or even to elicit sympathy from others.

And that's why I never self-diagnose!
 
Doctors only want money, to prescribe as many pills at possible and to make every person an exact copy of each other, happy little consumers. And since I believe that no one knows us better than ourselves, I will agree with you, Erevetot that self-diagnosis is not only possible, but better than counselling.
 
Seeker_2.0 said:
Doctors only want money, to prescribe as many pills at possible and to make every person an exact copy of each other, happy little consumers. And since I believe that no one knows us better than ourselves, I will agree with you, Erevetot that self-diagnosis is not only possible, but better than counselling.
Hopefully when I become a doctor after my exams.. I am not gonna be a money-doc... I vl do my best to be peolpe's doc... Thanx for ur opinion... :)
 

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