Self Diagnosis?

Do you think it's stupid to diagnose yourself especially if it's a special interest?

Just wondering, because I'm almost certain I fall on borderline, narcissist, antiscocial, adhd spectrum and GAD...

I've only been diagnosed Bipolar and GAD, and as far as I know Add, but just confused why people get so mad about self diagnosis. Maybe not a full diagnosis but definitely on spectrum overlapping traits.

Is any of it even real?

-- Wed Aug 24, 2022 8:51 pm --

Definitely got some convert narcissist going on, and then borderline and I've watched and read numerous artciles and videos presentations etc of real life people with these disorders, and it fits. So why do I need a therapist to diagnose me, when the therapist will parrot back what I say, but I'm stupid and ignorant?

Yes and no. I don't think there's anything wrong with reading about other people's experiences with a disorder and realising what they're saying is really resonating with you.

But, I think we need to be careful that we're not unnecessarily applying labels to ourselves. There's many disorders with symptoms that overlap in different ways, and sometimes can be misconstrued.
I could probably diagnose myself with half a dozen different things just because I appear to have some of the symptoms. I had a doctor once want to tell me that I was bipolar purely because I had rapid mood swings- I didn't have any other symptoms of bipolar at all, and in the end, it was better accounted for by other things, including my environment at the time.

In the past I had a psychiatrist diagnose me with Social Anxiety- I went away and did some reading about it- because that's what I do. It helps me understand the disorder and how/why it affects me and why it's there, and question whether it seems right or not. In reading about it I found out about AvPD. From there I went back to my therapist and said "what do you think", and he agreed it was potentially the right name for it- but he didn't confirm that until months later after he'd observed some more. Many diagnoses can't be made in a single session.

Having a therapist/doctor diagnose you is about making the correct diagnosis, to separate out symptoms that might overlap between disorders and work out which disorder they actually belong to, or if it's a combination of. It's very easy for us to be swayed towards one diagnosis even without fully understanding the disorder and it's symptoms. Like the number of people in everyday interactions who I hear say "I'm so OCD" at some behaviour they have without understanding that OCD is not just being mildly particular about having a tidy desk, but something that can interfere severely with how you function and is not necessarily about obsessive tidiness, like many seem to think it is.

That said, there's nothing to stop you browsing forums to see what resonates with you- there's been many an "oh wow" moment when people have found a forum where people seem to somehow have the same thought processes as you. There are also often significant barriers to having access to someone who can make an appropriate diagnosis- it might be cost, location, appropriate professionals, some countries and even some professionals don't really recognise some disorders. Seeking help and support is important though. Professional support is ideal, but for many, starting out with seeking out other people going through the same thing on forums can be a good step towards that. And support from family and friends- if that's something that you have, make use of it.

A therapist is also there to help you understand the diagnosis, help you see how it affects you, your decisions and the world around you, and to help you make changes where you can to improve things for yourself.