On Self-Diagnosis - eviltoast
  • schmorp@slrpnk.net
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    1 year ago

    Made-up conditions or drug-selling motive? Why can’t it be both? If I described my inner experience in my own words you might not understand me. Read again: I don’t think autism is made up. I don’t think ADHD is made-up. But I don’t like the ‘disorder’ connotation of those terms. I’m not disordered, I function differently.

    I think a lot of other conditions are made up, or rather they are just descriptions of symptoms with the word ‘disorder’ attached to it. Recently the whole idea of the brain chemical imbalance as cause of depression has been questioned, but Psychiatrists keep medicating people all the same. Probably most don’t want to sell drugs, they just try to help people the best they know and both pharma and academia tell them that’s the way. But really, we have no idea what causes autism, or ADHD, or depression. The treatments offered are experimental at best and have often shown to be harmful in the long term. Between a stranger who doesn’t know me and doesn’t know very much, and myself who knows me and doesn’t know very much - who should I trust?

    • Jax@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      edit-2
      1 year ago

      I have always said that seeing Psychiatrists is a mistake, and that if you want real help you should seek a psychologist first. However, like with cases of people who have bi-polar disorder, (which absolutely is real, you wouldn’t even think to claim otherwise if you’d experienced someone on a manic high) they need the drugs because otherwise they will destroy themselves.

      I gave up on trying to seek help from those types a long time ago, mainly because I decided that I couldn’t find answers from people who couldn’t even tell that I was lying.

      However I also stopped using their words on myself. If you conflate “self diagnosis” with “soul searching” then yes self diagnosis is ok.

      Not everyone does. Some people see it as an easy ticket to manipulate others. As far as who to trust is concerned, regarding doctors, the line for me has always been “do they try to get me to take drugs?”.

      If yes, fuck off, if no: I’ll probably find another reason to stop seeing them.