I'm so tired of this dumb trope. No, your self-diagnosis is not helpful. And yes, you can get diagnosed if you're poor. There are many ways to do so, you dont have to go through a fancy psychiatrist, and the US public Healthcare system will actually pay for it.
Man, even knowing how fucked 'murica is it still keeps surprising you with more fucked stuff. It just never crossed my mind that getting a diagnosis could cost money for someone.
Tell me you're American without telling me you're American.
it's even funnier when you might have any given variety of mental disorders.
Could be ADHD, could be autism, hell might be both or neither! Could be SzPD, could be a variant of that, could be any other generic personality disorder. Hell maybe i'm just shitposting and i'm perfectly normal!
So now that balloons to the period of about 5 years, 20 tests, and many thousands of dollars, both spent and lost.
OH and how could i forget. It does precisely, almost nothing. Because disability is super fucked. And any other services that do exist are probably also a nightmare, so what's even the fucking point of having them!
Also I think that you need psychiatric support if you really have ADHD, people think that have a untreated ADHD it's like having a super power.
i feel like it's situational. I've talked to a lot of people that do have ADHD, and are quite fond of their medication as it makes them extremely functional, but part of me is irked by the fact that it might be a secondary effect due to association. (i suspect they want to be a part of society, and as a result the medication making them capable of doing it quickly becomes a part of themselves) If this is the case, there is an argument to be made for the fact that our society simply isn't built to deal with the people it contains.
Part of me wonders whether ADHD was an evolutionary adaptation due to the presumed utility of it in ancient society.
I may have ADHD, and if so, i find it to be an extreme hindrance to doing normal people things, like at all. However, outside of that im perfectly fine and i would argue probably benefited by it, because it often keeps my brain busy thinking about things and doing stuff, which is good for your mental health (physically) there's a reason a lot of my time in my life has been spent covering various different interests and hobbies, and i think this, whatever it is, is part of it. Doing one thing is just really boring, and i can't be bothered. And if proper treatment (medication in this case) removes that, i would rather not be medicated to be honest.
Yeah, but if you're disabled and broke you get free healthcare in America...
Source: That's why I'm not dead.
Murica
Public schools do free screenings in other to qualify for special education or 504 school accommodations. This may only cover students in the district home area and not private school students or adults.
The down side is that some school districts have quotas on how much of the school population can be considered SpEd or 504. But a pediatric psychiatrist can make that determination regardless of the school diagnostician findings to justify accommodations.
a fucking quota?!?!!?
Yeah. They figure that SpEd students comprise about a certain percentage of the general population and set their quota based on that.
It's the same reason that certain racial groups won't get sent to discipline centers otherwise it seems that there's too many POC in the alternative school.
there's something fucky going on with that but i can't put my finger on it.
Self-diagnosis doesn't help me get meds.
Self-diagnosis doesn't help with relationships IMHO either and I mean that both from a personal and professional perspective.
Why you might ask?
YMMV but for me, I am an open book. Having the diagnosis meant I could talk to bosses when trying a new med, or explain to them when struggling. Knowing the diagnosis means you immediately diffuse an aspect of a challenge. For me, that has been immensely valuable.
Edit - wanted to add a common counterpoint is don't let work know because you can't predict people who will use your honesty against you. I will argue assholes are assholes and you can't live your life at the possibility someone will be a dick. Most people are good people. Trust on that.
Unofficial/self diagnosis helped me in my personal relationships.
I mentioned to my partner that a doctor friend thought I had ADHD, and it really helped them not take some of my most annoying traits personally.
I get where you're coming from with needing an official diagnosis for work accommodations, but none of your friends are really going to demand to see a doctor's note, so why would personal relationships depend on an official diagnosis?
I get where you're coming from with needing an official diagnosis for work accommodations, but none of your friends are really going to demand to see a doctor's note, so why would personal relationships depend on an official diagnosis?
The same reasons as from a professional experience. Yes they aren't going to pull the doctor's note but neither is work IMHO. What it does is provide more weight behind your words of "hey I'm not just googling this shit. I'm not just an insufferable asshole looking to validate that I am. I'm actually working with a psychologist."
Friends, just like coworkers, etc. care less of the diagnosis. They want to know you're working on you because I'd argue writ large people want to see you succeed. A self-diagnosis can help but it doesn't give you access to all the tools you may need to succeed so from the outside I would argue that official diagnosis matters. It means you now have someone else on your "team" be it a GP or a psychologist or whatever helping you navigate things.
Is it me that finds it weird signing off her own tweets with her name, when her username is literally right there?
It's just a shame the (presumably US-based) healthcare system is a clusterfuck, because that bit of expensive paper with a diagnosis on it would likely open up a whole host of avenues for exploration of the condition.
It’s just a shame the (presumably US-based) healthcare system is a clusterfuck,
Laughs in disembowelled NHS..
When the government controlling the public health service doesn't give a shit about the actual public, especially those who it sees as "burdens", you get more or less the same shit as if it didn't exist at all.
I was on a waiting list for 2 years to get an autism diagnosis, and the only way around this is to go private and pay an absolute fortune (this is of course by design - deprive the NHS of its specialists in favour of for profit private clinics).
Want therapy? Wait at least 8 months. Honest about being suicidal? No need to wait that long, here are some cops to come and take you away..
My point is the op is correct no matter where you are in the world, and people who insist that self diagnosis isn't valid seriously need to check their privilege.
On one hand, sure just a meme. On the other, it may not be ADHD that’s causing these symptoms and getting a professional diagnosis will help with treatment regardless of what’s going on.
As someone who's due a diagnosis (hopefully) soon, what type of questions do they ask you?
a lot of stuff about childhood experiences. it's helpful to have someone present who knew you as a child, but failing that, you can talk to them beforehand I suppose. I imagine this sounds like a headache, so don't worry about calling mom if it sounds stressful or confrontational. id say the ideal is a teacher who knew you well but doesn't have stakes in the diagnostic label like a parent might. maybe a sibling.
Hi my parents took me to a psychiatric but did not say anything about adhd. I did not know what the process was, so I didn't ask them for that diagnosis. They did give me anti depressants but I stopped going after 3 sessions cause i didn't feel like it was going anywhere. Do you think i should go back and ask for a diagnosis? I also want to add that i live in a country where mental illness is still not real. So im not surprised the doctor was not communicating with me openly
that sounds hard. i cant give you medical advice - you know yourself better than me anyway. one thing i can comment on is that changes usually take a combination of medication and behavioral changes (aka therapy). so it's not surprising that things didn't improve after 3 sessions. it takes a lot of effort!
Thank you for the heads up
I understand why people might not want to do it, but personally getting diagnosed and starting treatment has been life changing.
Yeah you don't need a doctor to tell you your arm is broken, but raw dogging a broken arm is hardly ideal.
Nah, I can't even do that because every place in my area will straight up say that they will never diagnose an adult with adhd.
I literally got my diagnosis in one day at my PCP as he went through the DSM 5 criteria and asked some questions about my childhood. It took 30 min and he was not a pill pusher. He does not ever prescribe stimulants. I tried his nonstimulant medication recommendations after feeling the need to have some intervention and they were terrible. When I asked to try a different treatment, he referred me to an in network psychiatrist and things were smooth sailing. The same was true for my two brothers who were also diagnosed as adults and one was diagnosed in another state also at his PCP.
All that being said, I think people make the jump to a psychiatrist too early when they can seek screening at a PCP first. I had to answer a few more questions for onboarding at my psychiatrist, but I never ran into any issues. I also did not have to pay for an ADHD screening because I had already been diagnosed at my PCP.
rolling through DSMV and calling it a day is wild, from my experience, at least with more off the cuff mental disorders a survey containing about a thousand or so questions is the bare minimum. Plus a few more rounds of that as you try to narrow down any other potential disorders it could be, because it turns out this is a really hard field to deal with.
There is definitely utility in getting a diagnosis like this, but i'd imagine most wouldn't for most things other than basic stuff like ADHD, depression, anxiety etc... There is a considerable risk of just being wrong about something, even if you roll through something like ICD10 which is markedly better than the DSMV. If you're lucky there are a few good localized options like the akhtar profiles for SzPD which can summarize the general disorder into a handful of specifics actions more so than a broad behavioral checklist.
I'm in Canada, so things here are a bit different. On top of that, things differ greatly between physicians.
I went into my primary care physician, and I inquired about ADHD, because I'd done some learning, and thought I had it, but didn't want to self diagnose. I thought he'd give me a referral to a psychiatrist for diagnosis, instead he gave me a survey, which was maybe 20 questions at most, took maybe a minute to fill out. After, he looked over my answers, said something to the effect of "this seems consistent with mild ADHD, do you feel it is affecting your life?" Very yes. Then he prescribed me a relatively low dose of ADHD meds, and as soon as I got that prescription filled, my life changed for the better.
I've been on it ever since and much happier for it. Took like 3 minutes at my primary care physician.
Meanwhile, my brother went to his primary, who referred him to a psychiatrist, who did weeks of discussions and examinations before any prescription was provided for him. He also has ADHD.
Different physicians, different people, different experiences.
Are people having that many hurdles for official diagnosis? Genuinely asking. Mine was with my primary care doc, $100 out of pocket for the visit, and whatever the meds cost. There was one questionnaire and total took about 30min from start of visit to prescription. That said, first meds aren't helping at all so I'll need to go back and see what other options there are, if any.
Yes, I did.
Thank you for sharing. This has been incredibly eye opening for me. I'm sorry that it's been so rough for you.
You're welcome. I'm glad I could provide some new information. It does suck but at least I am medicated now :)
Folks, really seriously genuinely, talk to your regular ass doctor about a diagnosis if you’re looking to get assessed. Mine just gave me the assessment for no charge because I was already there for something else.
He even said if I wasn’t happy with the results he would write me a referral to whoever and just send it to my insurance like a specialist referral, so they’d at least HELP even if it’s out of network.
Possibly state-by-state, practice specific, or insurance company policies.
My doctor told me that in my state a psychiatrist has to test and diagnose. The testing was covered by my insurance (if you have a referral), but the wait list is a problem.
Self-diagnosis is not valid. By definition. Not even a psychiatrist can diagnose themselves. What you're talking about is either 1) advocating for your own diagnosis or 2) self-treatment.
Both of these things are valid.
Advocate for yourself for a diagnosis from a health professional if it will unlock new treatment options. But also just look into how others with similar problems have successfully managed their problems. Consider how you could implement similar things. That's what's at the heart of therapy for ADHD anyway.
But diagnosis itself is only useful as a tool for describing symptoms and informing treatment. If a collection of symptoms speaks to your experience, then the only point in putting a diagnostic label on it is to say "Maybe these things that helped others with similar symptoms will also help you." But in order to do that effectively, there also needs to be a differential diagnosis to ascertain what it is not. This is why healthcare providers need to be involved in the process. Two different things can look very similar but have very different etiologies and different treatments.
Social media needs to quit putting so much emphasis on diagnosis and more emphasis on treatment. This post should be removed for medical misinfo, but I hope people at least read the comments to see why this person seems to be such a snakeoil influencer.
Oh good, another doctor who thinks her own book, website, blog and youtube channel are an adequate substitute for professional, personalized care and diagnosis.
"It's really hard to get a diagnosis, so why even bother trying? Just like the video and hit the bell for notifications!"
I'm 53 now and was considering getting an official diagnosis a few years ago, I even had the initial appointments set up.
I canceled it, because there was too much going on in my life at that moment (even got a notification I could reschedule for later)
All that made me think about what I was hoping for from diagnosis. In the end it was just having something in writing that would help me with self-acceptance.
Around that time I also was in a group psychotherapy so I talked about that and that part is now solved.
Regarding meds - I don't want to try them now as my other coping strategies are good enough at the moment and I'm a bit wary of side effects as I need to take a handful of. medicine every day, anyways.
In the end you need to decide why you want a diagnosis. If you want to try meds I'd go for it. (My son "inherited" it from me and had meds for a time, which really helped him).
In a case like mine where I didn't expect any new strategies out of it or didn't want meds - it was probably the right decision to skip it.
The lighter side of ADHD
