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.

In germany its free but you just dont get a place anywhere. Diagnosis maybe after a year, therapy never.

And you get a blood test to see you dont use Cannabis etc, because 1+1=2

Both have "a risk for phsychosis or shizophrenia", so combining will obviously lead to crazy dangers. Thats the state of science they are at.

I don’t use Twitter, but if people read tweets the way I do, I never even look at the username unless I’m trying to figure out if it’s the same person replying to another.

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.

Unless it's actually detected with some sort of brain scanner, it's all questions / answers.

For example, I don't want to get an official diagnosis, because I don't want it in my medical records, becaus it might impede things, such as getting a driving licence.

Many doctors where I'm from, tried trearing ADHD with antidepressants. Which is like the exact opposite of what's needed.

Yes, I'm from a weird place.

This post is literally about how hard it is to get a formal diagnosis. Nobody said they don't want to do it.

I'm trying for years now and can't get anyone to test me. Treatment is only covered after I have an official diagnosis. And this is in a country with socialised healthcare.

Not everyone is as fortunate as you and can get a proper diagnosis and treatment.
Yeah I don't need a doctor to tell me my arm is broken, but at least I can get a doctors appointment for that.

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.

Yes, I did.

• No one noticed for years (I am a girl and girls often have different symptoms than boys)
• I asked my psychiatrist for help with work accommodations due to concentration issues and they wanted me to go to a neuropsychologist (thousands of dollars with insurance)
• Switched to a different provider who immediately diagnosed me after a single page questionnaire. Got meds. No drug test required.
• Ended up switching to another provider for reasons - they wanted me to get tested again because they didn't like the prior test ($$$).
• Got the diagnosis but still couldn't refill the original meds I was on because of other health issues. Went untreated for about a year before receiving clearance from a specialist. Drug tests required monthly ($$$).
• Had to switch providers yet again for reasons - they almost made me get tested again but I somehow convinced them not to. Got meds. Drug tests every few months ($$$).

For a purely semantic sake, you're probably right. But for a colloquial sake, the term "valid" here, doesn't mean "legally valid" or "medically valid", but instead means "emotionally valid." For some people, confirmation is therapeutic enough to help. Also "diagnosis" doesn't exclusively mean "medical diagnosis". There are many definitions to the word, and in a medical sense, it usually means what you're describing. But "I think I have ADHD" is a diagnosis. Not a medically valid one, but something that might help me get through the day sometimes. And if that's all I need, then it's emotionally valid.

Being told "your self diagnosis is not valid" to some people is the same as being told "There's nothing wrong with you." (Because most people aren't working on a strict legal medical definition of "diagnosis") Emotionally validating your assessment that something is wrong can very well be what drives people to advocate for a medically valid diagnosis.

Also, saying "You don't have ADHD unless it's diagnosed ADHD" is wrong regardless of stance on self diagnosis. If my arm is broken, it is in fact broken, even if it hasn't been diagnosed. Undiagnosed issues are still issues. Too many anti-self diagnosis claims come across as saying that if you don't have a diagnosis it doesn't exist. At most you can claim "You don't know for sure you have ADHD unless it's medically diagnosed"

As with all things, a self evaluation is a useful "what do I do next" step.

I agree with most of what you're saying, but the way you're presenting it is almost confrontational.

True, self-diagnostic in a strict sense isn't a thing, but as you point out after, a collection of symptoms can speak to one's experience. Finding this insight, in my case, was an eye opening moment because so many things in my past and in my day to day suddenly started to make sense.

Coming to terms with this realization is especially useful for people who have strong negative views on mental health issues, and driving people to "self-diagnostic", as in recognizing that they may be neuro divergent, is a worthy effort.

It doesn't replace actual professional help and diagnosis, but it's a first step that needs to be encouraged.

What kind of help have you been getting since you can't take stimulants?

Then use one of the many telemedicine doctors that actually align with modern science. How weird of them.

My GP just wrote me a script back in 2008 and I've been on Adderall ever since.

That's nice and you're very lucky. My PCP told me to schedule an appt with their drugs and mental health department (3 month minimum wait) and that he'd not renew the prescription I'd come to him with.

Then my next Dr was telehealth and kept warning me I needed to see her in person, but never had an appointment open.

Then my next Dr was 45 minutes late to every appointment.

Then my next Dr tried to get me to do IT troubleshooting on my end when he hadn't joined the fucking Zoom call.

The author is not saying don't get self-diagnosed. They're criticizing the healthcare system.

The problem with online services like that is many of them dont properly test people. So when they inevitably get shut down suddenly you don't have a reliable source of medication and you have to go through the whole process again just to prove it. Like with what happened to Done recently.