Self-Diagnosis; Acknowledging Issues and Possibilities

Mental health self-diagnosis can be quite the slippery slope, with the potential for over-identification with a disorder. Psychologists find self-diagnosis unsettling, as it can encourage the use of serious mental health conditions as a socially desirable label, leaving people stagnant in unhealthy habits and an ambivalent sector of their identity. Not to mention the lack of clinical validation from licensed professionals and no guarantees of corresponding treatment. Self-diagnosis appears to be a common trend on social media, where depression and anxiety are romanticized. But what happens to those who face dysfunction beyond the thresholds of normality and cannot receive clinical care due to systemic and social barriers? For those individuals, some argue that self-diagnosis could be reasonable if used as a guide for seeking treatment and uncovering strategies that promote healing. With the online availability of clinical assessments, diagnostic criteria, and personal experiences, some believe that the potential to reach a validated conclusion is there. However, this is limited by bias and the inability to ensure clinical validity. So, is it possible to be responsible in a self-diagnosis? 

Lynx Life Library. University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus. (2023, April 10). 

https://www.ucdenver.edu/student/stories/library/healthy-happy-life/down-the-rabbit-hole-of-self-diagnosis-in-mental-health