A word search didn't provide a thread like this so I made my own.

What are your thoughts on self-diagnosis? (E.g. researching depression, comparing yourself to a list of symptoms, maybe taking a test online, and coming to a conclusion that you are or might be depressed) Have you self-diagnosed? If so, how have you proceeded from there?

Personally, I'm a bit wary where self-diagnosis is concerned. I know that not everyone can get a professional diagnosis for whatever reason and that you can diagnose yourself correctly, but even so I think that you need to see a professional if you want to be 100% sure. And if you want medical treatment.

I'm struggling with this personally right now. I'm pretty sure I have depression, but I lack the courage to reach out to a medical professional or even tell a friend. The thing is, even if I wasn't a scaredy cat I'd still hesitate because I can't commit to therapy, and I don't want medication because of the possible side-effects. I'm curious to know if anyone who has self-diagnosed has found any useful ways to treat themselves? I don't expect miracles, I know I should see a doctor if I want confirmation and professional care, but, you know.

Hey, i now that i am dealing with depression and it was self-diagnosed. So don't rule it out No knows u better than urself. Um....so yeah... and we could talk if u wanted too....

Hello Lare.
I know how you feel. People always said I was one of three things. Either a demon (not possible both my father and mother are in deed humans, even though they act like demons, a psycho, or a sociopath. Well, after years of these names being used to describe me, I did some research. I am not a pyscho....although it does appear I am a sociopath. All this is based on research and tests I took. Although, through talking to "normal" (what people consider average) people, I found myself giving emotions I had never had before. Only because these people had some effect on me. They were changing me into a real human. I was feeling sadness, guilt, and mostly..love. An emotion I had never felt. My point is, it is not silly to self-diagnose oneself. You do not have to reach out if you do not want to. I would talk to >>2. or...me if u want. Even though i most likely wont be much help.

(This isn't medical advice. You should see a doctor before attempting any diagnosis or treatment. Don't sue me. etc.)

"I think that you need to see a professional if you want to be 100% sure"

It's important to note that you can't be 100% sure even if you're diagnosed by a professional. Misdiagnoses are very common when it comes to mental health. This can be especially dangerous when you're given a prescription medicine to treat something that isn't accurate, as it can end up having the opposite effect.

That means you can't be passive about your health even if you have a doc. I think you should research any diagnosis you get on your own, long before you accept medication, to see if it's really relevant to you.

Likewise, you should do some research about your health to get an idea of what you expect to be diagnosed with before you even go to a therapist/etc. because it will allow you to seek out a specialist on that topic. Some therapists will not take you seriously if they specialize in something contradictory to what you're showing symptoms of. Not all doctors believe in all illnesses, unfortunately.

"What are your thoughts on self-diagnosis?"
Imo: Doctors are just people. So long as you've taught yourself well and are being responsible about it, self-diagnosis isn't a serious problem. But you need to be careful in case the underlying cause of your depression is another disorder or forgotten trauma, as aggressive self-treatment can be triggering.

PSA "researching depression, comparing yourself to a list of symptoms, maybe taking a test online" Is not the responsible way to do it. Like, for the start, "depression" is not a diagnosis on its own, though there are many types of depressive disorders one may have.

Read through the DSM-V on depressive disorders (page 155 and on in the book, here) and see if you fit the criteria of anything shown. Don't decide that right away, either -- close out of it, write down your daily life and feelings for a couple weeks, then come back to it & compare.

For example, these are the diagnostic criteria for a major depressive episode:

Five (or more) of the following symptoms have been present during the same 2-week period and represent a change from previous functioning: at least one of the symptoms is either (1) depressed mood or (2) loss of interest or pleasure.
Note: Do not include symptoms that are clearly attributable to another medical condition.

• 1. Depressed mood most of the day, nearly every day, as indicated by either subjective report (e.g., feels sad, empty, hopeless) or observation made by others (e.g., appears tearful). (Note: In children and adolescents, can be irritable mood.)


• 2. Markedly diminished interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities most of the day, nearly every day (as indicated by either subjective account or observation).


• 3. Significant weight loss when not dieting or weight gain (e.g., a change of more than 5% of body weight in a month), or decrease or increase in appetite nearly every day. (Note: In children, consider failure to make expected weight gain.)


• 4. Insomnia or hypersomnia nearly every day.


• 5. Psychomotor agitation or retardation nearly every day (observable by others, not merely subjective feelings of restlessness or being slowed down).


• 6. Fatigue or loss of energy nearly every day.


• 7. Feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt (which may be delusional) nearly every day (not merely self-reproach or guilt about being sick).


• 8. Diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness, nearly every day (either by subjective account or as observed by others).


• 9. Recurrent thoughts of death (not just fear of dying), recurrent suicidal ideation without a specific plan, or a suicide attempt or a specific plan for committing suicide.

B. The symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
C. The episode is not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance or to another medical condition.
D. The occurrence of the major depressive episode is not better explained by schizoaffective disorder, schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, delusional disorder, or other specified and unspecified schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders.
E. There has never been a manic episode or a hypomanie episode. Note: This exclusion does not apply if all of the manic-like or hypomanic-like episodes are substance-induced or are attributable to the physiological effects of another medical condition.

There's a lot of other good information in the manual which goes into depth about how depressive episodes look, what disorders are commonly co-morbid with it, and the many variations of it (varying severity and frequencies).

As far as how people have self-treated this, it depends on what the cause of the depression is:

If it's due to a chemical imbalance, you're not going to fix it without medication or dietary intervention. You really need a doctor for this.

If it's due to a specific event, you may want to research grief counseling techniques or ways that trauma is treated, depending on the type of event it was. Trauma will eventually need a therapist.

If it's caused by other disorders, you probably won't know until nothing helps and you're forced to see a professional. You'll need to treat the underlying cause at that point.

If it's more of a self-inflicted "echo chamber of lies" type issue, you may want to practice mindfulness and stop looking at yourself with judgement. A therapist who specializes in self-esteem and life-organizing may help with this more.

To just stay out of bed and take care of yourself: Try observing what you do daily from the perspective of a kind outsider who sees nothing wrong in anything you do. What can you change in your behavior to not influence them negatively? Don't think about the overarching "well I need to reach x and y goals", think about the "right this second, I'm sitting up straight" and the "right this second, I'm brushing my teeth". Not "I'm going to" but "I am", as you do (likewise, it's not "then you'll do this" but "as you do this").

Generally thinking positive about yourself will help a lot, too. Even if it's secretly a "lie", even if you "know" you "don't mean it", just having a positive environment in your own head will go a long way.

--

Anyway, depression sucks & it's hard to get through on your own. You may eventually need to get professional help. When you do, remember that committing to treatment doesn't mean committing to that particular therapist; if thing's aren't working out, don't be afraid to ask them to refer you to somebody else or to just find another on your own terms.

Good luck & feel better soon :c

(This still isn't medical advice. You should see a doctor before attempting any diagnosis or treatment. Don't sue me. etc.)

>>2 and >>3 are the same person.

Quit samefagging m8. This isn't the place for that shit.

Depression is probably the one and only mental illness that you can safely self-diagnose. Anything beyond that, the self is in denial of its own condition, whereas depression is easy enough to see with a list of matching symptoms. That said, true depression is something that you *cannot* manage all alone. You need to tell someone who doesn't have a complex about mental illness and who will honest-to-God be there at any time of day or night to support you.

There are definitely a lot of scary side effects from the meds, some worse than the disorder itself. And the withdrawals coming off of them when you have to switch meds are intense. But depression isn't a sad emotion; it's a true chemical imbalance in the brain. You will need to take something for it, even if it's like homeopathic instead. Please tell your doctor, even just something under exaggerated like, "I'm feeling a little depressed lately." They may be able to give you something mild without pressuring you into anything else.
Hope you feel better soon.

>>4 Thanks for going through the trouble of writing such a thorough response, BarabiSama. It's very much appreciated. ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

My original post was definitely overly simplified, what I meant by research was reading something similar to what you linked here (only the language is my native one) and even the test I mentioned wasn't some online quiz but a tool doctors here actually use for diagnosis (again, the language is my native one so I cannot exactly show you so you could verify this... just take my word for it when I say the source is an official one). I've done it more than once over a period of ... six months or so I think? and every time the result indicates I might be going through a moderate depressive episode. Still, the link you provided is very interesting and informative, so thank you!

The rest of your response was incredibly helpful as well. I'm glad you mentioned trauma and grief counseling because I'm very much aware that stuff from my past have contributed to my mental health overall; I've been pretty irresponsible about dealing with it because of how I struggle with talking about stuff. I'll do my best to try the tips you provided, though, and I'm sure I'll eventually have what it takes to reach out to a professional. I think me being able to talk about this online is me taking the first steps towards that :')

Again, thanks.

>>6 Also... Thank you, User_, but I feel like I really have to comment on one thing you wrote:

"...and who will honest-to-God be there at any time of day or night to support you."

The thing is, you can't do that to another person. Even a therapist or a doctor can't be there for you 24/7 and you definitely shouldn't expect it from a friend or a family member. Depending on someone like that is unhealthy and unfair not only to that person, but yourself as well: when you inevitably end up in a situation where they're not there for you, you're screwed. At the end of the day it's up to you to take care of yourself.

That said, you should build a network of people that will be there to support you when you can't deal with life alone. That way you're not making a single person responsible for your well-being, which again is irresponsible and generally pretty shitty as well.

You might also have anxiety. I personally think that I have acute anxiety. My question for you is, what good would it do you if you had a proper diagnosis? Would you start medication? I ask because... It's something that I ask myself all the time.

>>8 I might have anxiety, but I'm hesitant to say that without a diagnosis (and as I've said a million times, lmao, my problem is that I'm not ready to get an appointment to get one). It would definitely explain my fear of new and unfamiliar situations and my hesitance to talk to people about stuff. However, I've never had a panic attack etc. in my life (I think) and though I get extremely nervous about them, I've been able to hold group presentations at uni and stuff. Alone has been quite a bit worse but still.

Asking questions like that is a great idea, thanks! I'm not sure I have answers to them, though. ;;

Sorry for the confusion. I didn't mean that you should be relying all on one person, as much as I meant you need to have at least one person who will be there. Almost everyone will say "if you ever need anything let me know," but someone who will actually follow through is much harder to find. I'll be honest, I know I lay too much on my one person, but it isn't easy to find someone you're comfortable opening up to who you can actually trust to react reasonably and handle your secrets appropriately (not always how you want them handled, but the right way). If you already have a full network of support, that is amazing!

Yo! I'd just like to bring up a few points, don't know if they help but there's some things I'm a little worried about as well when reading the replies. although I'll probably get muddled and send lots of mixed messages.

Well here we go, self diagnosis can be dangerous sometimes. Although you've done a lot of research into it it seems, not everyone does and so start classing themselves as being depressed or something. I think this is most commonly seen with OCD where just because someone is neater the usual. The problem with this is then it drowns out the people who really suffer from that illness and also makes it confusing for people to understand the severity of what people go through.

But then it is still good to do research though and that doesn't mean there aren't problems that you might need help with

Also when people say doctors are just people, yeah that's true but they're people with experience which is really important. You can research as much as a doctor has but actually putting it into practice is very different. Furthermore, a point I think someone else made is there can be other stuff going on that they've been trained to look out for that hasn't come up in your research

So I think what I'm trying to say is, self diagnosis is good to an extent because identifying a problem is the first step to solving it and could lead to self management. But also get help if you can!


Oh and another point I just remembered is sometimes if you're not careful you can get the symptoms of whatever you're researching

Welp, hopefully this wasn't pointless, best of luck to you all, laters!!

I don't blame some people for being afraid to get help. I went to therapy and meeting a bad therapist after expressing so much can be very disappointing. It can make you feel very uncomfortable and even how upset you were already, meeting another person to express to get more difficult b/c you're hoping they help you to understand you're well or not.

>>7 You're welcome c:

It sounds like you're doing everything right, honestly. Just be aware that there are a lot of judgmental people (online and off) that you may need to fight past to open up or even to pursue treatment. But you can do it; you have everything you need.

Good luck, brave warrior (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧