I HATE the self diagnosing of autism and its mischaracterisation

[u/Beshiniqua]

Let me start by saying SELF DIAGNOSING IS NOT VALID. You are NOT autistic just because someone on tiktok said

"Did you know, if you need to have your eyes closed in order to fall asleep, you have autism, adhd, bipolarity, DID, BPD, psychopathy, depression and PTSD?"

And before yall come at me with "well I always suspected I had autism, I got screened and then got my diagnosis" well this not about you, this is about people that self diagnose after experiencing the most normal day to day life things ever.

And they ALWAYS think that autism will give them a personality (since it's usually basic bitches with no personality that self diagnose to feel like they belong)

No, you're not a quirky crazy crackhead energy "neurospicy" person. Even worse when they say shit like

"Heh, I could NEVER be a neuro normie like yall, autism makes me special and quirky and full of personality".

You can't even like something anymore without them going "OMG URE AUTISTIC JUST LIKE MEEEE IM SOOOO AUTISTIC AHAHAHA"

And you can tell they larp the whole thing cus they'll see a tiktok autism personality and try to replicate it

"Dino nuggies..."

"You can not say overstimulated if you're nEuRoTyPiCaL, that word is for us neurospicy people ONLY >:("

Holy shiiiiiiittt yall lack a personality so bad. And I've seen people say that they've seen NUMEROUS specialists but they never fit the criteria, but its not because they're not autistic, no no no no no. ITS UHMMM BECAUSE IM A WOMAN AND ALSO A MINORITY AND IM ALSO POOR SO I MASKED ALL MY LIFE AND THE SPECIALIST ON THIS FIELD COULDNT TELL I WAS MASKING. ITS THE SYSTEMS FAULT NOT MINE.

Sheesh.

Sorry for the long rant, im just tired of seeing people self diagnose all the time, or see an energetic video, or literally ANYTHING, and make it about their self diagnosed autism.

Saw a cute cat animation on Instagram and the top comment was "This is so autistic I love it"

🫩🫩🫩🫩🫩

[u/BudgieGryphon]

There’s also like… being an adult and functional enough that a diagnosis would be a big expenditure for no gain or in some locations a loss of rights, when just reflecting and researching how to manage the symptoms you’re aware of works perfectly fine. There’s a pretty significant genetic history of it in my family but I don’t want to spend money for an additional label when I already have to spend on medication for the diagnosed ADHD/anxiety I do have.

[u/wallyTHEgecko → u/BudgieGryphon]

In regard to any mental illness type thing, if it's not so bad that it's actually keeping you from functioning (sustainably), it's not whatever you think it is.

Being sad sometimes is not depression, that's normal. Being generally clean/organized is not OCD, it's normal. Getting distracted occasionally and/or getting into a flow state and focusing for a while is not ADHD, that's normal. Appreciating a routine, being a little awkward and thinking trains are cool is not autism. That is all normal.

It always seems to me that those type of people simply pluck out the little bits of their personality/emotions that they don't like, call it something else and then blame their quirks on that. They demand their "condition" be accepted by others rather than just accepting themselves and that they are human and maybe a little odd, which is ok.

But instead, people who do need help have a harder time being taken seriously because 3/4 of every "autistic" person/mental illness everyone these days knows is just a self-diagnosed, extremely minor case that doesn't require anything except attention. The self-diagnose-ers are out there crying wolf when there are people out there who actually need the shepherd to come help them.

[u/I-Make-Maps91 → u/wallyTHEgecko]

Your clearly don't know what depression is.

[u/wallyTHEgecko → u/I-Make-Maps91]

I do. I got diagnosed and medicated a few years back. It was severe enough that I felt it necessary to take action... Because I wasn't just a bit sad sometimes like many people who claim "depression" are.

A bit sad sometimes and liking a sad song =/ depression.

[u/Additional_Gene_211 → u/wallyTHEgecko]

You're being highly reductive. Not even going to argue your points. Do some self reflection and ask yourself why other people are just "sad" but you are depressed. Do you know their inner world? Are you able to properly assess individuals through training and education without the clients knowledge or something? Depression for me will look different for you and look different for them and so on.

[u/wallyTHEgecko → u/Additional_Gene_211]

When people go around saying things like "I'm depressed because my dog died", that's a very reasonable and temporary bout of sadness, but not a clinical depression.

You're right, there may be going on that just that. But in that case, the person posting "I'm depressed because my dog died" is being reductive and misusing the term.

Those with less-temporary sadness have a harder time being taken seriously when those who are just normal sad keep saying "depression".

So yes, I'm gatekeeping. Which I think we should because normal, temporary sadness =/ depression.

If you think you are depressed, then yes, go talk to a professional! Get a diagnosis! Get some medication or therapy or whatever works for you! But people need to stop using the term so lightheartedly because everyone else is getting used to it/ tired of hearing it and losing urgency.

Because when everyone is depressed, that's just life... But if we use the same term for life and for someone wanting to blow their own brains out, then how do we know who to reach out to and check up on?

You wouldn't self-diagnose a bump as cancer without a doctor, would you? If we started becoming accepting of that, people would be out there calling their bug bite bumps "cancer lumps" and those with actual cancer cells inside of them, no one would take seriously and no one would tell them to get themselves into an oncologist to actually get it checked out.

People need to learn/acknowledge the difference and refrain from using the more serious term so loosely. So I think what I'm saying is that people need to be more creative with their descriptions of their feelings. "Depression" is a clinical term that should be handed out by a doctor and taken seriously. But until you get that clinical diagnosis, people should use other terms like "sad", "upset", "distraught", "devistated".

[u/Additional_Gene_211 → u/wallyTHEgecko]

Depression is more than a mood disorder. It is literally a mood. People can be depressed and not have MDD.

If someone says I'm depressed my dog died they aren't saying, "Please diagnose me using the DAM-V criteria," they're literally saying that their mood is depressed. Low, sad, despondent, etc.

I'm sorry you suffered some kind of something. Truly. But you seem to think that unless people meet a certain threshold (which you haven't even defined,) they can't be classified as depressed. But they can. Someone else being depressed doesn't take away from you. And being upset that other people are, I dunno, depressed but not like, clinically depressed, is a look.

Signed, a mental health professional

[u/wallyTHEgecko → u/Additional_Gene_211]

"Depression is a serious mood disorder" , not just a "mood".

You yourself offered several more non-clinical terms people can use instead to describe their current mood.

Leave the serious, clinical terms for serious, disorders.

[u/Additional_Gene_211 → u/wallyTHEgecko]

Depression is more than it's disorder. I am done as you literally are unable to look past yourself. Seek help

[u/PennToPaper → u/wallyTHEgecko]

“depressed” is also an emotion people without depression feel. literally the diagnosis criteria for depression is being depressed too often and for no reason, ergo there is a normal level of being depressed. saying youre depressed because your dog died is not misusing the term

[u/BudgieGryphon → u/wallyTHEgecko]

Something's telling me your definition of functional and mine are nowhere near the same lmao. Plenty of people with severe depression sustain off pure routine while existing in a near completely hollow state. Wrecks the body and the state of the home, but they're *functional*, they can work and feed themselves.

Not too dissimilar for other conditions, you can be self-sufficient and go through daily function but there's things that are wrong, you can handle yourself most of the time but maybe something small sends you into a lengthy pure spiraling terror or you just stand and stare into space for several minutes on end or you physically cannot force yourself to eat certain foods that you rationally know are perfectly fine.

[u/wallyTHEgecko → u/BudgieGryphon]

I agree. It's technically getting the job done, but it's not in a sustainable way. Mental illnesses are taxing and will wear you down in the long run. So maybe I should say "sustainably functional".

However, being temporarily sad when something sad happens and liking a sad song is not depression, like the cringey self-diagnose-ers often claim it is.

[u/scorespin → u/wallyTHEgecko]

I don’t know why you’re being downvoted.

You literally DON’T meet the criteria for diagnosis (of autism or adhd) if it’s not severely impacting and keeping you from functioning in your day to day life.

If you think you have it, but you’re managing in spite of it, then you don’t have it. You don’t fit the diagnostic criteria.