All of this.
We knew we had ADHDbrain *long* before diagnosis.
We knew we had BPD *long* before even all the symptoms were showing.
We knew we even were Multiple v. early on (but were gaslit by psychiatry).
You know you better than anyone else.
Gatekeeping culture is like: “don’t get your information online it’s too easy😡!!!” Then offer “find research papers online it’s really easy🙄”
Then block you.
Self diagnosing isn’t TikTok videos and random blogs. It’s literally months to years of research. There’s a lot of reasons why someone can’t get professionally diagnosed.
Misdiagnoses happen a lot
People aren’t taken seriously
It’s expensive asf
Its inaccessible
People want to adopt
People want the right to their bodily autonomy
I’m disappointed when I go online and see my bullies are now nurses. That’s kinda the same thing when I go on here and see professionally diagnosed people who shit on undiagnosed for posting coping mechanisms.
Stop calling people “the problem” for coping. The real issue is people who post any “if you have these… you might have” THATS DANGEROUS. what isn’t dangerous is:
Finding coping mechanisms
Find organization tools to function
Therapy
Talking about experiences
Researching extensively on traits
Documenting
Unmasking
Printing off quizzes or research articles from well established resources (Embracing Autism, ASAN, AIM, awn network, A4A)
Stimming (if it isn’t harming)
Advocating for diagnosis is one thing. Being a bully online is another. It’s a disability not a quirk, a lot of self diagnosed people know it’s a disability. We can identify the actual problems in the self diagnosing community but a lot of us aren’t those.
We’re valid