THE FLAWED MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM
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- Опубликовано: 21 сен 2024
- I could probably talk about this for 100 hours if you couldn't tell. here's just a few tumblr posts talking about just how flawed the mental health system is and my opinion. of course I'm biased wanting to work in the field one day so keep that in mind as you're listening to my opinions. like I said, that's why you're here right?
let me know your experiences, good or bad, with the mental health system, and your overall thoughts on this topic!
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I don't understand why some people on Tumblr lump autism in with mental illness. It's not a mental illness, it's a developmental disorder. Totally different playing field.
i feel this! i feel like too much of tumblr treat autism like it is a mental illness and thats where things go wrong like...
I can only assume they lump them together because it was/is in the DSM. I completely agree though, autism is not treated in the same way as mental health problems lol
Exactly! That’s like saying b/c I have Cerebral Palsy, I’m mentally ill?
Tumblr is the worst place for someone with actual mental health issues.
And the place where everyone thinks they're autistic. Sadly.
mental illness is a badge of honor, "normies" are shamed for using terms like anxiety or depressed, and even if you have a diagnosed disorder, you still get shunned from cliques/groups made for those people. Its a gross popularity contest basically. Then you add in the anon bullying and the fact most of them are under 18, its an awful, horrible place.
I have thought so until this point because I have seen so many bad things on tumblr. But I have also found a few good blogs that acutally give realistic tips and self help resources. You just have to find good people I guess.
you just need to follow the right people and it can actually be very helpful. there's a lot of shit on tumblr but there's also a lot of great stuff. as everywhere.
Victoria Ferguson simmer down buddy, it's a website. You're acting like it's No Man's Land
Self diagnosis seems problematic without a professional opinion. Yeah you could have x disorder but, without a concrete diagnosis what are you even gonna do without a professional? Like how are you gonna treat any mental illness.
as far as selfdiagnosis on tumblr, most of them dont WANT help. They put it in their bios and wear it like badges of honor, clique up, and I've seen bullying "neurotypicals" (when they dont have autism). Mental illness in the tumblr community is often treated as trendy, or part of your personality you shouldnt get rid of.
I dont understand why people wouldnt want help or another viewpoint if theyre truly struggling with a mental illness....
I think self-diagnosis can be good when you know how to handle it. I self-diagnosed myself with depression and anxiety 5 years ago (and now I'm professionally diagnosed), the reason I didn't get any help until 2 years ago was that I didn't have access to a support or therapy because of my parents, they didn't think anything was wrong and just brushed it off for several years. Realising I had a mental illness made me *want* to get help and start therapy, I just couldn't at the time. But it also gave me other ways to find support on the internet, and a chance to talk to others who experience the same things as me.
Also, I don't think most people who self-diagnose just read one article about an illness and say "yeah I have it". People usually do a lot of research, and if they don't get help for the illness they suspect they have, it's probably because they're either a minor whose parents don't let them see a therapist or because of economic reasons.
yeah i definitely agree with you. not everyone could afford therapist and insurance for medication. i think people need to see both side to understand. like self diagnosis can help a person because we know we are sick and the only way we get help because we know it? idk if you think it that way. like i watched this video where someone knows they're suffering from chronic disease and yet the doctor said it's fine it wasn't serious and they requested mri scan they found out it is far more concerning disease and now they receive the treatment they needed. so yeah people can blame on it towards what they get what they perceive is that self dx from tumblr is harmful and they "don't" want to get help i mean who doesn't? but i do admit some of them hate recovery because they don't feel they're sick unless they want to kill or hurt themselves but stop shaming people for that. how they cope and stuffs.
erina ken I completely agree with you. I know insurance is expensive and I have no problem with self diagnosis. I just think that if you think you're ill you should get help. I also know it's not feasible for some and it makes me mad that mental health care isn't made affordable for everyone. It's preventative care in my eyes and helps give people the ability to thrive.
Bccaundefined yeah i think those people who are dealing mental illness should have a health care too and it's sad to see people who are dealing with schizophrenia whose homeless as they don't get treated that they should have and it's not an easy for them as people said "you should seek therapist" like sorry karen your privilege ass can stop acting like everyone can afford things that you can.
Autism in girls is really underdiagnosed and very few profesionals know about it. I was first self-diagnosed when my brother was diagnosed. Then I was officially diagnosed by my city's Asperger's association. But know my psychiatrist says I don't have it because I don't look like his other male patients. He even said he doesn't know much but keeps diagnosing me a different personality disorder every time I go. So yeah, I do understand people who self-diagnose at first, but I think they should at some point go to a professional.
Cher Zamolodchikova I know, but those cost money. I don't have the money and I need my meds.
Umber Moore as far as I'm aware autism meds are not a thing.
However I could be wrong, care to elaborate?
As a fellow Aspie girl I'd be interested in what exactly they prescribe you with☺️
crasi fantazy I take meds for my anxiety and depression.
Umber Moore well then I understand.
Having multiple diagnosis is hard, and they can definitely be mixed up into each other.
However that shouldn't be enough reason for your therapist to not believe you when you tell them what disorders you have.
Nor should it be enough to cut you off from meds, if you yourself feel you need them
crasi fantazy No, he should not just believe me. I have a formal diagnosis from people that know more about autism than he does.
Ive been really disappointed with inpatient psychiatric hospitals. Apart from having counsellors who would occasionally talk to you for up to 10 min, there was no form of talking therapy. No cbt, dbt, support groups. Nothing. They just made us wake up and sleep and eat. I get that the purpose is to keep ppl safe and obviously that's the priority. But I really think that when you're that low you need intense psych therapy the most. Lots of people I've talked about this have had similar experiences. I don't get why there isn't actual therapy to work on eliminating or at least reducing the intensity of suicidal ideation. :(
Nicole Stef I have done impatient before and we had to do some intensive stuff
I really think it depends where you go and the intensity of the program/hospital for impatient. The places I have stayed at have had different units depending on the care the patient needed for their safety ex: more supervisor, violence, restraint room, etc. I've experienced self-esteem groups, art/music therapy, women's group, trauma group, handling emotions, and these are just a few examples. They had groups but imo I didn't get as much out of it as I would have liked while staying impatient.
Thank you. Me and my father have been talking about this for years.
*to discuss what she said about personality disorders*: technically, you CAN have a personality disorder before the age of 18, but there's pretty much no way you're getting diagnosed. This is because the teenage brain is still developing, obviously. Take BPD (borderline personality disorder) for example- studies found that around half of teens showing symptoms for the disorder no longer show them by the time they are 18. Why? Hormonal mood swings, identity issues teens face, etc all mixed with other mood dysregulations such as depression and anxiety. Diagnosing before that age is looked down upon and risky.
Juliette Denetris if the teenage brain is still developing than no you technically cannot have with a personality disorder.
Victoria Morales it's believed that an invalidating environment during childhood is one of the causes of bpd so when it starts in childhood it's very possible to start having symptoms or all the symptoms before 18.
I know someone who's below eighteen and is diagnosed with a personality disorder. But she actually has it and it causes a lot of problems for her. So its possible, just rare.
My main fear is being hospitalized and held against my will at a mental institution. Citrus here in Florida is horrendous (or at least the ones in South FL). No one can tell me otherwise. I know people that have spent time there (one of them my Aunt, the other a friend I trust) and their experiences were beyond terrifying and vile. It's literally the reason I have yet to seek out a psychiatrist for help. Anyways, great video as always!!
As far as I know the only reason they would do that is if you become a danger to yourself or others because of your illness, or you're underage and admitted by a guardian. There are online resources if you want to seek help outside your local physicians...
If anyone else wants to add something to this, or correct me if I'm wrong...but my understanding is legally they can't hold you against your will except in certain circumstances...
You mentioned self diagnosing autism. WHAT!? I have Aspergers and so does my brother. You can't self diagnose autism. Everyone with it is different. Me and my brother show opposite systems, yet we still both have the same type of autism. If there's anything to self diagnose, its not autism!
It's just as easy to Google symptoms for autism as anything else, my dude
heyy can you do a video about gaslighting? it seems like an interesting concept
Yes please!
What's gaslighting?
its an abuse tactic. id say give it a little google because a professional definition can explain it better!
If you are interested in gaslighting and the different signs of it I would recommend looking up cinema therapy gaslighting. They use movies to demonstrate real life concepts like how Mother Gothel in Tangled was actually gaslighting her "daughter" for her entire life. It's really interesting and they are pretty fun to watch.
there are always going to be people in any field who have prejudices and biases. I totally agree with you that the proper response to that is to find someone without them. if your therapist is sexist or homophobic or racist, or whatever, you do not HAVE to keep seeing them.
experts are so behind on autism because they won't listen to autistic people. Someone said that autistic people are not interested in relationships. which is completely inaccurate for most autistic people. Autistic people do have empathy, emotions, things like that but "experts" like Baron Cohen STILL think we lack empathy and have male brains. ugh. autistic people should be involved when it comes to talking about and defining autism. so we can make progress. like children should not be labeled low functioning. low and high functioning are completely inaccurate ways of defining autism. It would also help if ABA wasn't pushed for autism. it can open autistic people up for abuse and ptsd.
I would actually love to hear a video about real flaws in the system though. You have a lot of insight in the field and have gone through the education system, surely you must have come across some issues in the system that you would like to help change. I think making a video about that could start more productive conversations about how to improve the field both for the people working and the people receiving treatments.
I love you and your videos but I think you were really salty in this, which defeats the purpose of your message and only made me feel alienated. Tumblr sucks for mental health, and i don't believe in self diagnosis when it comes to a treatment plan (because you need to know everything and that takes time.) HOWEVER as someone that's been mentally ill from early childhood, and misdiagnosed and mistreated by health professionals for my 29 years on this earth, what we now know as "self diagnosis" can be super helpful if you're serious in your research in relation to being your own advocate, especially as an adult. our health care system is fucked up, and self diagnosis doesn't mean what it used to. tumblr always distorts things because it's mainly teenagers. but tumblr giving something a bad name doesn't mean its not a valid practice for those of us that know better and have been in this game our entire lives.
I wanted to do what you are career-wise, actually. but I let my mental and physical health get so bad because no doctor could understand wtf was wrong with me, and I stopped trusting their opinions; some of them even gave up. I'm from freaking Los Angeles, too. I'm about to go into inpatient treatment as a last resort after not finding the appropriate help in my attempts at recovery recently, but I can't even figure out which hospital would be appropriate for my multiple diagnoses and sleep deprivation disorder, etc. I've dissociated entirely recently and almost attempted suicide yet again right before turning numb out of frustration in an attempt to cope. the healthcare system irl is NOT geared towards benefiting the ill these days, regardless of intent - it hasn't been for a long time. if it were, I would've found the appropriate help (for my mental and chronic physical illnesses) long ago. so please try to understand how helpful it can be to relate to other illnesses for those of us that have struggled to get answers ✌️
I kept thinking about the jokes for commercials and webMD like “do you ever feel tired?” YES “it’s cancer”
The biggest issue that I have with the fact that you have to be over 18 to be diagnosed with a personality disorder is that that specific age doesn't have anything to do with legitimate psychological development. I know this age is picked because professionals need to be able to rule out the possibility of their symptoms just being part of their adolescent development, but picking 18 specifically is arbitrary. It has to do more with legality than it does psychological development.
I’ve experienced psychologists with tunnel vision too many times for comfort, so I have self-diagnosed. Let it though be noted that I brought my suspicions up with another psychologist (who actually really appreciated it, as he realised that I’m very self-reflected and thought my point of view on it was very well considered and not just like “I’m bipolar because I have mood swings”) and after more screenings, testings, conversations, etc. he has agreed to all of it. Just wanted to put it out there that you _can_ successfully find your own diagnosis, but you need to be extremely critical of yourself and you definitely should consult with a professional regardless of how sure you are.
And since I mentioned tunnel vision, I want to elaborate a bit on why I found it extreme enough to end up self diagnosing instead of immediately searching for a professional.
So, originally, I went to a psychologist due to my epilepsy and what it was doing to me socially and mentally. However, she couldn’t work there anymore due to contract issues. Because I then lost a person I had opened up to, I found it difficult to just hand that trust we had built up over to another psychologist in fear that they too would leave (I was dealing with switches like this in other areas of my life as well at the time, and it was really getting to me at that point). Therefore I decided that I wanted to start out with my new psychologist with a lighter, more direct issue: my fear of balls. As in sports balls.
I had several obvious reasons for my fear, such as having a handball thrown in my face and breaking my nose, trying to catch a football and breaking my thumb, having a tennis ball thrown at my crotch, etc.. Overall I just associated balls with pain, which made me, shockingly enough, fear them. This made it difficult for me to participate in gym class, quite surprisingly, and was just a somewhat minor issue as a whole, but it kinda needed to be resolved.
Do you want to know what she decided to blame my fear on?
Daddy issues. Seriously.
The _moment_ she found out that my dad wasn’t around, she decided that EVERYTHING was his fault. Instead of processing the events that had occurred that led me that associate balls with pain, she blamed it on ~daddy~.
Like no, lady, I am not afraid of balls, LITERAL RUBBER BALLS, VOLLEYBALLS, TENNIS BALLS, BASKETBALLS, PING PONG BALLS, FOOTBALLS, INDOOR HOCKEY BALLS, HANDBALLS, OR ANY OTHER KIND OF BALL _BECAUSE MY DAD LEFT WHEN I WAS ONE YEAR OLD_ I DON’T EVEN REMEMBER HIM OR HIM LEAVING. NO.
We never talked about anything other than him. Whenever I’d try to bring up something else, she’d immediately go back to talking about my father. It infuriated me, so my mother naturally got curious about what was going on in there, and I ended up bringing her into a session. That session was my last session, as my mother too saw how _utterly ridiculous_ it all was. At one point she asked why she was so focused on my father and not the actual incidents that led me to fear balls.
Her answer to that was, and I shit you not, I could not make this up if I wanted to:
“Well, when there’s something wrong with your computer, you always check the hard disk first.”
We were legitimately stunned. Again, lady, nO. You turn it off and on again yOU PIECE OF CRAP.
So yeah, we left and never returned to that place.
And to put icing on the cake: according to the official documents from my time there _she cured me._ Yep. She literally wrote down that I quit because I was fine. I was not. I was just as terrified. The only thing I gained was a distrust to psychologists and general anger. I was twelve at that time and it took me seven years to try again because of that. Well, not _just_ that, there were other major issues as well, but that’s a good example of how extreme tunnel vision and bias can be.
I heard once that an illness such as ADHD was less diagnosed in women because the symptoms were less noticeable, hence why many doctors didn't diagnose them.
It's actually true. I once read a study on it and how gender roles play a factor into it and I was little amazed by it. Also there's a large group of girls that were diagnosed with ADHD but it was misdiagnosed and was actually bipolar disorder. It's all... weird and confusing lol
Honestly, being a girl on the autism spectrum can be such a pain! Since we don't have the same symptoms as the male patients, it can take years and many other diagnosis to finally get there and get appropriate treatment. For me, it took years of being diagnosed with OCD and panic disorder before they even considered Asperger's syndrome. I am not in any way endorsing self-diagnosis, but for anyone on the the spectrum, especially girls, it can get a little touchy :/
I love listening to you talk about mental illness topics. You always make me feel better and less alone. It's good to have a community that is aware of the stigmas against mental illnesses. Its refreshing. I'm glad I'm part of this little community.
I think many people sadly had bad encounters with the mental health system. I am currently in therapy with my SIXTH psychologist, and she's the only one who is actually helpful. I am glad my parents supported me, because I know most people would have given up after so many trials and money spent. I saw my first 5 therapists while I was a teenager, and they were quite useful. Then I made some research on my own, and I guessed I probably experience some kind of "dissociation issues" / problems with previous traumas (excuse my bad English) that I had probably not overcome as well as I thought. I did not start to declare I have dissociative identity disorder, please say hello to my alters, but researching my own symptoms helped me to find a good match for me, a therapist who could actually help me a lot. Another things that baffles me is that my previous therapist looked completely confused and almost disgusted every time I tried to tell her I cut myself. Yeah, it's not a nice topic to talk about, but I thought a therapist would be one of the less likely person to be disgusted about self-harm...
I personally do not suffer with any mental illnesses but I still go therapy and it has helped clear up so many misconceptions I previously had about mental illness.
I think that the main issue w the mental health system is the inaccessibility. It is really expensive to try to get help on your own and it can be an extremely lengthy process to go through family doctors/hospitals bc of waiting lists. I understand that it can be discouraging due to these facts, but I genuinely believe there are professionals out there equipped w the knowledge and resources to help those struggling. I live in Canada and I hope, in the coming years, more funding goes to mental health clinics as they can be very far and few between. You just have to be resilient sometimes and shop around for a treatment that works for you (hopefully that is affordable...).
Well said. Another point is that if you're dealing with a mental health issue that's affecting your perception, reactions, understanding, emotions, etc, then you're pretty likely to not see or notice a trait or symptom that is a big part of properly diagnosing the issue. If someone is paranoid they aren't likely to be thinking 'I'm paranoid but for no reason and this is disordered thinking' - They're more likely to think 'I am paranoid and this is justified because these things are really happening'. An objective and well educated outsider, like a psychologist, could spot the excessive baseless paranoia for what it is and take it into consideration as a symptom when diagnosing. If your perception is off, then you're going to believe that the things you're perceiving are actually that way. I know someone who gets scared extremely easily, but they always think 'I am scared, therefore something is scary, therefore something is a threat' and will always say that they're reacting appropriately because if they feel that way it must be for a reason... But it almost never is. Someone dropped a water bottle on a hardwood floor and the noise scared them, so to them, it was reasonable and logical that the person dropped it on purpose as an act of intimidation, and the person assuring them that it was an accident was actually them lying to save face/manipulate them/lower their guard... That kind of perceptional issue would absolutely hamper your chances of being able to self diagnose with any accuracy because you'd be looking at a list of symptoms for something you have, see 'perception problems, unwarranted anxiety, paranoia' and think 'Oh I don't have those, this mustn't be what's going on with me'. When dealing with mental health it's so hard to look at it objectively if you're inside it and it's affecting your ability to perceive objectivity. And just like that, a self misdiagnosis. Does more harm than good.
Great video. As a MH professional, I want to mention the reasons WHY we diagnose. We diagnose to a. Validate our experience and b. Get insurance to cover therapy/treatment. We don’t diagnose so that people can use their diagnoses to “stay sick”. In my opinion, lots of these tumblr posts are geared toward identifying symptoms without posing solutions or offering support- which is why it’s so dangerous. Thanks for the content!
I totally agree with you on not self diagnosing. I've been in and out of the mental health system since I was 9. I've had very good and very bad experiences with certain therapists (in terms of not meshing well with them or feeling disrespected in some way i.e: one therapist literally rolled her eyes at me when I was telling her something I was genuinely concerned about. not cool. I understand she's human too and has her own emotions but that was really unprofessional) . But I've never felt I've been misdiagnosed.
The problem with self diagnosing is that it can make you super paranoid. So I'd get paranoid and think something was "wrong" with me and start the good ole google search and started identifying with certain personality disorders-avoidant-this of course affected my depression and I got really depressed for a week or so thinking "oh god not another mental illness ffs". Now I've yet to talk to my current therapist about this because one-I've been avoiding bringing it up and after our most recent session, she has been away but I plan on discussing the possibility because she has used the word "avoidant" to describe me multiple times.
BUT NETHERTHELESS, I'm not saying I have avoidant personality disorder. But I can say that it has made me paranoid about my mental condition-all in all I just don't think self diagnosing is healthy for anyone, with or without a pre existing diagnosed MI. So, yeah.
Another awesome video Sarah, always excited to watch when you upload!
Oh and in terms of positive experiences: my current therapist is awesome. She genuinely seems to care about what's going on with me (there are some who made me feel as if they didn't care and if all my problems were trivial and perhaps they are but to me they're huge obvi) and never makes me feel as if I am as bad as I already think of myself and tried to alleviate some of my anxieties but of course steers me in the direction of sorting it out myself with her help ofc.
I also had another great one when I was younger who was just amazing and treated me with respect and understanding.
Seriously there are some amazing therapists out there who genuinely love what they're doing and only want to help you and get you on track in life. They're a support system that without them I don't think I'd still be around or at least if I was I'd be wallowing in a pit of despair 😂
Im a girl and I was diagnosed with Asperger Autism so it isnt only boys who have it.And ive been to many doctors and clinics and I never had that problem that they dont believe me because Im a girl..
i don't think i'll ever be this early even at my own funeral
i couldn't agree more.
i suffer from a couple of mental illnesses (which i won't say in this comment section for my own privacy) and if i would google every single mental illness i can GUARANTEE that i would think i have most of them, which is TERRIBLE and it will only make you feel much much worse (trust me). I also have seen people wanting to have the same mental illness as their favourite RUclipsr/celebrity, and it's important to know that because you idolize these people it is normal that you would feel for them and therefore start to relate with their symptoms.
i understand professional help is hard to find and expensive but sadly there is no better option nowadays.
i how you all get better and thank you, Sarah, for speaking up i'm such a fan
I love how you point out your own bias and validate opinions other than your own! So many people just state their opinion as the truth
I self diagnose to cope. I have anxiety about going to a therapist and telling someone how I feel and then having to tell address it with family, friends etc but my anxiety is severely interfering with my life. I can't sit here and say I don't support self dx but I get what you're saying despite being clearly biased lmao.
Thinking doctors don't know as much about our bodies/minds than "us" is fucking ridiculous. It's kinda like those people who don't vaccinate their children bc they know more about the vaccines than doctors do.
Amy Benham that makes sense. Doctors continues to do research while we don't know more than what the Internet says. The Internet isn't the best place to look either.
It upsets me to think that someone may not seek the help they need because they hear that the system is flawed or bad. There are great professionals out there who do care - I've been to see some of them. For me, the best approach was to have an honest and open discussion with the professional so that they can make an accurate diagnoses and work out a treatment plan that worked for me. And, if for any reason I was not comfortable with the professional I was talking with, I thanked them for their time and continued looking for someone who was a good fit for me. Sometimes it hard not to let a bad experience cloud your perspective, especially when you're not feeling well But, it's all the more important to keep looking.
I thought this would be more about the flawed mental health system but it seems to be just a part 2 of self diagnosis. There's so much more to say specifically about the flawed mental health system outside of self diagnosis
I really like the side you take on this situation and how you explain things. I don’t really see these kind of videos very often that actually uses fact to back up their opinions, and you don’t really see any self diagnosing videos with actual evidence to show that it’s not very effective. Keep up the great work. :)
ughhh wish this video was 4 hours long
so the minute i turn 18 i can suddenly have a personality disorder when the minute before when i was 17 i didn't have it? i really don't agree with that.
Quick disclaimer: my personal view is that if possible you should always be aiming to get professional help and a professional diagnosis, but I do think that self diagnosis based on extensive research as a last resort/stepping stone/or temporary thing is perfectly okay. But anyway, my biggest point to put across to people can be in relation to personality disorders or any M.I in general, and it is that if you have all the symptoms (AKA have the illness), then you have it regardless of whether you're diagnosed or not, or whether you're 18 or not etc. When I self diagnosed depression, anxiety (+the symptoms of BPD but I was underage and unsure if I actually had the disorder rather than just having most of the symptoms but it being attributed to something else) I was often told that I DIDNT have these things unless I'd had a professional diagnosis/or unless I was 18. But say I get a diagnosis on the 18th of April (random example), I still HAD that mental illness beforehand. The disorder comes BEFORE the diagnosis, it doesn't just magically appear after the diagnosis is given. And without self diagnosing a lot of people would never go into treatment in the first place. Its sort of the same with personality disorders (although I do understand some have a stage system which accounts for this) If I turn 18 on the 27th of December but had all the same symptoms on the 26th of December... why would I not have the same disorder? I don't feel like I've worded this in the best way but hopefully someone can make sense of it. So yeah, professional help can be great and change your life so please try to get it if you suspect you have a mental illness, but I also think there are so many valid reasons for self diagnosis, including this one I've just outlined as well as others.
Honestly the only pro about self diagnosis is for trying to help yourself while you wait for professional help. This "ugh doctors don't know anything" stuff is ridiculous.
I haven't had the best experiences with the mental health professionals that I've dealt with but I did have some positive things as well come out of those negative experiences.I found out something I had that I never even knew was a problem and when I learned that I had it some things I did started to make sense.There is a lot of bad reps that the mental health professionals/mental field gets but you have to keep in mind just because it didn't work for you doesn't mean it won't work for someone else and it doesn't mean some other techniques won't work for you.Just have to keep an open mind and you might have to go through many people to find that right person to help you but that's okay.It will be all worth it in the end.I have to remind myself to not get discouraged from seeking help just because I had some bad experiences in the past but it's still weary to me.Love the video Sarah ! 💞 I agree with you
Just to mention a lot of people (including myself) who have been diagnosed with autism prefer to use the word autistic as the descriptive word e.g autistic person rather than person with autism as it is a lifelong developemental disability and more a part of our personality and who we are. rather than schizophrenia which people may prefer to be refered to as person with schizophrenia as it is a mental health condition.
This video made me feel so much more comfortable. I'm finally seeing a professional next week. :-)
completely agree with all your opinions in this video. i think that because so many teens online see those posts of mental disorders and immediately think "wow thats so me" jump straight into self diagnosing without really thinking? and also since its a rather large community they think its "cool" idk thats just what i think and its just really unsafe to not see a professional
This is interesting because I was professionally diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder at 17. I went for re-testing because my psychiatrist wanted to "double-check". Sure as shit, 8 hours of testing and about a month later, BPD was confirmed so this is the first I've heard of some sort of age requirement. I know I have BPD and was recently re-diagnosed yet again (I'm 20), BPD is still on my diagnostic analysis
I was diagnosed professionally with BPD at the age of 17 and a half. They said I'd been showing symptoms for long enough and I was almost 18 anyway, though they couldn't bill for it til I was 18.
I will say that it varies greatly by professional. I've seen a lot of therapists and psychiatrists, and gotten one misdiagnosis (due to my abusive parent feeding them exaggerated information) but once you find someone really willing to work with you and listen to you and kind of analyze your thoughts, it's really helpful and comforting.
I'm on a whole other level with that tumblr autism stuff. I wad diagnosed with depression when I was a child, all I can guess is 3-4 because I didn't know till a few years ago (too young to remember). When my parents eventually came to me and told me I had my suspicions for a while but thought "I don't have it as bad, I can't be depressed" it was my norm. Back to this though, I decided to see a doctor and try counseling again. Things went well till I met with the psychiatrist, he blew off my depression and said I was autistic. I'm no psych major, I'm a nursing major, I've done my own research, I know what I'm like on the inside (nobody else really can say they do because I've always been an introvert). I was pissed, I was 17 at the time so that was before college, but I still knew my stuff, and I wasn't fixing to go back and give him my business. It took me refusing to leave the car, even when my counselor came out to convince my mom to pull me out. It still makes my blood boil even right now to re-call this event. I had no delays in childhood from what my baby book and parents have told me, I show zero signs for teens/adults, I know autistic people from all over the spectrum, not one thing they dealt with did I have. I was on government insurance till last year so it was a crappy place to begin with. I have nothing against people with autism, but I do have some personal reasons to why I was upset. I knew I wasn't as "normal" as the other kids throughout school, I was a loner, and my mom said I would break down at home from coping with depression before being put on Zoloft. I've been bullied all throughout my school years because I wasn't as out there as them, some even saying I was autistic just to be jerks. I have no issues with any sounds or touches, I crave touch. I've been a loner for so long, and it took till last year for me to get close to my mom because I was too depressed to come out that I never got hugs or anything. I just wanna be and feel loved physically and emotionally. That's why I wanna be a nurse too, I wanna make people feel like they have meaning, Patch Adams was my inspiration. God, this rant turned out a lot longer than it should have been.... but yeah, that's my story. It honestly feels good to get it out.
I was typing this while listening to the video too, so I've got a quick thing to add. I had abnormal psych last semester (LOVED IT!!!) and you're so right. With the personality disorders especially it feels like you identify with all of them, and my instructor even said "we all have a little bit of these traits". You've really gotta go into any kind of psych class realizing that there are strict guidelines to be diagnosed with these disorders, that's why there's the DSM.
it would be really interesting if she did a video on parental alienation and the whole controversy around it
Sweet Korn shirt
Girl, why are you still on tumblr? that page is a black hole of negativity. Thank God I realized that tumblr wasn´t doing anything positive in my life so I leave it 3 years ago and I don´t miss it.
The only thing I go on it for is to follow art and photography pages, and like two authors, that's it lol
Dulce Rodriguez she may have just looked at Tumblr for "sources".
Dulce Rodriguez Gee why are you still on twitter? That page is a black hole of fake news lol (this is sarcasm bc generalising is silly)
If you like tumblr and you want to be in that page, it's ok, but I'm talking on my own personal experience. This page can be really toxic for people who have self esteem problems and mental issues
Dulce Rodriguez I understand that, it was just a joke. Tumblr is just like any other social media, it's full of different kinds of people and content. I personally only use tumblr for reblogging cute pictures and funny posts, and have never seen any mental health stuff on my feed. Obviously it has its toxic communities but so does Instagram and Facebook, it all depends on who you follow.
6:35 my experience with psychologists in the U.K. is: they kinda refuse to diagnose you (on the NHS) because they don't want to be responsible for necessitating more treatment which costs them money unless absolutely necessary. Whereas with private healthcare they're more inclined to shower you with diagnosis to syphon money from you. It's disgusting but it's all about money; the NHS wants to save money so they don't care about psychological disorders unless someone is at risk of hurting *others* . and private healthcare wants to rob you and will insinuate you are a threat to *yourself* unless you continue with treatment. So who do you trust? Who do you go to for help? How do you figure out what's wrong with you?
a troll Good point, the best way to work around that would be to find an honest psychologist, but it can be expensive or maybe not possible to go through multiple psychologists and how can one really detect how reliable they are?
fakedepth I guess you can only find someone honest through recommendation 😒😞
Is there yelp for therapists?..
Can you do a video on inappropriate prescribing of drugs to mental health patients? I'm a psychology major and I believe this is one of the biggest flaws in the field
Kianna Williams prescribing children drugs!!!
I like how passionate you are about all these topics, Really enjoy all your videos :)
ALWAYS SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP!!!!! I have had such great experiences with therapists/counsellors...have had some OK experiences and some not-so-good experiences. Ones where I knew more about mental health than the therapist did. I think some just belong in certain area's of mental therapy than others. But when I find that great therapist that works well with me, it is better than I could ever have hoped for. I grew up suffering from an eating disorder (probably anorexia), depersonalization on a daily basis and it still plaques me to this day along with depression, anxiety, inability to make decisions, that thing where you think every thing is wrong with you and much more. Ofcourse I've never been actually "diagnosed" because I refuse to take medications, so i guess that stops them from saying I am diagnosed with one thing or another. But when you feel that you are outside your body watching yourself grow up, or so down and depressed that you can't function or become so worked up over making a decision that you become outraged or just shut of. Ofcourse it could all be the result of a bigger diagnoses but it appears I'll never know because they won't seem to say I am diagnosed with anything until I'll let them give me medication. But therapy is like one of the few lights in my life, I have no idea where I would be without it or even if I would even be alive.
These are my favorite videos you make
I love you normally but I dislike how many times you said you can't be diagnosed with Personality Disorder before the age of 18... You actually can, it's just rare and doctors would rather wait to see if the symptoms continue for 2+ years. Unless it's different in America and there is a law against diagnosing teenagers, but there is no law against it in the U.K. it's just seen as a tricky subject.
To my knowledge it's the same here in the US. As I know a teen with a personality disorder. So it's just very rare.
Something that helped me was finding a professional in a similar demographic as myself, I am a woman with an autoimmune disease so I found a therapist that was also a woman with an autoimmune disease. It is incredibly helpful for the professional you are working with to understand some of what you are going through.
I was actually diagnosed with BPD at 17, then again with a different doctor at 19.
Hi! I'm also going into the psych field, and I agree and disagree w/ different parts of this...
For one, I do think a lot of ppl self-dx as a way to relate to others or bc they're getting a little ahead of themselves in trying to explain issues in their life. Obviously getting a dx would be preferable, but I don't think self-dxing necessarily precludes ppl from wanting to seek professional help. There's a lot of reasons a person might self-dx, reasons that aren't covered by that tumblr post... I do wish pop.culture did a better job at not glamorizing mental illness, but right now it's just a really hot topic, so ppl are going to keep putting labels on their bios.
I actually was dxed with autism later in life, by a professional. Before getting the dx I did a lot of my own research and (in a private manner, I didn't put it on my bio or anything) I self-dxed for several months (by this I mean, I actively sought out info about how to help myself assuming I was autistic) and then sought out a professional dx when I could. As much as ppl can def take it too far, I think researching on your own and trying to understand yourself and your needs can be a good and necessary thing. I did research bc at the time I was struggling a lot (physically and mentally), but I didn't have the time or money to seek therapy or a dx. Another point about money, dxes are not usually completely covered in the US. Mine was covered for tests (if I remember correctly) but NOT the scoring of the test. It all totaled to nearly $1k. And I had insurance... As much as self-dxing can be a big issue, it's also kind of necessary for a lot of ppl seeking guidance and relief from the issues they face with mental illness. There's a lot of free resources online that help ppl experiencing issues. While it's obviously better to be in the care of a professional, it's not 100% realistic to expect everyone to be able to access or afford that. I think that's a big reason why ppl say it's racist. From a systemic level, medical/mental health care is not equally accessible to all people. There's no doubt this is a major social issue.
The reason ppl say autism is not diagnosed in girls is not bc of sexism. It's bc there is less research on girls and, historically, girls tended to go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. There is a long history of autism literature promoting the idea that it's a young boy's disorder. It's only been fairly recently that criteria for females (and adults) has been a focus, because females present differently. Autism professionals understand this issue, and there's been a shift towards correcting this in the past decade especially.
Also, autism is a developmental disorder. The person-first language debate is pretty strong in the autism-community. Many autistic people actually prefer to not use person-first language, because we identify autism as being intertwined with who we are. I know not everyone agrees about that, to each his own. But it's not the same as person first language with other disorders or diseases. I know this isn't what they teach in the field, but I think that will begin to change as activists speak out about it. I don't personally have much of an opinion on that.
Hope this perspective is helpful. It's not meant to be confrontational, just informative. I think your videos are great and I'm glad to see some critical thought towards both psychology and society's reaction to the field. Both sides have a lot to learn from each other, and a lot of room for growth. I think the way people have reacted to the mental health field (self-dxing, being very critical towards mental health practitioners) is proof that it's not a perfect system (not by a long shot), that there are pockets of really big issues that need to be addressed. Not everyone has access to the best care. People are reacting to issues they're experiencing, and although their reaction may not be completely appropriate or wise, it's important to not discount their reasons for the reaction, and to do what we can as future professionals to keep these concerns in mind to better the field once we have that opportunity.
wow this is really a great way to put in perspective and i agree with what you said as i also am going to take psych field. as you said it's not meant to be confrontational but informative and it is. the way you told the reasons and stuffs, i value the way you think and appreciate your thoughts all of it. and yes it need to change as activists speak about it and the awareness of MI. because it needs to be known as other physical illnesses and idk to treat it valid so the person doesn't feel that they're violent or any behavior as "abnormal" and being dehumanize . But also people who use self deprecating jokes or "suicidal" jokes need to stop because teenage are gonna start normalize it and think "we aren't sick because everyone deals with it" like that's smth that needed to stop. bc that's not normal at all. i mean to have that thoughts.
As a psychologist, I have to say, I loved this!!!!! I do not give therapy tho, but I went through five years of uni and everything in this video should be listened to
I don't understand why it seems like the youth of today think it's "cool" to have a mental illness, depression, or self harm. Its like they feel like they need to have a mental issue to fit in which is odd to me.
It’s not to fit in, it’s for attention.
I tried not to diagnose myself but the professional diagnosis that I got over the years made me select the one that I think suits me the best. Cause I was so shocked when I got the diagnose that I got in the last hospital I was. They said I had a short term depressive episode even though I told them I was depressive for the last 10 years and they totally forgot about the self harm I did for years. Professional diagnosis feels so random sometimes and often times I don't feel like I'm taking seriously :(
This also applies to self diagnosing any illness from mental to physical. Medical professionals across the board have more credibility than google ever will.
I think I was extremely lucky in my pursuit of therapy a couple of years ago. I was in grade 9 and asked my friends to tell my teachers that they're worried for me and that I'm hurting myself, which I allowed them to do in hopes of getting help because I was so tired of living the way I was back then. Luckily, I convinced my teachers to not tell my parents because of the bad experience I had with them yelling at me for my self injury behaviour. So I was referred to a therapist by my school counsellor and I got to see the therapist for free for a couple of months and after that I completely stopped hurting myself. I live in Canada, and I feel so lucky that i got to get help and treatment for free and without the judgement of my parents.
Well, I'm 16 and I just recently convinced my mom to finally let me get professional help for whatever was going on in my head. Ive only been going for a month, but it really seems to be helping me a bit. I've always been interested in mental heath and I actually did a research project on depression in the 8th grade. Since then, I've just kept studying at home and have taken psychology classes in school. It wasn't until about late last year that I realized what I was calling depression seemed a bit different. As I did more research, I found out about BPD, and started resonating with it a bit more than just severe depression. The reason I made the switch personally was because of the split that happens between black and white in relationships. That, and my extreme fear of abandonment, were the top two factors to help me begin thinking I could have this disorder. Now, I never went around spewing "I HAVE BPD" or anything, I never self diagnosed. I just kept it in the back of my mind. When I went to my second therapy session, my therapist actually started bringing up BPD and began explaining how I do show symptoms but she couldn't diagnose me with it since I'm a minor. I'll have to wait 2 more years, but for now, she's helping me as best she can. So basically, in conclusion, I don't think opening your mind up about what you possibly could have is a bad idea. As long as you realize it isn't a definite answer, it is okay. Problems start when you identify with the disorder you haven't been professionally diagnosed with.
Im a nutritionist in my country and we have similars problems with autodiagnosing (like any other health especializacion, I think). Seriously, I love how calm you sounds in this video haha. When a patient come to me talking about things they "learned" in the internet I freak out. There is a lot of wrong information out there that they takes as true, which make the treatment a lot more difficult. I know nobody is perfect and we don't know everything about every case, but for sure we are a lot more trained in comparison with a person without studies. There is a lot of professionals without passion out there, that's true, but also, we as patients have the chance to go find a better one! Love your videos and the way you explain psychology themes to us...something that only a person who loves what they do can. Sorry for my english, I'd tried my best jaja.
I find self diagnosis wobbly at best. Its the opposite of believing that you have nothing when you are sick but it carries the same implications. The first doctor i went to said i only had adhd, the two others afterwords confirmed im bi polar and have ocd with minor adhd, major depression too but i usually just group that in with the bi polar, and theres a strong possibility I have some form of psychosis but they dont want to diagnose me too young in fear of it impacting my future. Under diagnosis is bad but self diagnosis can lead to more of the thoughts that every person with psychosis is violent and everyone with bpd is incapable of keeping a relationship. Also misdiagnosis is a bigger possibility because a lot of mental health issues share symptoms with other issues.
Even though I agree that self-diagnosis is not very healthy, finding the proper doctor/therapist that works well for you is extremely difficult.
I always find it hard to critisize my therapists etc because i dont want to seem ungrateful
Cher Zamolodchikova I think if you genuinely feel like your therapists aren't doing right by you, you should express it to them in a "nice" way. Like "I don't think you're understanding *insert whatever here* " or "I feel as if I need to clarify..."
this can help your therapist understand you a bit better. They won't think you're being ungrateful, they're there to help you and if you don't feel like they're not understanding something it's always good to be open and honest with them about it imo.
If I don't think a therapist is working for me, I tell them in a respectful way. You're paying them to receive their professional help and if they aren't helping you as you would like, I wouldn't waste money (in my opinion) to keep going if I'm not benefiting from seeing them for an appropriate amount of time and trial time.
The continuing education is something I heard of, but never knew it was a required amount of hours of education
The worst thing about the mental health system is there is not enough funding, meaning waiting lists are crazy. It took me 3 years to get to a pysch and have a diagnosis n medication. Once you’re actually in contact with the doctors (or at least in my experience) they are crazy helpful and things run a lot faster after that.
I think self diagnosis is attractive to people of a certain age because it plays into the two strongest desires: to stand out and be part of a community.
I've seen teenagers literally bragging to each other about all the issues they supposedly have. Its a way to cope with the fact that they're not special, that they're the same as everyone else. It also enables people with a more fractious social life to feel like they're part of something.
love that this was supposed to be about flaws in the mental health system and yet it turns into complaining about selfdxers..... again. like i thought youd actually recognise and warn about the problems not sit and dismiss them
Can you do a video about the correlation with mental health and mass shootings
Melissa Mermaid probably a bit too sensitive of a topic right now, but that's just how I see it
more often than not - thats just what the media label them. obviously some do have issues with mental health; but it's usually to do with white supremacy and more social factors than mental health. don't believe everything the media says.
If you think that the only people who are perpetuators in mass shootings are psychopaths then you need help.
Thank you for working towards breaking the mental health and mental heath system stigma :)!
I would love to see a video describing the different
Mental health professions. Eg., counsellors without any qualifications, psychologists with counselling masters, psychs with clinical masters, psychs who have a psych arts degree, psychs who have a psych science degree, etc. As a fourth year psych student, I see an abundance of people with terrible mental health system experiences who, when asked, do not know the qualification of their therapists. This to me, causes red flags as all therapists are balled into one category.
I strongly believe in an evidence based (science based) education system for psychologists where therapists are clear about their qualifications and the public knows what perspective the therapist is coming from.
In saying that, I wouldn't consider science-based psychology as a 'soft science' as there is empirical evidence and focus on high quality research methods in that field. :)
As someone who works in the field very close to yours... 🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌
Finally someone said the 18yr old/ age stage development for personality disorder. I have had clients who label themselves and just refuse to engage because they already "know" what diagnosis they have because of self diagnosis
Can confirm: Was a girl diagnosed with autism.
My only problem was my parents, neither of whom were mental health professionals, claiming that I couldn't be.
Self diagnosing is so dangerous because I have anxiety and my mind can imagine up so many illnesses that I think could be wrong with me. I don't think an anxious person is the best person to rationally decide what is wrong with them. A doctors perspective has always been best for me because it is based on what I am really experiencing, rather than all the disorders I am paranoid I could have. Tumblr can be so bad for self diagnosing, so I never look at it anymore. It just makes me feel paranoid and worried.
I got diagnosed by a psychiatrist (in the UK) with "emerging _____ personality disorder" when I was 16. I don't agree with professionals telling kids that their personality is wrong, it does happen.
The autism thing is driving me nuts. My brother is autistic and it's not something you EVER want. It's a hard life to live, it's a hard journey. Seeing him break down more times than I can count because he just "doesn't understand" literally broke my heart. Actually, you know what - any kind of self diagnosis is screwed.
The only experience I have is with a psychologist who did not even try to understand what was the problem. He read me a story for children about how you shouldn't care so much about other's opinion when I couldn't care less about that. The problem was always in me being too different, never able to connect or find what to talk about (and a couple other things).
When I told him that this was not true, that it didn't help he sold me some anti-stress drugs that made me act like a zombie, I couldn't even think for about 12 hours after I took them. I'm not stressed, I've never been. Also, they stopped working and released me from this numbness when a teacher put me under a lot of stress. They did not stop the stress, they did not make it more bearable, they just stopped working...
I've never tried another psychologist ever since because:
1 Most of the psychologists in my country (especially in my city) don't care and just want money
2 I don't trust the next one to *not* make me worse and then tell me to come again so he/she could get more out of me
3 I got better on my own
(BTW doctors trying to make you more sick is a common thing here soooo... yeah...)
i am a teenage arab girl w adhd and anxiety. i am currently seeing a therapist for both. that whole thing about them having biases pisses me off. like yes there are racist and sexist doctors out there, but there are fucking amazing ones too. my doctor (not my therapist, two separate ppl) didn’t want to diagnose me w adhd at first bc of my being a girl (and i suspect my being brown as well based on her attitude). my first session w my therapist she told me that not only do i definitely have it, she loved working w people like me who might otherwise get passed over for diagnoses to make sure that we have our voices heard. to all the people out there who resort to self dx because they have been told a professional will have biases, please listen to me: yes, there are crappy doctors out there. you most likely will run into one, unfortunately. but please do not let the assholes keep you from getting the help you need. prove them all wrong by taking care of yourself the way you deserve to be taken care of 💜💜💜
A lack of water can literally give you a panic attack depending on your mental health. Doesn't mean you have Panic Disorder. When symptoms vary that much, you NEED to be professionally tested to eliminate all other options. I would have much preferred having a vitamin deficiency then a mental illness.
I was diagnosed with Aspbergers about 15 years ago, it can hard to live with, but I had a great therapist, who taught me ways to cope with it. 🙂
I had a great therapist and uncomfortable psychiatrist in Massachusetts, and one bad and one good therapist and a great psychiatrist in Texas. However, the good therapist in Texas didn't take my insurance and the area I live in, despite being a large town with many college students (who could use extra help, since college is a time of immense growth/stress/new experiences), is woefully understaffed. Even trying to get a timely appointment with the university counseling staff is difficult. Unless you indicate in the online survey that comes before the scheduling process that you feel you may be a danger to yourself or others, you're probably not going to get seen for 3 weeks. I lucked out with my psychiatrist, who I see through the same network that I see my regular doctor here. They had just hired her or she had new spots open when I came to college and needed to see someone.
When I was new to the area, the factor of living independently (and far away from my parents) plus the lack of available counselors/therapists who specialized in my needs and who were LGBT affirming was disheartening and made me want to give up on trying to get help.
All in all, I understand the appeal of self-diagnosis, but I agree that we can only diagnose the symptoms and the ways we feel, and it's up to the training of a professional who we are comfortable with and who respects us to put a label on those symptoms and figure out what their cause is.
Autism in girls is diagnosed but it takes longer as it presents itself VERY differently and typically appears as other disorders. It's most commonly diagnosed after a sibling has been or the preteen/teen years.
I agree with everything you say.... And just a thing you made me remember.... STORY TIME! Once a guy in my class told my professor that psychology was a soft science and she got so mad... Lecturing us for half an hour... So we never ever mention that... And now as a professional and a researcher I agree with my professor
Im 16 and when I was 15 I was diagnosed with a personality disorder...
This is to comment on the some therapists don’t give out diagnoses while others throw them out. I have an experience with both. My current therapist during a discussion about psychology told me that Schizophrenia and Bipolar are heavy diagnoses that she doesn’t feel comfortable giving a client until she is absolutely 100% sure about the diagnosis because of how complicated and serious the mental illnesses are. While my mother’s therapist within the first month of my mother beginning therapy had diagnosed my mother with “borderline schizophrenia”, she later retracted that diagnosis and properly diagnosed my mother with PTSD, which she had been previously diagnosed with already. The fact that her therapist would assume “schizophrenia” over the much more likely PTSD within a month’s time is ridiculous. However my mother’s therapist is a much older woman probably using older therapy methods than my therapist whom is quite new to the profession. My point being that I agree it depends on the therapist, some will jump the gun and some will take their time to make a diagnosis. But not all therapists are the same. Like you said, they are not one size fits all.
On a different note, another thing that would be interesting to hear your opinion on, is people whom go to their personal doctors, or general practitioners for mental health reasons rather than a therapist or mental health professional?
I feel like the biggest flaw in the mental health system that we look over are actual mental hospitals.
It comes down to a lot of things like funding and proper training. Being a person who's been in and out of hospitals
I've been given wrong medications, been very traumatized by other patients and I've been very sick and still been discharged
just because I said certain things. Otherwise I've had many positive things happen with most of my encounters with the mental health system. A lot of the people are not really understanding of my illness due to my certain soup of brain stuff. I find a lot of people blame a professional because they don't understand a certain problem they have. I find it more common if my therapists due to the fact that I'm a twice exceptional transgender depressed teen who also hears voices. People my age often self diagnose because they become impatient with the people they're working with.
Anyways, I'd love to hear what you have to have to say about the way mental hospitals operate.
I know this isn't a funny topic, especially considering that I have been diagnosed with mental illnesses in the past (and now), but the fact that some people on tumblr self diagnose themselves with tons of mental illnesses and as you said, some of which that can't be diagnosed together, just makes me laugh 💀.
my problem with self diagnosis is that people seem to do it for attention or because being mentally ill is 'cool' when in reality is the opposite. I had a girl that self diagnosed herself with depression (she used to be my bestfriend but everything changed after this) that I wasn't depressed (I've been clinically diagnosed) because I didn't go round telling everyone that I want to kill myself like she did, and that I couldn't have depression because I had a boyfriend. She then went round telling everyone she was depressed and giving out 'antidepressants' to people that were actually vitamins.
I've always had very good experiences in treating my mental illness! I have had multiple very lovely and helpful therapists who were amazing and really helped me pinpoint triggers, research and get on mild medication instead of heavy medication like xanax or something! They've always been extremely trustworthy and helped me create a personalized treatment plan
Idk how the service is in the US but in the UK the mental health service is dreadful. The NHS only offer 6-8 sessions of CBT (which is just a print out from google) there’s no psychiatric beds, the wait time is never ending. GP’s are allowed to hand out anti depressants without a diagnosis or any session from a therapist or physiatrist. We have a crisis line for people at risk of suicide many suicidal people are turned away being told to “have a nice relaxing bath” or “watch tv and have a cup of tea”. You can only get help if you pay for it which sucks because most people don’t have the recourses to pay £50+ for one therapy session.
Also I’ve been to different GP’s and they’ve diagnosed me with anxiety by doing a questionnaire, very similar to the ones people use to self diagnose. The whole service is an absolute joke.
i love your channel, this is quality content! 💕
I definitely have dealt with terrible clinicians. I've also been labeled with disorders I didn't have simply because of my physical appearance, which is awful. However, like you, I'm going to work in that field and I know there are good clinicians out there. Currently I have an awesome psychiatrist who keeps up with current research and knows way more than any other I've met! She also is super personable. Sometimes it can be hard to find the right match but it's worth a try if you want help. Also if you're looking for a clinical diagnosis more specifically than immediate treatment, you can try to find someone with a psyd or phd that does neuropsychological testing! Neuropsychological testing can also pick up on autism spectrum disorder since it is a neurological disorder as well as executive function issues. I hope that's helpful!
I have been diagnosed with depression, and after extensive research (by that, I mean talking to people who have been diagnosed, Google, etc.) I believe I have anxiety, specifically social anxiety. I display all of the symptoms, both internal and external, and it's actually pretty common for anxiety and depression to go hand in hand. By that, I mean it's not uncommon for someone to have both. I won't self diagnose, but I will bring this up to my doctor, as we do have pretty short visits for the most part, and if I don't bring it up, they might not be able to test me for it. It's very debilitating, especially when I want to go to a school dance, but I get really anxious and worried that I look weird, I did too much for my appearance, my friends hate me, they just want to go have fun and I'm holding them back from doing that, etc. So, yeah. Gonna ask my doctor if it's possible for me to have it at my next checkup.
and some people misdiagnose them self with a mental illness when what they really have is a chronic physical illness. i knew a girl online who diagnosed herself with anxiety and depression, but she actually had dysautonomia and could have been getting treatment for her dysautonomia for years but never went to get it diagnosed because she thought she knew herself better than a doctor would and believed it to be depression and anxiety.
I think self dxing anxiety and depression are fine because they're easily recognizable. But for pds and other stuff it's not okay. I think it's okay to suspect you MIGHT have it and what not. I suspect I have schizoeffective disorder. I have to have a mental evaluation every few months to make sure my symptoms are consistent. My therapist and psychiatrist have told me that I kinda "contend" for Bipolar disorder, OCD and they've mentioned that I have a possibility of PTSD.
I also understand why people self dx sometimes. Sometimes people that have X doesn't necessarily fit the box, so to speak. My therapist (not psychiatrist) has told me that I'm too article and smart and I was little blown away. Was she inferring that I was too smart to have a mental illness or that people with mental illness have a limit intelligence? :/
It's all a very ... complicated thing for me (personally)
As an autistic female person I can say that it is EXTREMELY difficult to get a diagnosis of autism as a woman. I mostly agree with your views but that information was indeed true. I got diagnosed very late because they kept saying I had mental health issues instead like ocd and odd and depression and anxiety and I was in the system since 10 and they never suggested I had that. My parents actually had to fight for me to even get seen to get that diagnosis like they did not even mention it to me because I am female whereas if I had been a boy they probablu wouldve picked it up when I was a toddler.
Now that you mention it, everyone I personally know with Autism or ADD are all male. I never noticed that until now. So interesting how some things are more common in male than female.
Agree with you on so many ways about this. Feel like tumblr is the place you are not gonna go to learn about your mental symptoms like you are looking on your pshycial symtoms on google. Hope I explained that right. You can relate on many different symptoms but that doesnt mean that you have cancer. It is definitely easier to get away with diagnosing a mental healt problem than a pshycial one,but dont take advantage of that. If you are pretty absolute sure you have mental health problem talk to someone!