Hi. Let's talk a little bit more about self-diagnosis, since there was some pushback on my post the other day. I majored in Psych when I first went to college way back when, and of course, the first thing they tell you when you take Abnormal Psych is not to read the (1/12)

Symptoms and go, "oh my god, I have that." That's valid advice, because there are components of mental illnesses and disabilities that are common to many people, disabled or no. It's akin to Googling your very mild, nonspecific symptoms and deciding that you have a serious (2/12)

Disease. However, when you've spent your entire life feeling different and thinking there's something wrong with you, and you finally find an explanation that feels right, there are no words to describe that sense of relief. Nobody really knows what's going on in your head (3/12)

Better than you. And this is not to discount the expertise of professionals AT ALL, but there are so many barriers to access and bias in healthcare that obtaining an official diagnosis is an impossibility for many people. If you've been following my saga of trying to get (4/12)

An autism diagnosis as an adult, you know this. A psychologist might have a better grasp on the subtleties than you do, but ultimately their diagnosis is going to be based on symptoms that you self-report; there is no test that can definitively diagnose any mental illness (5/12)

Or specific neurotype. What my therapist said to me was that if I want accomodations or services, I will need an official diagnosis, but there is nothing wrong with saying I'm autistic if it helps to me to understand the way my brain works, explains my difficulties, and (6/12)

Helps connect me to other people that I relate to. That's what self-diagnosis is about, imo; self-knowledge and finding community. I have this label, so now I can go out into the world and find people like me and not feel so terribly alone for once. Now, the issue someone (7/12)

Had with my post is that in their country, medications can often be obtained without a prescription, so I just want to clarify that I believe that is a separate issue and I am NOT advocating that anyone self-medicate or take any psychological medications without the (8/12)

Supervision of a professional. I have lived in the US my entire life and can only speak to what it's like here. But I know that most days I struggle with feeling like a fraud even though I tick almost every single box necessary for a diagnosis, so that post was an attempt (9/12)

To validate others that may be struggling with the same thing. So for someone to come in and argue "not always" and then become hostile when I tried to clarify in what cases it would not be acceptible was very hurtful and invalidating to me. I don't think I'm harming (10/12)

Anyone when I call myself autistic because, since my son was diagnosed, I have done exhaustive research on what that looks like and connected with many other autistic people who I feel really "get"' me. For the first time in my life, I have found a sense of belonging and (11/12)

I understand my own brain. I am learning how to work with my brain rather than against it and both these things have drastically improved my quality of life. Sorry this got so long but...I think that's everything I wanted to say. Thanks for reading this far. (12/12)