"What's depression like?" He asked.

self-diagnosis

I have been wanting to write this chapter for a while now, but I've been struggling with how to put my thoughts into words. Not because I don't know what I want to write, but because I don't want to offend anybody. Or scare anyone off. 

This chapter is about self-diagnosis. Something I see a lot lately, mainly on the internet. People stating they have social anxiety, clinical depression, a bipolar disorder or something far more drastic than that, like schizophrenia. 

I am not against people expressing their feelings and telling people about their problems, but I am against self-diagnosis. 

You are unable of knowing that you have a mental disorder, if you have never spoken to a professional. You are unable to simply write down your symptoms, put them through a machine and decide that you have a mental problem.

You can't go around telling people that you have a mental illness, when no one who is trained to do so, has told you that. 

I understand that it's very hard to feel all these things and not know what's going on and that it's way easier to label it. It makes it easier to explain to people, easier to deal with. But it's not true. I am not saying that you don't have a mental illness if it's not diagnosed yet, but I am saying that stating that you have one when it's not diagnosed is wrong. 

It's confusing for yourself and it's confusing for those around you. It's also dangerous, because self-diagnosis often leads to people not going to a professional in the end, leaving their illness untreated. 

All mental illnesses need to be taken care of, just like physical problems are. If you suffer from symptoms that get in the way of your daily life, you have to go to the doctor. If you suffer from terrible pain in your knee, you don't say "I have a knee problem" and keep walking on it. Most of the times, that knee problem won't go away by itself. It will even get worse.

Mental illness is the same. If you simply say "I have clinical depression" and keep walking on, the chance is big that it will only get worse and worse. 

You are not a psychologist. You are not capable of using the internet to diagnose yourself. The internet is not a trustworthy place to do so. All those tests and quizzes online, saying that they can tell you whether you have a mental illness or not, are not trustworthy. Often, they even state that they can't tell you that it's 100% sure that you have a disorder and that you should see a professional if you keep having the same symptoms or if they get more severe.

Again, I am not saying you don't have a mental problem. I am not saying you are blowing things up or looking for attention by saying that you have a disorder, I am just saying that you are not capable of saying so unless you have talked to a professional who has said the same. 

I would never state my depression, social anxiety or PTSD if a psychiatrist hadn't told me that those are the things that are actually going on. I wouldn't go around telling people what's wrong with me or how to deal with something like it, if I hadn't been told that it was actually true. 

Another thing I want to warn people for - which is close to my other chapter about romantizing mental disorders - is that you shouldn't use the internet to diagnose yourself because you might start taking on symptoms. With that I mean that you read something on the internet and feel like it fits you perfectly, so you start acting out additional problems. Sometimes you do this without even noticing it. It's actually possible to give yourself a panic attack, when your body isn't about to freak out at all.

I am saying this because I believe self-diagnosis is extremely dangerous for multiple reasons, which I believe I have set apart quite clearly above. Don't be hesitant to talk to a professional if you believe that you are suffering from a mental illness. It's nothing to be ashamed of, it's nothing to be scared about. It will only give you clarity. It will give someone the opportunity to treat your problems and help you either get rid off them, or learn how to live with them. 

I hope you are all doing well and had a great easter. 

- Kyran