I did make such a claim, but I reckon/imagine that any experiment conducted to test the hypothesis would be unavoidably confounded due to the nature of the subject-- how are you going to formulate a fool-proof and unquestionable experiment process for this? I’m interested to hear any ideas you might have, but any I could come up with seemed confounded enough to not even be worth mentioning, but perhaps someone more acquainted with such experiments could devise a sufficient method.
Statistics and scientific value aside, I stand by my statement because, in a very loose sense, it is generally applicable as a truth-y function, where certain assumptions are made:
Assume demographic is generally highschool-graduate education level
Assume relevant research literature present to demographic is diluted, second-hand-- majority might primarily source info from blogs, media articles, WebMD and perhaps available scientific literature secondarily (not their fault, science publication access is criminally shit)
Assume little or sparse general exposure to relevant clinical cases among majority
Assume minority of <20% have relevant experience in the field or have otherwise underwent traditional schooling/training to attain career with exposure
So yes, while I did think the wording up on the spot, I have given the topic consideration prior and following my post. And I still stand by it, though perhaps I could be more concise: the majority of individuals who seek to diagnose themselves do not typically possess the insights and familiarity necessary to reach a sound diagnosis. Furthermore, a professional qualified to diagnose others might refrain from diagnosing themselves due to experience. Therefore, it can safely be assumed that the majority of individuals who engage in self-diagnoses of neurological symptoms will inaccurately characterize their condition.
I also want to just add that if anyone is by chance offended that I am insinuating they may have misdiagnosed themselves-- good, because I’m not insinuating it, I am betting on it. And as I have hopefully made painfully clear, I am immovably confident in my stance on self-diagnoses particularly as it relates to ASD. I am open to further discussion surrounding this, but I will never yield this position because, quite simply, you cannot reduce what I have experienced in life to something you think you have. I am telling you now, and I very much do not want to elaborate, anyone who says today they may have undiagnosed ASD would not want to have been diagnosed with ASD as a kid. It was not helpful, it was not fun, it did irreparable harm. Please, just trust me when I say you do not know this brand of hell.
I am an autistic male. They used to sterilize us. The term schizoid literally refers to us. It wasn’t until 1963 that they stopped putting us in mental institutions. Even then, it was still easy to become ward of the state. Medicaid, social security, and charity are the only things keeping adults like my little brother from being unsustainable in a home environment. They used to live in fear of having autism. Fetuses were terminated as a result of speculative diagnoses.
By self diagnosing yourself, you are reducing decades of unimaginable personal suffering among untold individuals and families across the nation to equate to your quirks.
So please, do not diminish this blight on our country’s mental health record, or it stands to be forgotten. And I am sorry for the wake-up call.
Happy Tuesday,
I did make such a claim, but I reckon/imagine that any experiment conducted to test the hypothesis would be unavoidably confounded due to the nature of the subject-- how are you going to formulate a fool-proof and unquestionable experiment process for this? I’m interested to hear any ideas you might have, but any I could come up with seemed confounded enough to not even be worth mentioning, but perhaps someone more acquainted with such experiments could devise a sufficient method.
Statistics and scientific value aside, I stand by my statement because, in a very loose sense, it is generally applicable as a truth-y function, where certain assumptions are made:
So yes, while I did think the wording up on the spot, I have given the topic consideration prior and following my post. And I still stand by it, though perhaps I could be more concise: the majority of individuals who seek to diagnose themselves do not typically possess the insights and familiarity necessary to reach a sound diagnosis. Furthermore, a professional qualified to diagnose others might refrain from diagnosing themselves due to experience. Therefore, it can safely be assumed that the majority of individuals who engage in self-diagnoses of neurological symptoms will inaccurately characterize their condition.
I hope that helps. Have a good one.
I also want to just add that if anyone is by chance offended that I am insinuating they may have misdiagnosed themselves-- good, because I’m not insinuating it, I am betting on it. And as I have hopefully made painfully clear, I am immovably confident in my stance on self-diagnoses particularly as it relates to ASD. I am open to further discussion surrounding this, but I will never yield this position because, quite simply, you cannot reduce what I have experienced in life to something you think you have. I am telling you now, and I very much do not want to elaborate, anyone who says today they may have undiagnosed ASD would not want to have been diagnosed with ASD as a kid. It was not helpful, it was not fun, it did irreparable harm. Please, just trust me when I say you do not know this brand of hell.
I am an autistic male. They used to sterilize us. The term schizoid literally refers to us. It wasn’t until 1963 that they stopped putting us in mental institutions. Even then, it was still easy to become ward of the state. Medicaid, social security, and charity are the only things keeping adults like my little brother from being unsustainable in a home environment. They used to live in fear of having autism. Fetuses were terminated as a result of speculative diagnoses.
By self diagnosing yourself, you are reducing decades of unimaginable personal suffering among untold individuals and families across the nation to equate to your quirks.
So please, do not diminish this blight on our country’s mental health record, or it stands to be forgotten. And I am sorry for the wake-up call.