357- Self diagnosis ?

Diagnosis, in medical sense, is defined as the "identification of the nature of an illness or other problem, by the examination of the symptoms". Modern Latin derives the full meaning from Greek diagignōskein ‘distinguish, discern’ (from dia ‘apart’ + gignōskein ‘recognize, know’).

Thus, a doctor or therapist learns to decipher and sort out all the sets of symptoms which a patient describes, additionally to whatever the praticien can find from observation and tests, to build a coherent diagnosis, and choose the most appropriate tools/ medication/ therapy available. 


Lay persons may also be able to learn, at least a bit, to decipher for their own needs. 
Self-diagnosis is therefore possible, but requires you to know yourself well and not to suffer from anything like hypochondria or health anxiety (for instance), as when you think you may have caught something or suffer from something, you'd start believing in it even if it's not true. 

For self-diagnosis, one has to do a lot of research, using reputable sources, weeding out any and all pseudo-science and other false information sources, and to pinpoint specific symptoms to their specific root causes ; realizing that sometimes, this process is confusing when there are multiple causes to identical symptoms - not to mention finding easy to understand terms, to break down jargon into basics. 

Some times, we cannot go to a therapist or doctor immediately and this personal research may help us understand a few things and devise strategies, but in the end, I think that no matter how well we know ourselves and may be able to start our healing process, it is more than probably a good thing to complete this self-diagnosis by discussing it with professionals, even if it is merely to confirm our suspicions. This is simply because we didn't study specific fields of medicine/psychology/psychiatry and in any case, may miss a detail here, a detail there, and it's best to avoid self-delusion through misunderstanding aspects of our health - mental or physical alike.  

When I suppose something, I submit it to my GP or therapist - depending on the subject - and get either a confirmation or another explanation, which in any case can help me to rule out some causes and hence, continue to pinpoint the kind of help that I may need for any problem. 

Some months ago, when I asked my regular psychotherapist if he thought that I may have functioning Asperger's, he refused to write me a referral letter to the specialized infirmation center which may help me better understand if I do, as he believes that the points I submitted are too general, and that with the same list, he would be diagnosed with it as well ; whilst he thinks that my points are all symptoms of my traumas and subsequent CPTSD's. 

I had dropped the subject at the time, but I still wonder if some information isn't missed about me, so I'll find our from the center if I can go as I am to read and borrow any books, or if I need a referral letter, and if they say yes, my CBT therapist said she'd do it for me, as she thought it wasn't in the realm of impossibility and that even if we rule it out through learning about it, it wouldn't be a bad thing. She understands my need to learn and unravel and discern my own conditions as well as personality, and so she is willing to help if needed. Sometimes, you just gotta use a back door. I don't wish to change my main therapist as he helped me on a lot of topics and recovery in the past 6+ years since he took my case after my previous one had retired. 

Self-diagnosis, in terms of mental health, can get your recovery and healing started, even if you are waiting to see a therapist, or started a therapy. Indeed, you may be able to find things between sessions, as these are always limited in duration and you may not see your therapist too often. For example, I see mine every 3-4 months, giving me time to ponder, and to let any theory and seed of knowledge mature, and thus discuss it later on. But, even if I take notes in a notebook, I can forget or lack time to discuss all points, and so, between sessions, my research helps me find more information and possible tools. 

I do so, because I have always been a curious person, curious to learn things, especially digging into my own psyche and learning what is going on, so I can heal. This is even truer since my mental breakdown. I do my research on said reputable sources, such as the DSM and psychology websites, because over the years, I've gained some understanding of some of the jargon, and I cross-reference these in lay terms on wiki and elsewhere, always ignoring any pseudo-science and new-age sources in the process, and this has helped me tremendously in understanding my trauma and resulting mental illnesses, as well as finding some coping strategies and tools for my recovery and healing. 

I do know that the road ahead is quite long, despite the one behind. But, I'm working on it, and have learned to take breaks from research, and to vary my activities, thus avoiding burning-out and giving me proper time to assimilate theories and knowledge.