Person > diagnosis

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Hi all,

I have been reading the forums for a week or so now. A common theme in the posts is by people who are confused as to what diagnosis they are. I have made a post so that I can answer all of the questions at the same time.

1. Only a qualified professional can give you a diagnosis

2. The diagnosis is only professional jargon for a collection of observations. It is not who you are as a person. Each of our brains are unique

3. Getting a diagnosis will help you to learn the best strategies for managing the problems you are having.

4. We all struggle to define our identity as human beings. What is it that makes us uniquely human, uniquely who we are? These are important questions in life. We sometimes hope that a diagnosis will help us answer these questions; but it will not.

5. People who share a diagnosis often share strategies. Just remember, what works for one person might not work for another. Conversely, someone with a different diagnosis may have a strategy that works for you.
Anyway, this has been my opinion on the subject, hope it helps!

Alright good points, except what do you propose people with lots of symptoms but no official diagnoses do? pretend they don't have the symptoms or use their knowledge to the best of their ability until it can be made official or whatever. I mean I am hoping with the SSI process I can get officially diagnosed and such......if they will agree with all my self diagnoses I don't know though.

I completely agree that only a professional can give you a diagnosis. But I feel like I understand myself better now that I am self diagnosed, and am researching more on aspergers.

It took maybe 3-4 years to get an official diagnosis after my bipolar symptoms began, which is a short time compared to a lot of people but it seemed like a long time to me. The problem with diagnosing myself was that even though I had some background knowledge and skills, it is hard to do it from inside your own head. bipolar looks very different from the outside than it does from the inside and most of the diagnostic information is for outside observations. At various times I had hypotheses about various diagnoses that I might have but they all turned out to be wrong. It was only when I stopped trying to influence my practitioner that I received a clear diagnosis, which I could concede to be accurate. Inside your own head is your self-esteem, your memories, which influence the way you might process information relating to your ow diagnosis. It takes training to keep a professional perspective when diagnosing someone.

Lets put it this way.. Say you were on the quiz show "Who wants to be a Millionaire?". You were asked the question "Are you bipolar?" (I know, in reality it would never be a quiz show question, but play along here). Lets say you don't know the answer. Would you a) ask the audience or b)phone an expert friend?. I don't know what you do, but this isn't a question for the audience. It's a question for an expert to determine. Questions I might ask the audience would be "What do you do to help fall asleep at night?" "How do you handle stigma in the workplace" and so on and so forth.

The thing with self-diagnosis is, it does work for a few people, who may not have had very good luck with their professionals, and who have exceptional insight. But most of us do not have very good insight at all.

The other thing I mentioned is, when people are looking for a diagnosis, sometimes what they are really looking for is a sense of identity, or it may be an explanation for why they are having problems. Neither of those things are really granted when you get a diagnosis. Sometimes getting a diagnosis can wreak havoc with your sense of identity because you are focussed only on what is wrong with you and you forget all of the other qualities that you have.

Some people like to identify extremely with their diagnosis and I respect their right to do so. I prefer not to.

How would a medical diagnosis confer a person with a sense of identity? What is identity, anyhow? You're assuming the term is unambiguous when it is not.

You say:

What if what is wrong with you - the problems you faced even before learning about the given diagnostic criteria - already wreak havoc with your sense of identity and learning of the diagnostic criteria only means you can now interact with people who share similar issues? The criteria exists to define types of behavior and patterns of thought, not to give identity to people who exhibit those behaviors and thoughts.

I'm not sure whether you are in fact agreeing with me or debating my point.

I am not assuming that the term 'identity' is unambiguous. There are as many meanings for 'identity' as there are people in the world. I thought my statement was fairly broad - "Sometimes getting a diagnosis can wreak havoc with your sense of identity". "Sometimes" being an important word here. "What is identity" is a good question though, upon which we could debate for hours and hours. In this context I meant it as "Who you are as a person" and the fact that lots of things contribute to this.

I actually fully agree with your last paragraph. That is what getting a diagnosis should be. Where you get it from, and what you do with that information, is important.

Also please understand that I'm a neurotypical, so what I write is imprecise and non-literal at times. I will do my best to be precise and literal on this forum in the future.

I have taken psychology so I know quite a bit about how the diagnostic process works...and the flaws one can run into when trying to determine their diagnoses their self. Also my issue is I cannot afford to see a psychiatrist to get any official diagnoses I mean I clearly have depression, PTSD and anxiety and either AS or something like it.......this is based on yes my own observations, observations of family& friends and what me then I was able to see a therapist for a couple months with not cost to me and he came to the same conclusions for the most part.

Also for me its not about a sense of identity so much, more of 'what the hell is wrong with me and keeps me from functioning and why is it getting worse.' I don't see how it really effects my sense of identity either way........I mean ever since I was a kid I wondered what was wrong with me or different about me.

Well it sounds like you know what you are doing anyway! That is very interesting to learn how you have managed without access to psychiatrist.

I have wondered what was wrong with me since I was a kid too. Turns out I never had anything wrong with me, just that the other kids would pick on me because I was academically successful and musically talented. I think bullying can contribute to someone feeling like there is something wrong with them. It can contribute to PTSD and depression too. Anyway I am only talking about my own situation here, I'm sure that yours is quite different.

It sounds as though you are quite sensible in your search for a diagnosis, and that you are doing it for the right reasons.

Also I should clarify that in my opinion, if someone is an aspie, then there is nothing wrong with them - aspies have a differently functioning brain to neurotypicals. Unfortunately we life in a neurotypical-dominated world where there is little accessibility for aspies. Also, neurotypicals and aspies communicate differently and about different things. The frequent communication breakdowns lead to the neurotypicals thinking that there must be something wrong with the aspies and vice versa.

Redacted

Last edited by nat4200 on 21 Apr 2012, 12:54 am, edited 1 time in total.

Great response, thanks

I will revise point one to read "Only a professional can give you a certain diagnosis. I could probably tell you if my car was having a brake problem or a gearbox problem. Someone with a bit more know-how could even change my brake pads for me, if I let them. But at the end of the day, I am taking the car to the mechanic because I trust that mechanic with my life.

Sure, you can tell me the difference between a tulip and a rose. But can you tell me the difference between a callistemon and a grevillea? And which species and sub-species? If I gave you a botany book, would you even know how to use it to determine the difference? And would you be sure?

The profession I used to work in (before becoming bipolar), Speech Pathology, involves differentially diagnosing disorders of communication. The general public uses and misuses the terminology freely. Even those with a diagnosis do not understand their diagnosis the way I do (and I don't understand it the way they do). Teachers, who work daily with children with various communication disorders, still call on the expertise of Speech pathologists in making the diagnosis. To get the diagnosis right, you need to have a very in-depth understanding of the topic at a degree level. You also need to develop specific skills and competencies in assessment and differential diagnosis. It takes a lot of training and practice.

In psychiatry, the skills and knowledge required are even greater. The registrars, who do the ground work, have done many years of study and training - and yet still, the ultimate diagnosis is done by the consultant, and there is a good reason for this.

A good professional needs to respect the fact that the patient is the person with the disorder and therefore has a unique knowledge about their own situation. Unfortunately this doesn't happen as often as it should. In my opinion, misdiagnosis is almost always a result of poor clinical communication skills by the professional - which are paramount in good diagnosis. Communication is, after all, a two-way process and it helps if the respect is also two-way.

In an ideal world, diagnosis should lead to the development of appropriate management strategies. For my bipolar disorder, I was prescribed lithium, the gold standard medication for bipolar. This worked like no other medication had before.
Unfortunately, the system (and the people in it) often spend so many resources on the diagnostic process that they forget to allow resources for treatment. It does not seem to occur to people that providing appropriate treatment was one of the main purposes in getting the diagnosis in the first place.

In the education system I was forced to spend an entire day assessing and diagnosing a child so that the department would send a special teacher out to help him in the classroom. The tragedy was, they already knew that he needed a special teacher in the classroom, but I had to prove that his problem was 'severe enough' to qualify. Too bad there was no time left for therapy for this child now, or for several others. I preferred to use my diagnostic skills for working out which kind of therapy to do, rather than for beaurocratic purposes. This was a great source of frustration for me in my work. I do see where you are coming from when you say that diagnosis does not always lead to support.

I do apologise if I came across as at all patronising and condescending. You can see I am still making gross over-generalisations about aspergers, but give me time and feedback and I will learn. Thanks for your feedback by the way. I know what it is like to have someone without bipolar disorder try and tell me how to 'motivate' myself, so I should know better than to come and give straight-up advice. At least it has lead to an interesting discussion and some learning (on my part).

Okay, depending on where you live getting a diagnosis may be really difficult. When I thought I has Asperger's Syndrome, I started researching about it A LOT. I brought this up to a psychiatrist and he laughed and said it doesn't look like you have Asperger's Syndrome. Then he said it wasn't important because I wasn't in school anymore. He said it was only a label. He said only psychologists could make a diagnosis and they're really expensive here. I got tested a lot throughout my life in school. Asperger's Syndrome didn't even really come out uuntil the early 90's not to mention it was more popular in boys. I always had developmental delays in school, they never really pinpointed the cause though.

That's interesting because where I live the Paediatrician gives a diagnosis of aspergers disorder. I am wondering for those who have been diagnosed by a professional, which type of doctor or specialist diagnosed your aspergers? And how did you trust this diagnosis? That way people can know what to expect from professionals.

I have heard that the clinical presentation of aspergers varies between male and female, with girls more able to 'mask' their differences, although I didn't find that to be the case in my own clinical work.

I can diagnose myself after doing a bit of research online better than the supposedly qualified professionals in my area. I was told by most all the psychs I saw & other people who worked with autistics that I communicate too well verbally & am too intelligent to have Aspergers or anything else on the autism spectrum. So either autism & Aspergers is stuff that is very similar to mental retardation & I have 10+ other disorders; Or I can diagnoses myself better than the "qualified professionals" can

I think you said a mouthful about being diagnosed by a qualified professional.

But there lies the problem. I have seen many over my 49 years. Back in school in the 70's Aspergers was not even on the radar. I have been diagnosed as Schizophrenic, Bi-Polar, OCD, etc. My question would be what qualifies as professional?

I have a multitude of degrees/certificates and I am a practicing CPA & CGMA. I also have a degree in philosophy.

Many professionals don't even bother with a test, or ask about your childhood. They fill the 30 minutes and gladly prescribe you the most colorful of medication. Legal drugs - WOW! Sorry, I have little respect for them. Most put forth little effort, just enough to collect what insurance will pay no more or no less.

I know me better than any professional. Gee, if one phychiatrist says I am this and another is that and they prescribe different medications can I sue for malpractice? They usually diagnose me after only talking to me for 15 minutes, I guess that is my 15 minutes of fame?

Bill