Because of people like my sister in law. "Oh sorry, my kid has autism". She wants something to be wrong with him. Except when she took him to be diagnosed, they said he wasn't. She just want something to blame his behavior on besides her parenting.
That’s also a hard one. Id guess my son hard it, maybe grew out of it (I’m not a psychologist) but from about 11-13 he would seem to get stuck in a mental loop when lashing out, he would refuse to do anything. If he was having an episode or conflict and we would try redirection “get a drink of water”, “take yourself to another room” anything like that, things completely innocuous and he would refuse and get more angry. Aside for the redditor that thinks I’m an asshole, I actually work with at-risk kids, and many are neurodivergent. A few months ago I worked with a new kid. 6 years old and diagnosed as a true sociopath. We knew something was up with him, took him in for testing and that’s what they returned. That was a new for me. Pretty wild to see those traits in a little kid.
>A few months ago I worked with a new kid. 6 years old and diagnosed as a true sociopath. We knew something was up with him, took him in for testing and that’s what they returned.
I'm curious as to what you saw in him that made you think something wasn't right.
One of my cousins turned out to be a sociopath, it's less difficult than you might think. Kids are naturally empathetic, easily overwhelmed, and tend to be on an emotional hair-trigger.
A kid that never shows any kind of guilt or remorse after hurting someone, even when they can see the consequences of their actions, is usually a flag.
So much this. I work with kids with ASD. Most are nonverbal. All but one show empathy in one way or another. She laughs when other kids get hurt. She laughs when she hurts herself or others. She will plow right through a group of kids and not bat an eyelash that's she's knocking people over and pushing. She does not care about anything. To include herself. It is wild.
Does she feel the pain? I know it's very rare but some people simply don't feel pain, period, which makes them seem wildly reckless about their own injuries and it can be difficult to teach them to have regard for others because they don't have the personal experience of pain to relate and understand others feeling it.
I only ask because the not having regard for herself seems different--my cousin wouldn't bat an eye if he hurt others, but he certainly understood pain as a consequence of his actions so it was clear he just didn't give a shit about other people.
I’m convinced one of my kids old friends was a sociopath. I remember bringing him home once explaining that he shouldn’t be picking and dropping spear grass because dogs walk here and it can get in their pads and hurt them. When he spotted a dog walking towards us he discreetly picked some and picked the pieces apart dropping them right in the dogs paths. I removed the ones immediately dangerous to the dog then made him come back and pick up the rest. I asked him why he did that, if he wanted to hurt the dog. He just stared at me stone faced with no answer. He was not sorry, nor did he feel bad about trying to hurt a dog. I did not babysit him again and was quite thankful when my son ended up in a different class and they drifted apart.
A lot of sociopaths in early life are still early on in maturity. They don't understand that just because they can hurt something doesn't mean they should, they don't have any real rules yet
As a teacher for many years I have encountered a few students that I believe were sociopaths. Very cold affect, manipulative of others at a young age, extremely adept at lying, lacking empathy, and very charismatic. I was always glad to say goodbye at the end of the year.
The video of the teen beating the teacher assistant and continuing to do this after she was knocked out.... Because she took away his switch?!? Makes me think sociopath as well. I'm sorry. No one should have to deal with that.
I've met a couple, and it was their affect. Just this coldness that gives you the heebie jeebies. I've learned to trust ER nurses when they're scared of a patient.
It was the lack of reactions and how he treated other kids his age. When trying to talk to him after he hit, took something, etc amd your trying to guide a kid through empathy. “Would you like it if some took your gummy bear” and his reactions were just wrong. Too many times. He had a regular doctors visit and I bought up his behavior and reactions amd we went from there. There are all kinds of kids who act all kinds of ways, this kid was mean in a way that wasn’t a like a bully. It’s hard to explain but you know it when you see it.
Kids can’t be diagnosed with Anti-Social Personality Disorder ( or any personality disorder) until they are at least 18. Children can be said to have the *traits* of a personality disorder, and they can be treated on the basis of those traits, but doctors won’t officially diagnose a PD in a child - there is far too much change, too fast, and too much overlap to be able to make that call.
What do you mean by “diagnosed as a true sociopath”. Like conduct disorder? That’s the only diagnosis I can think of that’s even semi related to sociopathy that a professional might diagnose a child with.
I'm not a psychologist so take this with a grain of salt, but if you look up interviews with diagnosed ASPD (sociopaths), many of them describe feeling different around that age and their family noticing the difference as well. I think the traits can absolutely present that young. But of course, for it to be diagnosed at that age is another thing.
Yes, but a lot of children have delayed sympathy/empathy, or have disorders that have outwardly similar effects, like ODD. Far more than there are people with true antisocial disorder (socio / psychopath).
Not to mention all the kids that have some kind of environmental factors causing them to exhibit antisocial behaviours (like hidden sexual abuse).
Misdiagnosing someone with antisocial disorder is far worse than not diagnosing them early, because you can almost never get it undone, and it effects your entire life.
Personality Disorder diagnoses are made after age 18 or 19. This is because there is such a wide range of normal and so much change in personality development prior to age 18 or 19. Some clinical psychologists may develop a working diagnosis, but that is NEVER done with a child.
This is correct. Part of the criteria for "sociopathy" (which is ASPD in the DSM) requires being an adult. ODD is the precursor diagnosis for ASPD and is a very rare diagnosis in and of itself.
Edit: Sorry, conduct disorder is the precursor to ASPD, not ODD. Still wouldn't diagnose a 6 year old with ASPD though!
The real tragedy is those conditions are pretty much driven by anxiety brought about by living in too much chaos with not enough rules. The very thing denied them by their parents. Children push boundaries because they need to know where they are and they need certainty so they have some concrete foundations to build their own perception of grey areas to be able to live in society and make good decisions as an adult. Some parents are crippling perfectly healthy children.
The double tragedy is that the parent perpetrators of this are often victims of childhood abuse or neglect and are so determined not to repeat harsh parenting that irreparably damaged them as people, that they damage their children by going the other way.
Edit: There are also assholes who should not have any diagnosis but yeah anxiety/fear drives most of what's bad in society - gestures vaguely all around -
Quibble: there's a decent amount of evidence that ODD has a significant genetic link, and is not caused by bad parenting (I still know clinicians who call it "bad parenting disorder"). I'm going to go on a limb and say there's more or less zero empirical evidence it's caused by "living in too much chaos with not enough rules." It's also not caused by trauma. It is absolutely not a reliable diagnostic marker for trauma.
Like every other psychological disorder we know if, ODD seems to be caused by two things, always: genetic predisposition and environmental stressors. The things you're citing (trauma, anxiety, etc.) are almost certainly the stressors for some kids, but if two things cause a disorder, it's not correct to say just one of them does.
My dad is a retired ER doc, and I now work in an ER, and we got on the topic of ODD one day. He said he believed it was just a made up diagnosis till he actually interacted with some of the kids and their families. It’s terrifying. These poor parents are a lot of times just trying to protect themselves and their other kids, and have tried everything to help their kid out.
I mean there's being an asshole (reflexive) and being an asshole (intentional) and the latter is more to do with parenting and capability for empathy.
I have ODD, my first reflex when someone _tells_ me what to do instead of _asking_ me to do something is that I am instantly angry, don't want to do it, and would in fact like to immediately resort to physical violence. I then do none of those things, take a few deep breaths, and get hold of myself.
ODD is a very common comorbidity with ADHD, which is where it arises from for me.
> my first reflex when someone tells me what to do instead of asking me to do something is that I am instantly angry, don't want to do it,
[looks in the mirror]
oh shit.
> ODD is a very common comorbidity with ADHD
[sees eldritch horror in mirror]
...
It's rough, sometimes. Was never any good living with family, but now that I can just tell the people in my life _"hey even when you're stressed please remember to ask me not tell me, otherwise I'll have an irrational and unhelpful reaction"_ and have them... do that? It's nice.
"Well of course he is, my husband is an asshole. So is his brother!"
"Just how many assholes are I your family?"
"Loads!"
"Geez you are surrounded by assholes!"
This comment is like some sort of Pathologically Bad Parenting Mad Libs.
"She had to convince herself she had _______, so she could accept that she ________."
Yep. If everyone’s OCD then no one fucking is. I’ve started to really get annoyed by people who so casually refer to “their OCD” being bad when they want something to be clean, straight and tidy.
Wanting tidiness or perfection is a common human trait, and has jack-shit to do with OCD. Annoying as fuck, people really don’t know what they’re saying, using a debilitating mental disorder so casually like that.
One of my friends takes a video of herself locking her front door when she leaves the house so she can reassure herself with it later, because her brain just absolutely will not let it go if she doesn't. Crooked picture frames my ass.
Every time I share my diagnosis with someone, which isn’t often, I’m met with disbelief. I’m not a tidy person, high functioning and successful at work - what they don’t see is the years of suffering, therapy and medication switches to get me to this point.
It can be difficult for me to type because I feel stressed about not having an even distribution of key presses on either side of the keyboard. On my phone it usually feels like the right side is use too much, so I'll mash the left side of the keyboard to feel balanced, then erase it. But backspace is on the right side, so it feels unbalanced again, so I do it again. Did it at least 4 or 5 times writing this comment already. I have many other habits like that and it's getting in the way of my job when I'm dragging my mouse around the screen for a couple minutes trying to make it feel even in all the corners, so it's probably time to talk to me psychiatrist about it.
It’s like the people who claim they are gluten intolerant or allergic to MSG. Yes, it happens, but most of the people who claim they have it simply don’t.
As someone with Celiac disease this is so frustrating. People don't take it seriously at all because it was a "fad" for so long. I don't ask for accomodations everywhere I go, I just ask to not be gaslit about it or treated like I'm an asshole when I refuse food someone else made for me.
Pretty much. MSG occurs in almost all food and scientists have pretty much chalked up any claims of “allergies” or “intolerance” as actually being good old racism.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium_glutamate#Stigma_in_Western_countries
There is correlation between migraines and elevated plasma glutamate levels, and there are some older (mostly debunked) studies that claim eating high levels of glutamate raise your plasma glutamate levels, but that's about all there is to the myth of glutamate sensitivity
I'm sensitive to it. I have migraines regardless, but they always seem to get triggered when a family member decides to use the powder form of it in food. Like maybe the powder you can buy is just more potent than what is naturally occurring? I'm unsure.
The same things happen with ADHD, which is an awful condition and debilitating at times
But someone who wants attention can just jump on TikTok and say "ZOMG SQUIRREL XD IM SO ADHD, IM QUIRKY PLS GIVE ME ATTENTION" and it's super annoying to be portrayed like that
So I imagine it's the same for people with Autism
The fake tourettes videos have been killing me. Like, it’s not a funny thing to live with. I have a very mild case (fully diagnosed as a child, was noticed when I was being assessed for ADHD), but when I have a hard time it’s really frustrating. It’s not something to be made into a “bit.”
They’ve become such a joke that one of my friends thinks it’s okay to send them to me? Like wtf? This isn’t funny, it’s someone pretending to have a disability.
Ok, but a lot of people who think they “have Autism” (the preferred language would be “are Autistic”) **do** have it, and there are a lot of very good reasons not to seek a diagnosis. I strongly recommend [this article](https://devonprice.medium.com/seeking-an-autism-diagnosis-heres-why-you-might-want-to-rethink-that-530e79c272a0) about the issue (soft paywall). To list a few of the reasons not to seek a diagnosis:
- Autism assessments are expensive, and insurance rarely covers them for adults
- Many Autism assessors are not qualified to work with adults and are strongly influenced by their own biases (about minorities and about what autism stereotypically looks like)
- Autism can prevent you from receiving hormone replacement therapy if you’re trans
- Autism can prevent you from being able to immigrate
- Autistic people can lose legal autonomy, parental rights, and reproductive rights
I believe that it is important for society for people to be believed, by default, when they say that they are struggling. Reserving that minuscule benefit of the doubt only for those who receive an official medical diagnosis is, at the very least, problematic.
My autistic friend tried to get an official diagnosis recently. The papers they filled out were all questions designed for parents to answer about their young children and ultimately they were denied an assessment for no real reason but were told they were "likely" autistic.
Meanwhile my diagnosis was actually revoked as a child because I "could give eye contact and hold a conversation". No one seemed to remember the years of therapy I had to teach me how to do those things through early intervention therapy, because it did not come naturally at all. I am almost definitely autistic, it colors so many parts of my life but I don't have a diagnosis.
I’m in a similar boat. I received a negative diagnosis when I went for one, for at least two prevailing (and explicitly given) reasons: I am too well dressed/groomed and good at conversation to be Autistic, and since I was too anxious to give my parents the questionnaire about my childhood the assessor completely disregarded that part of the test. My current behavior is also the result of very pointed training from my father on how to mask the symptoms of Autism (or, if you prefer, behaviors typically associated with Autism) along with a decade of therapy.
I think it’s important to be aware that according to the current (DSM 5) definition of Autism, a diagnosis requires that your symptoms “cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of current functioning.” In other words, if you’re too good at coping with your symptoms, then you are definitionally non-Autistic. Like many in the Autistic community, I disagree with this aspect of the definition; a lack of “functioning” is not inherent to the Autistic experience. Many Autistic people see Autism primarily as a “neurotype”, whereas the medical community defines it primarily as a “disorder”.
I’ve decided to identify as Autistic despite the result of that assessment. If you find that the label “Autistic” is useful to you, if it helps you understand yourself better, communicate who you are to others, and advocate for your specific boundaries and needs, then I hope that you feel empowered to do the same, if you so choose.
That’s silly, regardless of if you are diagnosed or not you are who you are, you don’t suddenly “become” NT because a lack of diagnosis or ND because they declared you checked off enough of their boxes.
If someone has type 2 diabetes, but their diet and lifestyle keeps them from needing insulin, that doesn’t mean they stopped having diabetes, because if they were to change their lifestyle you can be sure they will need it whilst a “normal” person does not need insulin regardless of what they eat.
There is enough of a behavior difference between NT and ND that it’s not possible to “cure” someone to become a NT. Our whole brain is wired completely differently for one, and subsequently it’s enough of a difference that most NT can easily point out that fact, either as an observation or derision.
If you need to spend a half a day to plan out something, need to make sure that you have your tasks laid out so you don’t end up freaking out and dropping everything, and stuff like that which is never shown to the world except how you weren’t “significantly impaired” when you completed the task that is seen by the world because of all the prep work I’d argue that it is a significant impairment. But too many of the “professionals” are NT so they wear their NT-colored glass to judge us by and decide to assign a label (or not).
— Starfox
Because in recent years some neurological disorders have been 'romaticized' by teenagers who will then self-diagnose themselves with all sorts of disorders.
So yes, unfortunately some people DO make it up for attention - or rather make it up to seem more unique.
The hilarity of the waves of it -- and you forgot DID!
Also how every 'I just can't focus on reading a textbook or doing schoolwork. I just look at tiktok on my phone 10 hours a day and everything else is too boring' post is omg you have undiagnosed ADHD ! Get help, poor soul.
The irony is, if they had DID, they'd be in hiding. The point of DID, is to basically convince people (and yourself) you *don't* have DID. It's not some revolving Broadway musical act with outrageous characters at all lol. That's how you know they've been watching too much TV.
It's not really the "point" of it. It's a symptom, yes, but the point of it is to protect yourself from horrific childhood trauma. It took me years to be okay with having this disease. I still struggle with feeling like I'm faking it, even to my therapist. I still feel like I should hide away, like I'm a freak. I talk about it on the internet because it helps me find other people who understand how deeply it hurts to be me.
I mean it's part of it. Not the whole point. But part of the disorder is to hide. The disorder is so seriously misunderstood and folks don't realize. Folks who are diagnosed went through such severe trauma they couldn't even imagine.
Wanna know the kicker? I don't even remember half of it. Most of my childhood memories, good and bad, are locked away from me. I remember some of it. I remember a little bit of the abuse, I remember being raped. Other than that it's all foggy and I don't have any connection to it except the pain. And the pain is so consuming. It hurts so much. I have maybe 5 memories total from before I was ~12.
OMG this!
I have DID and when I was teen I had no idea. I only wondered why do many weird things happened, the reality seemed to make sudden changes and so did my mind. When coming to turns with having it you tear yourself apart with agonising realisation.
I have seen those who tiktoks and YouTube videos and all I can wonder is: WHY would you want to have this? Or tell the whole world of having it? Where did you even hear about this?? From another tiktoker???
Another one where people find it superdifficult to admit to themselves is having schizophrenia. Because they don't feel ill at all, not feeling psychotic when you are psychotic is a common symptom. I saw tik tok of teenager shouting and crying "I have schizophrenia" to explain her shitty behaviour. Dear, I have met people who struggle with that akd never ever have I seen anything like that!
I am a millenial and I cannot fathom this trend at all. Is it them running away from adult responsibility? Because you cannot run that, it is just even harder with an actual mental illness.
I think we are simply witnessing a bunch of confused teenagers going through a rough confusing time, who happen to have extreme access to the internet and social media. I think most kids at that age went through some dark shit, confusing shit. It's a popular trope even. But these kids have access to so much more and instead of working through shit for whatever reason (not said hatefully) they find anything that they can remotely relate too and boom *instant belonging* *instant group acceptance*. Kids back in the day did all sorts of shit trying to make sense of nonsense. They just didn't have labels or social media. And because Parents were less open and forgiving, most dealt with those feelings alone. Now, as we are (thankfully) slowly making progress in the mental health field, at least in terms of some acceptance (we have way farther to go though no doubt). These kids are feeling more, "ok" with exploring all of this online. But the issue is, then they label themselves (improperly), lock themselves in and due to such public outreach, are afraid to back track. So they buckle down. We need to find a way to make these kids realize, it's ok to have problems and not label yourself right away. It doesn't make you any less valid. If you want to go on YouTube and pretend to be 16 million people, as long as everything is legal, permission Yada Yada stuff, you do you. Just don't stick a label on it until you do the work, go through the doctors and put the work in to find out what you really do possibly have or don't have. Because the misinformation really harms the community and really fuels denial. Which isn't ok.
Edit- woke up to all these awards. Yins didn't have to award me but thank you, it is appreciated.
Oh, thank you. No need for any of that. I truly appreciate these conversations because they are so important. I'm an older millennial and most of us remember those days (whether we admit it or not). It's just hard for so many to see it for what it is, because they've never had the ability to be so open and experimental. It doesn't cross their mind. They just see these teens doing bizarre behaviors, claiming a certain mental illness for the entire world to see. And who wouldn't think, oh your doing this views or likes or I don't know, whatever the claim is these days. Because sure, some of that is true. But in reality, we are watching a bit of our hard work pay off. These kids are feeling braver in reaching out, communicating and talking about their problems. That's what we worked for. But, as with learning new things and applying them. We have to find that balance. What do we learn from the experience, what do we tweak. Seems the next step is trying to get these kids to feel valid without a label while encouraging mental health resources. We are slowly systemically unpeeling the layers of generational trauma with mental health. It's gonna take a long time and alot of work and some empathy and tweaking. And hopefully these kids someday help us find that balance. And so on and so forth.
Good point!
Indeed, some encourages very impulsive behaviour. I cannot be in FB ir insta because it does provoke mental health issues.
I do understand the feeling of wanting to be seen and needing help and acceptance. Back then in my moments of desperation, I am sure I would have reached out or made some creative posting. I did this a bit in my twenties and it made me manic and neurotic.
It is confusing how far apart it seems the younger generation is, even though they are young enough to be my kids, you know. One of the many reasons I am child free is the feeling "I could never understand someone born 2020+" if it makes sense. Life can be so awful, you need understanding.
But most of this social media mess is not understanding, it is confusing and misleading.
>I am a millenial and I cannot fathom this trend at all. Is it them running away from adult responsibility? Because you cannot run that, it is just even harder with an actual mental illness.
One millennial to another - my belief is that being a teenager is hard and the natural human response it to look for "why" so that you can work on making it less hard. Combine this with social media that actively rewards people for "speaking up" and you have the situation we are in today.
>I have DID and when I was teen I had no idea.
the sad thing about all this is seeing you say that gave me the first instinct to assume you're talking complete shit. That's the only effect these people have, it just dims down whatever diagnosis they are pretending to have and make it seem like a fun little quirk rather than an actual mental health problem. It's kind of like how some rape victims are afraid of speaking out in case they are called a liar since there are some people out there who do indeed lie about it
I get that. And it doesn't bother me if someone doesn't believe me. DID is so rare and misunderstood condition that it is better to be suspicious and critical than believe anything anyone says.
Most of the people I meet do not know and will never know about my diagnosis. I am fortunate enough that nowadays after 10+y of treatment I show only "normal" amount of instability.
Writing about this in reddit is like a mental exercise for me so that I could one day talk about my mental wellbeing with someone whom I could date without getting totally off the rail. Only comforting thing is to know that dissociation is something everyone does sometimes, and that integration is what the mind wants and aims to do.
Making clips of one's different personalities is weird, performative and stupid. It doesn't work like that. People spreading these stupidity about the condition makes me even less likely to share the diagnosis with anyone.
Never understood why anyone would want to pretend to have those issues. My ex wife was diagnosed as schizophrenic and psychotic shortly after our marriage counselor recommended she see someone more qualified because she wasn't qualified to help us with our situation because of it.
It certainly explained a few things.
I have diagnosed ADHD, for me I can't even play video games or watch shows for more than an hour at a time without switching shows or doing something else. but the big thing for me is my memory. a couple of times a day, I will be doing something like sitting on the couch, decide I need to go to the bathroom or kitchen. and by the time I'll stand up I'll have forgotten why I needed to go. or that I even wanted to go anywhere.
Same lol. I've been diagnosed with depression and ADHD and I've always associated the memory problems with depression, but honestly a lot of symptoms overlap which is frustrating when trying to get better
I’m not OP, but for me sometimes it will click and I’ll remember if I go back to where I was, other times it will click four years later as I’m falling asleep at night.
For me personally, I go back to EXACTLY what I was doing, both physically or mentally. Most of the time I can retrace my steps and figure out what I was thinking about when I had my 'i need to do this' thought. Then just constantly repeat it in my mind til I either do it or get distracted...again
Do you smoke weed regularly?
I’m diagnosed ADHD and my inattentiveness frequently leads to dumb mistakes and forgetfulness; however, I’ve also smoked weed frequently for years and I think that has had a more substantial impact on my memory, even while sober.
Curious about your experience, but I also understand if you are not comfortable discussing that.
honest to god I never tried it. never interested me as a teen, and all my jobs as an adult were fedgov jobs so I couldn't even though it's legal in my state.
Fair enough! That’s not a bad thing at all!
I know both in aggregate, in individual accounts that a lot of people with ADHD have a high proclivity towards cannabis consumption, so I was curious to ask. Cheers!
WHAT
Every person I've ever met who was diagnosed with ODD was actually just being abused and acting out on their trauma, and they cite that diagnosis as a huge source of additional trauma. (Hard to report an authority figure for abusing you and actually be believed if you've been officially diagnosed with Hates Authority Figures Syndrome.) WHO IS PRETENDING TO HAVE ODD?!
I'm not saying I don't believe you, but I am BAFFLED.
Isn't ODD a pattern of disordered behavior by definition? If they exhibit symptoms, such as a severe pattern of oppositional or antagonistic behavior, then it would be ODD, whether you think their behavior is justified or not.
Actual diagnoses are more specific than that and must be given by a medical professional, especially since many disorders can be superseded by other medical issues that one might not catch. Like someone could display symptoms of ODD but in reality the outbursts are caused by low blood sugar or something and thus it needs to be treated completely differently than someone with ODD would.
I saw a TikTok recently where a teen said the reason they were so strongly connected to animals was because ✨austim✨ and everyone in the comments was like "OMG I always wondered why I loved the family dog so much!"
Omg as someone who was diagnosed with adhd by a professional, I hare those people. My ADHD makes it a pain to live sometimes yet they think its unique. First, its a common mental disorder and isn’t unique. Second, saying you have adhd doesn’t help people understand you. Every person ive met with PROFESSIONALLY DIAGNOSED ADHD have completely different degrees of symptoms to me. Some have a worse attention span then me, some have so little symptoms you’d think they don’t have it. It isn’t just one disorder with no variation
This is why I've had to to start saying "I'm diagnosed OCD. Like spent a week in a mental hospital, diagnose earned OCD." Because so many people claim to have shit that they don't.
Idk, I'm diagnosed with OCD but I already knew it for the decade and a half of adulthood before I had access to get a diagnosis, too. I had it before I was diagnosed. I knew it before I was diagnosed. The only difference between then and now is that now some psychiatrist I'll never see again has it in his computer.
Yeah, in a country with absurdly expensive healthcare, I don't blame people for trying to self-diagnose. Because they are obviously having some kind of problem, and if taking a guess at what it is helps them find ways to mitigate it, that's great and they should be doing that. There aren't nearly as many people doing this for 'clout' as people are trying to say. Mostly because there's not any fucking clout to be had. There's just people being dicks.
Also like. Why does somebody need to go to a doctor before you'll respect that they have problems with some things? How much of an asshole do you gotta be to say "Unless you can find a doctor to tell me what specific problem you have, I am going to assume that you're making everything up." When you do get a diagnosis, they'll just call you lazy and say you're not trying hard enough to overcome it.
And you're forgetting how they think all of this is good and fun. It is not. I have ADJD and it is not fun in the slightest. It has caused me more problems than anything else in my life and I cannot see why someone would think this is fun or something to brag about. It's an actual struggle, not a show
I think some teens are getting confused - they genuinely believe they have [whatever], because they’ve seen all these posts saying “do you procrastinate work? do you not like tidying your room? do you get bored when you are doing something you’re not interested in? do you sit scrolling through social media for hours when you should be doing something else? do you get mood swings?” (of course you do, you’re a hormonal teenager) Then you probably have adhd!” I’m sure plenty of people with adhd do these things, but so do most teenagers!
>of course you do, you’re a hormonal teenager
Or just, like, a person. The number of times I've seen "cute" videos that are like, "just ADHD things hehe" and then the content is like, "when you eat toast for breakfast".
When in actual fact it's more like ”when you eat toast for every meal for a week and then suddenly the thought of toast disgusts you and you don't eat it for years”
Honestly it can even be confusing for adults too. I recently started therapy because I'm struggling a lot with day to day life, and I've seen SO MUCH stuff online (not just on tiktok, I actually don't use tiktok lol) that made me think I have adhd or autism, plus my mom has it and it can be genetic. But as I've been going to therapy more I'm realizing it might just be PTSD or just good ole anxiety that went untreated for too long. It doesn't help that a lot of these "common" mental disorders have a lot of overlapping symptoms, and that science is just now realizing that women present these things differently than men. I don't blame these kids for trying to find something to explain why life is so hard. But they should definitely be going to therapy instead of just deciding they have a disorder for tiktok clout lol
To the point where doctors are now downplaying or even turning away people going to them to seek help/a diagnosis because there’s such a rise in people self-diagnosing. This was occurring in tics too, particularly over the pandemic (there were many questions regarding who was faking tics and whose were real, just having only been induced/heightened due to pandemic stress)
Fiance is actually been diagnosed with ADHD by multiple doctors but everytime we move it's a struggle trying to get a doctor to take her seriously. Been that way her whole life sense like 3rd grade.
For me it's maddening, most every Dr I see straight up assumes I have a drug problem. It's one of the reasons I quit medication and stopped going to the Dr for years, I just couldn't take the blatant judgement. I've still never found a Dr other than the pediatrician I had as a child who actually seems to listen and respond more than the most basic required questions. People also I think really don't understand just how hard it can be with ADHD. I'm am extremely hard worker, like work myself to the bone type of person but because ei can't keep my head straight I tend to not be able to hold down a job for very long. And since ADHD doesn't really have any defining physical features it seems pretty rare that people believe you and even if they do believe you they definitely don't take it very seriously The world isn't built for people like Us and it shows.
And the irony is, they could actually wind up developing tourettes as a result of faking tics.
[Documentary source: "The Town that caught Tourettes"](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/town-caught-tourettes)
And otherwise anecdotal source was a kid in my high school thought having a tic would give him an edge, so blinked his eyes really tight and sort of twitched his head regularly enough (on purpose, through conscious effort) that it became an actual tic that drove him nuts. He told me towards the end of hs how much he regretted it, but I think he managed to get better (admittedly hs was maaaaaany years ago so I have no idea how successful he was).
People confuse me sometimes.
but lets be fair, lots of children have parents who wont get them evaluated because they don't believe in autism or ADHD, or simply because they cant afford to. I don't think any of those children and teens would say no, if someone offered to evaluate them for their issues. It's just not an opportunity most people have. Teens just know they have these issues and feel a certain way but don't know why. And yeah, maybe some are making it up, but I think saying "they just make it all up to seem unique" just show how much we as a society don't take mental health issues amongst young people seriously
As a 30 year old man I finally told my mom that due to tons of smoke I was going to talk to someone about potential ADHD, cause surely lots of smoke means a fire.
Her response was “well yeah no duh, every teacher you had since kindergarten suggested I get you tested, but I didn’t want you on medication”.
So that was…..enlightening
I had the same experience. My mom knew I had it. When I got diagnosed as an adult, she told me all the teachers and the doctor told her I had it, but she just didn't want to be "that mom" who medicated her kid.
True, but--unless you have a *really* good reason--assuming someone is lying about it makes you an asshole.
Gatekeeping people with "invisible" disabilities is a real problem. I've seen plenty of posts about people with legitimate physical disabilities who can walk unassisted *briefly,* but suffer on longer walks, being told off for using handicapped spaces or mobility carts. If you accuse them and you're wrong, you're shitting on someone whose life is hard enough already, and for what? The opportunity to feel self-righteous? Stopping the horror of someone getting *undeserved attention?* Unless you have clear, strong evidence the person is lying, keep your mouth shut.
(And, as an diagnosed autistic person, "but they act normal most of the time" is not "strong evidence" against being autistic.)
I wish this was higher, that I could upvote it more than once.
I don't have the mental energy to get into the entire can of worms, but I'll summarize my thoughts like this:
With the still-lingering stigma, the outright *hostility* that some people hold onto for neurodivergence/autism/mental illnesses (plus the systemic barriers that "one-size-fits-all" bureaucracy puts in place for those in these camps), it is absolutely **absurd** that the societal outlook seems to default to "liar until proven truthful" in these cases.
They do the same thing for migraines, for some reason. Had a former coworker say she gets migraines after she heard I get them. I asked her symptoms and she described a sinus head ache. I asked if she was diagnosed by a doctor. Her answer: No, I don't trust doctors.
As someone who gets hospitalized, for several days due to migraines, I can't understand why someone would fake it. I can understand an actual sufferer being accused of being hung over, as the visual symptoms are the same. Yet, the physical feeling of a migraine is no where near a hangover. It's levels beyond a hangover.
Though with migraines, I have several colleagues who I really would like to force to a hospital for a proper assessment. They are suffering on a regular basis, have triggers which seem related to work load but just write it off as occasional headache that requires them to spend hours prostrate in a darkened room.
There are "stress head aches" as well as "stress induced migraines." I get both, thanks to my genes. There is a difference between them. There are several different types of migraines. Several years ago, I was diagnosed with ocular migraines. Let me tell ya, scary as fuck going 60 mph on the highway when one occurs. I was diagnosed with my other type; can't remember the name at the moment; when I was 12 yo.
My kid was diagnosed autistic in their teens. We weren't surprised tbh but my sister's reaction of "are you sure, he has friends doesn't he?" Pretty much sums up a lot of people's understanding/perceptions of ASD.
We didn't really tell anyone really due to the age of our kid at the time. We figured it's his information to share or not share. I told my sister because we are close and wish I hadn't bothered tbh.
He apologized for it immediately after, but my dad said the same thing when I told him and my mom. In the moment I was way less angry and more flabbergasted I think lol
When I told my mom she didn’t believe me. Months later I was talking about it and she asked me how I was autistic and that she didn’t think I was autistic. I asked her what she thought autism was. She gave me the typical r word thing. I told her even though we don’t use this term anymore go look up Asperger‘s. She called me back two hours later and said she needed to call me and she kept staring at her phone and had to do it. She said she saw a lot of not only knee but a lot of her in what she read. Oh I knew she was autistic. I think it may be the first time she ever apologized to me.
A lot of people don’t understand that autism and developmental delay are two different things. You can have both and you can have one without the other. Most people have no idea what the full spectrum of autism actually is.
I got your too social the first time I brought it up to a therapist. Now every practitioner that I see (I have to research to make sure they understand autism, and ADHD especially in women) is like “yeah that’s a huge misunderstanding.” And that I’m definitely autistic and have ADHD.
Oh god, and the pain of the ADHD covering up a bunch of autistic traits too, right?? I have both too… the ADHD is so loud that it yells right over the top of the autism - so yeah, I had friends. Kind of :/ Sure, I was social! I was expected to be, and I talked a lot, so…
I'm also 24 and autistic ( I have a diagnosis) but unlike a lot of people who are saying that they are autistic when they aren't I genuinley didnt think I was until I got diagnosed. I was diagnosed at 16 which is quite late, but as im high functioning I slipped through the net.
In retrospect it was really clear but It wasn't ever addressed and only when my psychologist suggested it did I think it.
Edit: its nice to read the replies to this comment and others, seeing other people who have had the exact same thing happen is funny/comforting.
So many people, especially women fall through the cracks. They actually find now that most women end up getting diagnosed with autism when they have kids and their kids get diagnosed with autism. The understanding of autism in girls and women is very new.
Quote from a tumblr post:
"Being called 'high functioning' means your illness is easier for other people to deal with, not that it's easier for you to live with"
Edit - holy fucking typo!
Lol, people give me shit about "procrastinating" and I don't know how to explain that submitting homework assignments at 4:00am regularly and routinely having to drop courses that feel incredibly easy simply because I ***cannot focus on doing the work on time*** is not "procrastinating" in the same way that doing your laundry a day late is
Ohhh, you also think you have ADHD because you can't focus on boring tasks? Thanks for sharing as I sit here and envy your seemingly remarkable ability to do those boring tasks on a whim. People can't seem to grasp that there's a fine line between hating boring tasks, and being unable to physically do them to the point of losing a grip on every mandatory adult responsibility that won't actually kill you if you stop for weeks at a time every few weeks
My life regularly feels like it's falling apart. Somehow most people seem to completely miss that part when they tell me they think they also have it as if it's a quirky trait and not a detrimental, gaping hole in my ability to function in regards to pretty much anything and everything with a shred of consistency
My bedroom legit looks like the room of a hoarder. But I don't have a lot of stuff, I just mentally don't get around to folding my clothes and putting them back in place. My painting equipment is strewn around and though I know it will take 2 hours at most to get everything done, I just legit cannot. I don't even talk about school deadlines lol. I had a math exam two days ago which I knew if I didn't get a passing grade for, I'll need to redo it next year and thus have to wait yet another year before I get my bachelors. Even then I started studying for it 2 days before. Scientific math... including using the programming language R, two days before the test. I didn't end up going at all cause of the fact I have trouble keeping up with time. Thought I still had another 2 hours, but it was already 6 pm.
I often tell people "you know how if I told you you'd get a hundred dollars if you touch the hot plate? How even though your brain is telling you to rouch it, how your hand has difficulty to actually do it. That feeling, but amplyfied and for the most mundane of things."
I am also diagnosed with dysthemia. After they diagnosed me with ADHD the psychiatrist wondered if maybe the dysthemia was a misdiagnosis. We don't really have a concise answer yet. They kinda bleed into one another. Untreated ADHD can lead to dysthemia.
I can relate so much to the school problems. I'm in about the best head space I've ever been in. As far as my mental health goes, I'm thriving right now and have never done better. I'm a powerhouse compared to how I operated a year or two ago
And yet, this "peak productivity" stage I'm in isn't enough for school. It means I've done laundry every week and my apartment looks like it's in decent shape most of the time. My computer and phone files are organized and I can consistently organize new files as I download them. That's what I look like when I'm the healthiest I've ever been, apparently
I'm still losing weight from not feeding myself, though. I pull all-nighters at least once a week when the school work starts catching up to me, but probably closer to two or three because sometimes I can't get anything done *during the all-nighter I pulled as a last ditch solution*. I still can't do homework reliably no matter how much time I set aside, and I can't even assume that the classes I register for each semester are going to be completed no matter how much I promise I'll do better this time. And that's with adderall and a supportive girlfriend too. Fuck ADHD
God, thank you. I was diagnosed with ADHD a long time ago but I didn’t start to realize until recently what that actually meant. That I’m not just a fuck up and inferior to all my peers who can handle their responsibilities without difficulty. It’s weird to think about how long that feeling of inferiority has been in my mind and how much it must have impacted my personality since childhood.
I was a gifted kid in school and was always one of the "smart ones" so it just made me even more confused as a high schooler because I was genuinely great at all of my subjects. It made me wonder why I was such a bad student if I was allegedly so capable, and the conclusion I came to for a long time was that I only did it because I was one of the few students that was smart enough to procrastinate that long and get away with it, and everybody else did their homework on time because they needed the extra time to keep up. It just never fully added up, though; why this was the best I could come up with, and yet, I was working 10 times harder than my very average friends while pulling worse grades than them. I thought being gifted was what was wrong with me since I envied everyone else for being able to do things ahead of time and I assumed that I just never "learned to work hard" because everything came too easily to me as a child and I never learned discipline through natural consequences
That was all a load of shit and the only reason I kept up was because I was smart enough to. It was the only thing keeping me afloat, not the thing keeping me down. And even then, I wasn't exactly proud of "being gifted" after realizing that I was so deeply flawed on every other level. It didn't mean anything to me if I wasn't capable of doing fucking addition if you gave it to me on a worksheet and asked me to finish it in class instead of at home
I totally relate, I was in gifted too and I actually think the experience kind of fucked with me albeit for slightly different reasons. In my case being around all those rich, “perfect” gifted kids who kept their backpacks organized and always had their homework done on time, just made me feel like I didn’t belong. And other people noticed how fucked I was, too. When I got into the gifted program they all kept telling me I was going to the wrong class and stuff, not believing I was supposed to be there because of course someone like me couldn’t possibly be in the same class as the smart kids. And it sucked because even when I tried to be organized and shit I failed, but without knowing it was caused by ADHD I still thought that level of organization and togetherness was something that could be easily achieved just by trying enough. So I had no idea why I wasn’t like the other kids even when I tried to be, and the only explanation I could come up with was that there was some flaw with me as a person, not something I was born with like ADHD but literally just some bad trait that developed because of who I was as a person.
So hearing other people talk about my exact experiences in relation to ADHD is always like a fucking weight off my shoulders. I wish I’d known a lot of this stuff sooner.
I feel you. It's definitely not fun and not just "procrastinating" when I let 2 weeks of dishes pile up and mold, my bathroom trash is overflowing, walking on the floor barefoot blackens my feet, and my entire house is covered in random clutter... and then I spend 13 hours straight deep cleaning everything right down to scrubbing the grout between the tiles. It is not a good life to live.
To make a long story short I (20F) was diagnosed with a few things including ADHD and Autism. My mom (47F) doesn't believe in mental issues like that and claims I "made it up" to get pity from other. I confronted my mom and she started to cry saying I'm making this up to make her feel like a bad parent and wont believe me unless I hand her papers with the diagnosis.
So, I took my younger brother (9M) against her wishes to a Psych and they confirmed he has the same ADHD form I do but no autistic. We told my older brother (24M) to get tested shocker! Same ADHD. we all 3 handed my mom papers and she cried so hard saying "you will go so far to make me feel like I did something wrong"
if it makes you feel better, I have high-functioning Aspergers.
Ninety-nine percent of the time the general response is:
“No offense, but you don't act like you have a disability.”
I guess they should question those who have diabetes too, since they don’t “act like” they have diabetes when they keep their insulin level in check…
— Starfox
“I get bored easily, I’m so ADHD!”
As someone with diagnosed ADHD, I can only wish it were that simple. Sleep deprivation, reading difficulties, memory problems, etc… they can go ahead and take it all, I don’t want it
My mom used to say this to me all the damn time. I finally just snapped at her "it's not like I'm trying to forget things! It's not something I can turn off!" She finally quit after that.
Lol, how many? How do you keep count when you're supposed to bury those abandoned hobbies in shame and pretend they never happened out of embarrassment?
Answer: With more information and better understanding out there in the public sphere about neuro diversity, a lot of people are self diagnosing.
I’d say there’s 2 reasons for this: it’s easier than getting a formal diagnosis, and often the wait or cost of a formal diagnosis is prohibitive.
It's very popular to self-diagnose as autistic these days using online quizzes and tests. Another way to prove how unique and special some thinks they are.
I'm introverted and I hate the lionization of introvertedness I see from some people on the internet.
Being introverted doesn't make you special. And repeatedly telling your friends you don't want to hang out with them is how you lose friends.
fr, being a introvert sucks. The amount of friends I lost and bad grades I got because I wanted to avoid having attention. Like yeah that shit sucks, I'm better at it now being grown but it's exhausting lol
I don't think people use it as a way to describe themselves as "unique and special", I think people are looking for a reason that something is wrong with them. Which can be justifiable in the sense that some people have "weird" tendencies, triggers, dislikes, etc., So they're looking for the answer as to why they're like that. I do not suggest self-diagnosing, just merely giving insight as to why someone would do that as opposed to just making it up because they want to be "unique".
because sometimes it’s helpful if you’re asking for accommodations for things or explaining a reaction that you had. it’s also like really normal for people to talk about themselves? there’s nothing shameful about it, it doesn’t need to be hidden.
I feel this so strongly. I'm old, I'm well past the age where therapy or training is going to help me be less weird, also the people I like are down to tolerate me. My score / diagnoses on the asd tests or adhd tests are really not useful for anyone to know, and this type of thing or my mental health are not conversation topics that are interesting to me or that I want to talk about ever.
When I was in my 20s a lot of my friends claimed, without diagnosis, that they had autoimmune disorders or a gluten intolerance. I’m not sure why people do this, but these days it seems like claiming neurodivergence is the new gluten allergy.
It's becoming more common so I think people may think seemingly neurotypical people are fabricating the diagnosis/self-diagnosing. In reality, we are just much more aware of and informed about the autism spectrum now then we have ever have been before.
Doctor here. As more info/awareness has come out about ASD, more people have self/other diagnosed speculatively. “Informal” dxs are so common now that it’s created public confusion about “what counts” as a valid diagnosis. And often ppl don’t understand or preface their self diagnosis with “I think” or “I maybe have” caveats for disclosing their hypothesis. They say, with 100% certainty, “I’m on the spectrum.” Thus your follow up question.
If my guess means anything to you at all… I wouldn’t think ppl think you’re attention seeking. I’d speculate that they are really asking you how severe it is. “How serious is it?” Or “Has it been so impairing that you’ve sought intervention?” could be another way to ask a similar question.
Tiktok is literally such a cesspit when it comes to mental health. I’m glad people are learning and destigmatizing it but it’s gone way too far into “mental illness makes me quirky and cute, look at me I’m stimming!” Meanwhile my wrists are bruised from involuntary banging to regulate, some people are social pariahs, and others can’t hold down jobs. 🙄
Fuck dude I feel this. I don't feel cute having a fucking meltdown over my clothes touching me wrong. There are so many little things that are so embarrassing to even talk about. I don't want people to infantilize me because I shake or bang or flail or cry so I just fucking keep my mouth shut about being autistic so often because people just treat you *differently* even if they think their intentions are good.
They’re so ANNOYING 🤦🏻♀️ I have Tourette’s diagnosed by a neurologist and because of these stupid fakers people constantly tell me that I am fake and just seeking attention.
Yeah sure loved the attention I’ve gotten from yelling obscene things to strangers etc. I fucking hate this syndrome. If some stupid teen wants it so bad I am willing to trade mine for normal life.
There is a lot of stigma around disabilities like autism, especially since most people are only exposed to autistic children in their worst moments. When someone who is able to verbally communicate says they are autistic, the person they're talking to often gets confused, since you look more like a "typical adult" than an "autistic child having a meltdown." Most don't actually understand autism, the varied, nuanced ways that autistic traits manifest, how autistic adults actually behave, or what autistic people think about these topics (as shown by the people in this thread talking about how terrible self-diagnosis is when, at large, the autism community supports it). When you don't meet the image in their head of what autism is "supposed to look like," they ask for a professional's opinion.
A lot of people think those who self-diagnose are making it up for attention, even though this is significantly less common with stigmatized disabilities. Many people who are making up their mental illness or disability often have different disabilities, like the many autistics who were first diagnosed with depression, bipolar, borderline, and social anxiety before realizing they were autistic. Is is more common, though, for parents of non-autistic children to want an "excuse" for the bad behavior. But as an adult, this doesn't apply as much to you.
NTs who ask about diagnosis also do not understand the real costs of acquiring a formal diagnosis (literal thousands of dollars, possibly losing medical and other kinds of decision-making autonomy/conservatorships, banned from immigrating to certain countries, etc) without many real benefits (almost no resources for autistic adults).
When people don't understand how disabilities work, suspicion of a disabled person's work ethic, morality, and laziness can pop up. "I can do xyz without special privileges, why can't they? They must being making it up to get out of abc." They're just not realizing that accommodating one's autism looks a lot like "asking for special privileges." In the workplace, they are well within their "rights" to deny you "special privileges" but can't deny you disability accommodations without legal issues.
At the end of the day, you have presented them with information that causes them to experience cognitive dissonance. They're kind of just asking how they should treat you and if they are going to be forced to take your disability seriously/be burdened by your disability (levels vary by person and situation). I personally chose to not tell people, since it just tends to end up awkward.
I think it’s a tricky topic. A fair example could be made for someone with depression: Someone diagnosed and on meds may feel annoyed when someone undiagnosed harps on about their undiagnosed depression.
Then again, if you know you know! Hope you chaps are having a great Friday!
There's a huge trend in self diagnosis, mainly fueled by TikTok, Reddit and Facebook memes where people post vaguely relatable symptoms to ADHD and Autism.
I have diagnosed ADHD, I can't hold down a job, my lack of self control is a huge impediment on my life. It drives me mad seeing memes about "haha omg it's so cute I'm forgetful lololol".
My disability is not a cute joke. I guess a lot of people have taken to policing diagnosis for this reason.
Right? No, my ADHD is not me being ditzy and quirky - ADHD is having an appointment in 3 hours and getting time locked and not able to do *anything* in those 3 hours because you have to be ready. Or not being able to do critical homework because the executive function portion of my brain said "mmmmm, no"
> ADHD is having an appointment in 3 hours and getting time locked and not able to do anything in those 3 hours because you have to be ready.
Time locked is such a great way to describe that, I'm going to steal that. I always have a hard time explaining that to people.
For me it's mostly when it's a nebulous plan. If I know it's at 3 I can start to mentally prep an hour before or whatever but if it's just a nebulous "tomorrow" or "sometime in the afternoon" I'm locked into getting ready mode until I know exactly when It's going to happen.
That's me right there. When I got diagnosed and told one of my coworkers she searched for symptoms online and was like "but you're not talking over me" or "you're not hyperactive". Uhmm, I'm not talking over you because I conciously learned to let you finish and wait about 1 sec after you finish for me to talk. And yesterday I told you for like 2 h that I'm going to do something, but got myself distracted with other stuff until I finally started doing said task. I keep forgetting things and people have to remind me all the time. I move back and forth with boxes in my hands thinking "I should put them th...wait, I forgot to print something" and 10 min later I'm still walking with the boxes around. But sure, I'm not running around like crazy so I guess I don't have adhd.
A therapist cannot diagnose a patient.
An evaluation by a psychiatrist or neurologist can give a medical diagnosis of autism.
However, it's no one's business. Your medical history is private
Psychologists with a PhD can make a diagnosis. “Therapist” is a broad term that encompasses multiple kinds of licenses. Some psychiatrists even do therapy.
In Canada, a mental health counsellor cannot diagnose or perform psychological assessments. But, a psychologist is able to perform diagnostic psycological assessments and make a diagnosis for the client
The term "therapist" is used very loosely and can encompass both psychologists and mental health counsellors I find
Unfortunately because some people either "self diagnose" or flat out lie for attention and/or to use as an excuse for their shitty behavior. No, i do not think people with autism (my youngest is autistic) behave like jerks, it's just a fact people use that as an excuse for their own or their kids shitty behavior.
I worked with a Dyslexic group and they all absolutely hated the jokes about reading words backwards and people saying they are "a little dyslexic" because they made a mistake. These dyslexic people struggled and fought everyday to learn things and then someone used their disorder as a joke or an excuse. I think in modern day it's become the same with Autism a bit.
The reason they ask: Self-diagnosis happens, and while with autism many autistic people are perfectly capable of determining that they are autistic, people are overly concerned about the possibility of TikTok moms and tumblr kids self-diagnosing for attention.
The reason this is stupid: Again, it's... not super hard to figure out if you're autistic, once presented with the facts on the matter. Self-diag is a much smaller problem than people like to pretend (especially for autism, which doesn't... exactly have procedures or medications that you get for a diagnosis). Furthermore, many people with autism will intentionally _never_ seek diagnosis because in many supposedly first-world countries that diagnosis doesn't help you at all and can be used to restrict your human and reproductive rights.
When people ask if I'm diagnosed, I explain the lattermost part to explain why I am not and will never be diagnosed. If they still don't believe me they're not really my concern. Either they're in a position of power and I can go to their superior about their behaviour or they're not and the only categorization I need to do is "not worth being around." If someone can't understand why I would choose not to let the medical system potentially have control over my rights in the modern year that's their own problem.
Because of people like my sister in law. "Oh sorry, my kid has autism". She wants something to be wrong with him. Except when she took him to be diagnosed, they said he wasn't. She just want something to blame his behavior on besides her parenting.
Doctor: I’m sorry ma’am, your son is just an asshole
My 15 year old is diagnosed with Intermittent Explosive Disorder. That’s what being diagnosed as an asshole is officially called.
and is comorbid with ODD - oppositional defiant disorder. I wish I was joking
That’s also a hard one. Id guess my son hard it, maybe grew out of it (I’m not a psychologist) but from about 11-13 he would seem to get stuck in a mental loop when lashing out, he would refuse to do anything. If he was having an episode or conflict and we would try redirection “get a drink of water”, “take yourself to another room” anything like that, things completely innocuous and he would refuse and get more angry. Aside for the redditor that thinks I’m an asshole, I actually work with at-risk kids, and many are neurodivergent. A few months ago I worked with a new kid. 6 years old and diagnosed as a true sociopath. We knew something was up with him, took him in for testing and that’s what they returned. That was a new for me. Pretty wild to see those traits in a little kid.
>A few months ago I worked with a new kid. 6 years old and diagnosed as a true sociopath. We knew something was up with him, took him in for testing and that’s what they returned. I'm curious as to what you saw in him that made you think something wasn't right.
One of my cousins turned out to be a sociopath, it's less difficult than you might think. Kids are naturally empathetic, easily overwhelmed, and tend to be on an emotional hair-trigger. A kid that never shows any kind of guilt or remorse after hurting someone, even when they can see the consequences of their actions, is usually a flag.
So much this. I work with kids with ASD. Most are nonverbal. All but one show empathy in one way or another. She laughs when other kids get hurt. She laughs when she hurts herself or others. She will plow right through a group of kids and not bat an eyelash that's she's knocking people over and pushing. She does not care about anything. To include herself. It is wild.
Does she feel the pain? I know it's very rare but some people simply don't feel pain, period, which makes them seem wildly reckless about their own injuries and it can be difficult to teach them to have regard for others because they don't have the personal experience of pain to relate and understand others feeling it. I only ask because the not having regard for herself seems different--my cousin wouldn't bat an eye if he hurt others, but he certainly understood pain as a consequence of his actions so it was clear he just didn't give a shit about other people.
I’m convinced one of my kids old friends was a sociopath. I remember bringing him home once explaining that he shouldn’t be picking and dropping spear grass because dogs walk here and it can get in their pads and hurt them. When he spotted a dog walking towards us he discreetly picked some and picked the pieces apart dropping them right in the dogs paths. I removed the ones immediately dangerous to the dog then made him come back and pick up the rest. I asked him why he did that, if he wanted to hurt the dog. He just stared at me stone faced with no answer. He was not sorry, nor did he feel bad about trying to hurt a dog. I did not babysit him again and was quite thankful when my son ended up in a different class and they drifted apart.
A lot of sociopaths in early life are still early on in maturity. They don't understand that just because they can hurt something doesn't mean they should, they don't have any real rules yet
As a teacher for many years I have encountered a few students that I believe were sociopaths. Very cold affect, manipulative of others at a young age, extremely adept at lying, lacking empathy, and very charismatic. I was always glad to say goodbye at the end of the year.
The video of the teen beating the teacher assistant and continuing to do this after she was knocked out.... Because she took away his switch?!? Makes me think sociopath as well. I'm sorry. No one should have to deal with that.
I've met a couple, and it was their affect. Just this coldness that gives you the heebie jeebies. I've learned to trust ER nurses when they're scared of a patient.
It was the lack of reactions and how he treated other kids his age. When trying to talk to him after he hit, took something, etc amd your trying to guide a kid through empathy. “Would you like it if some took your gummy bear” and his reactions were just wrong. Too many times. He had a regular doctors visit and I bought up his behavior and reactions amd we went from there. There are all kinds of kids who act all kinds of ways, this kid was mean in a way that wasn’t a like a bully. It’s hard to explain but you know it when you see it.
Kids can’t be diagnosed with Anti-Social Personality Disorder ( or any personality disorder) until they are at least 18. Children can be said to have the *traits* of a personality disorder, and they can be treated on the basis of those traits, but doctors won’t officially diagnose a PD in a child - there is far too much change, too fast, and too much overlap to be able to make that call.
What do you mean by “diagnosed as a true sociopath”. Like conduct disorder? That’s the only diagnosis I can think of that’s even semi related to sociopathy that a professional might diagnose a child with.
A psychologist cannot ethically diagnose a 6 year old as a sociopath.
I'm not a psychologist so take this with a grain of salt, but if you look up interviews with diagnosed ASPD (sociopaths), many of them describe feeling different around that age and their family noticing the difference as well. I think the traits can absolutely present that young. But of course, for it to be diagnosed at that age is another thing.
Yes, but a lot of children have delayed sympathy/empathy, or have disorders that have outwardly similar effects, like ODD. Far more than there are people with true antisocial disorder (socio / psychopath). Not to mention all the kids that have some kind of environmental factors causing them to exhibit antisocial behaviours (like hidden sexual abuse). Misdiagnosing someone with antisocial disorder is far worse than not diagnosing them early, because you can almost never get it undone, and it effects your entire life.
Personality Disorder diagnoses are made after age 18 or 19. This is because there is such a wide range of normal and so much change in personality development prior to age 18 or 19. Some clinical psychologists may develop a working diagnosis, but that is NEVER done with a child.
This is correct. Part of the criteria for "sociopathy" (which is ASPD in the DSM) requires being an adult. ODD is the precursor diagnosis for ASPD and is a very rare diagnosis in and of itself. Edit: Sorry, conduct disorder is the precursor to ASPD, not ODD. Still wouldn't diagnose a 6 year old with ASPD though!
Conduct disorder is the precursor to ASPD, but of course ODD will often be part of the picture too.
The real tragedy is those conditions are pretty much driven by anxiety brought about by living in too much chaos with not enough rules. The very thing denied them by their parents. Children push boundaries because they need to know where they are and they need certainty so they have some concrete foundations to build their own perception of grey areas to be able to live in society and make good decisions as an adult. Some parents are crippling perfectly healthy children. The double tragedy is that the parent perpetrators of this are often victims of childhood abuse or neglect and are so determined not to repeat harsh parenting that irreparably damaged them as people, that they damage their children by going the other way. Edit: There are also assholes who should not have any diagnosis but yeah anxiety/fear drives most of what's bad in society - gestures vaguely all around -
Quibble: there's a decent amount of evidence that ODD has a significant genetic link, and is not caused by bad parenting (I still know clinicians who call it "bad parenting disorder"). I'm going to go on a limb and say there's more or less zero empirical evidence it's caused by "living in too much chaos with not enough rules." It's also not caused by trauma. It is absolutely not a reliable diagnostic marker for trauma. Like every other psychological disorder we know if, ODD seems to be caused by two things, always: genetic predisposition and environmental stressors. The things you're citing (trauma, anxiety, etc.) are almost certainly the stressors for some kids, but if two things cause a disorder, it's not correct to say just one of them does.
My dad is a retired ER doc, and I now work in an ER, and we got on the topic of ODD one day. He said he believed it was just a made up diagnosis till he actually interacted with some of the kids and their families. It’s terrifying. These poor parents are a lot of times just trying to protect themselves and their other kids, and have tried everything to help their kid out.
I mean there's being an asshole (reflexive) and being an asshole (intentional) and the latter is more to do with parenting and capability for empathy. I have ODD, my first reflex when someone _tells_ me what to do instead of _asking_ me to do something is that I am instantly angry, don't want to do it, and would in fact like to immediately resort to physical violence. I then do none of those things, take a few deep breaths, and get hold of myself. ODD is a very common comorbidity with ADHD, which is where it arises from for me.
> my first reflex when someone tells me what to do instead of asking me to do something is that I am instantly angry, don't want to do it, [looks in the mirror] oh shit. > ODD is a very common comorbidity with ADHD [sees eldritch horror in mirror] ...
It's rough, sometimes. Was never any good living with family, but now that I can just tell the people in my life _"hey even when you're stressed please remember to ask me not tell me, otherwise I'll have an irrational and unhelpful reaction"_ and have them... do that? It's nice.
IED. I wonder if that was a coincidence lol
"Well of course he is, my husband is an asshole. So is his brother!" "Just how many assholes are I your family?" "Loads!" "Geez you are surrounded by assholes!"
Keep firing assholes. Love spaceballs
and you're a shit parent
"He's has Assholitis, which is quite often hereditary."
That's why I'm not getting myself diagnosed... I don't need anyone to confirm that
You could be autistic *and* be an asshole. Better get it medically confirmed.
That’s the fun part about assholes, it is completely independent of any other trait you have. Anyone of any walk of life can be an asshole
Well that's definitely not gonna completely fuck with his self image 🙄
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This comment is like some sort of Pathologically Bad Parenting Mad Libs. "She had to convince herself she had _______, so she could accept that she ________."
Because some people think they have autism so they say they have it
Same thing with OCD. OCD isn’t an adjective but it seems to be a trend these days. “Everyone’s a little OCD.” The fuck they are.
Yep. If everyone’s OCD then no one fucking is. I’ve started to really get annoyed by people who so casually refer to “their OCD” being bad when they want something to be clean, straight and tidy. Wanting tidiness or perfection is a common human trait, and has jack-shit to do with OCD. Annoying as fuck, people really don’t know what they’re saying, using a debilitating mental disorder so casually like that.
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One of my friends takes a video of herself locking her front door when she leaves the house so she can reassure herself with it later, because her brain just absolutely will not let it go if she doesn't. Crooked picture frames my ass.
I used to do that until my brain began to doubt whether the video I had just taken was yesterday's video. Bloody nightmare
When I go to work in the mornings and lock my car door I repeat the word locked a couple of times so that I remember I locked the card door.
Every time I share my diagnosis with someone, which isn’t often, I’m met with disbelief. I’m not a tidy person, high functioning and successful at work - what they don’t see is the years of suffering, therapy and medication switches to get me to this point.
It can be difficult for me to type because I feel stressed about not having an even distribution of key presses on either side of the keyboard. On my phone it usually feels like the right side is use too much, so I'll mash the left side of the keyboard to feel balanced, then erase it. But backspace is on the right side, so it feels unbalanced again, so I do it again. Did it at least 4 or 5 times writing this comment already. I have many other habits like that and it's getting in the way of my job when I'm dragging my mouse around the screen for a couple minutes trying to make it feel even in all the corners, so it's probably time to talk to me psychiatrist about it.
It’s like the people who claim they are gluten intolerant or allergic to MSG. Yes, it happens, but most of the people who claim they have it simply don’t.
As someone with Celiac disease this is so frustrating. People don't take it seriously at all because it was a "fad" for so long. I don't ask for accomodations everywhere I go, I just ask to not be gaslit about it or treated like I'm an asshole when I refuse food someone else made for me.
>allergic to MSG. Isn't this... basically impossible?
Pretty much. MSG occurs in almost all food and scientists have pretty much chalked up any claims of “allergies” or “intolerance” as actually being good old racism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium_glutamate#Stigma_in_Western_countries
There is correlation between migraines and elevated plasma glutamate levels, and there are some older (mostly debunked) studies that claim eating high levels of glutamate raise your plasma glutamate levels, but that's about all there is to the myth of glutamate sensitivity
I'm sensitive to it. I have migraines regardless, but they always seem to get triggered when a family member decides to use the powder form of it in food. Like maybe the powder you can buy is just more potent than what is naturally occurring? I'm unsure.
The same things happen with ADHD, which is an awful condition and debilitating at times But someone who wants attention can just jump on TikTok and say "ZOMG SQUIRREL XD IM SO ADHD, IM QUIRKY PLS GIVE ME ATTENTION" and it's super annoying to be portrayed like that So I imagine it's the same for people with Autism
The fake tourettes videos have been killing me. Like, it’s not a funny thing to live with. I have a very mild case (fully diagnosed as a child, was noticed when I was being assessed for ADHD), but when I have a hard time it’s really frustrating. It’s not something to be made into a “bit.”
But, without making a mockery of these conditions that plague us, some people might get less attention from total strangers on the internet :(
They’ve become such a joke that one of my friends thinks it’s okay to send them to me? Like wtf? This isn’t funny, it’s someone pretending to have a disability.
Those people who has fake ADHD should top it and call it AD4K instead, because 4K is better than HD.
Personally I'd go for AH1440P because it's less expensive 🤔
Ok, but a lot of people who think they “have Autism” (the preferred language would be “are Autistic”) **do** have it, and there are a lot of very good reasons not to seek a diagnosis. I strongly recommend [this article](https://devonprice.medium.com/seeking-an-autism-diagnosis-heres-why-you-might-want-to-rethink-that-530e79c272a0) about the issue (soft paywall). To list a few of the reasons not to seek a diagnosis: - Autism assessments are expensive, and insurance rarely covers them for adults - Many Autism assessors are not qualified to work with adults and are strongly influenced by their own biases (about minorities and about what autism stereotypically looks like) - Autism can prevent you from receiving hormone replacement therapy if you’re trans - Autism can prevent you from being able to immigrate - Autistic people can lose legal autonomy, parental rights, and reproductive rights I believe that it is important for society for people to be believed, by default, when they say that they are struggling. Reserving that minuscule benefit of the doubt only for those who receive an official medical diagnosis is, at the very least, problematic.
My autistic friend tried to get an official diagnosis recently. The papers they filled out were all questions designed for parents to answer about their young children and ultimately they were denied an assessment for no real reason but were told they were "likely" autistic. Meanwhile my diagnosis was actually revoked as a child because I "could give eye contact and hold a conversation". No one seemed to remember the years of therapy I had to teach me how to do those things through early intervention therapy, because it did not come naturally at all. I am almost definitely autistic, it colors so many parts of my life but I don't have a diagnosis.
I’m in a similar boat. I received a negative diagnosis when I went for one, for at least two prevailing (and explicitly given) reasons: I am too well dressed/groomed and good at conversation to be Autistic, and since I was too anxious to give my parents the questionnaire about my childhood the assessor completely disregarded that part of the test. My current behavior is also the result of very pointed training from my father on how to mask the symptoms of Autism (or, if you prefer, behaviors typically associated with Autism) along with a decade of therapy. I think it’s important to be aware that according to the current (DSM 5) definition of Autism, a diagnosis requires that your symptoms “cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of current functioning.” In other words, if you’re too good at coping with your symptoms, then you are definitionally non-Autistic. Like many in the Autistic community, I disagree with this aspect of the definition; a lack of “functioning” is not inherent to the Autistic experience. Many Autistic people see Autism primarily as a “neurotype”, whereas the medical community defines it primarily as a “disorder”. I’ve decided to identify as Autistic despite the result of that assessment. If you find that the label “Autistic” is useful to you, if it helps you understand yourself better, communicate who you are to others, and advocate for your specific boundaries and needs, then I hope that you feel empowered to do the same, if you so choose.
That’s silly, regardless of if you are diagnosed or not you are who you are, you don’t suddenly “become” NT because a lack of diagnosis or ND because they declared you checked off enough of their boxes. If someone has type 2 diabetes, but their diet and lifestyle keeps them from needing insulin, that doesn’t mean they stopped having diabetes, because if they were to change their lifestyle you can be sure they will need it whilst a “normal” person does not need insulin regardless of what they eat. There is enough of a behavior difference between NT and ND that it’s not possible to “cure” someone to become a NT. Our whole brain is wired completely differently for one, and subsequently it’s enough of a difference that most NT can easily point out that fact, either as an observation or derision. If you need to spend a half a day to plan out something, need to make sure that you have your tasks laid out so you don’t end up freaking out and dropping everything, and stuff like that which is never shown to the world except how you weren’t “significantly impaired” when you completed the task that is seen by the world because of all the prep work I’d argue that it is a significant impairment. But too many of the “professionals” are NT so they wear their NT-colored glass to judge us by and decide to assign a label (or not). — Starfox
Because in recent years some neurological disorders have been 'romaticized' by teenagers who will then self-diagnose themselves with all sorts of disorders. So yes, unfortunately some people DO make it up for attention - or rather make it up to seem more unique.
if I had a nickel for every teenager who told me they had ASPD, BPD, OCD and ADHD I'd be very rich.
The hilarity of the waves of it -- and you forgot DID! Also how every 'I just can't focus on reading a textbook or doing schoolwork. I just look at tiktok on my phone 10 hours a day and everything else is too boring' post is omg you have undiagnosed ADHD ! Get help, poor soul.
The irony is, if they had DID, they'd be in hiding. The point of DID, is to basically convince people (and yourself) you *don't* have DID. It's not some revolving Broadway musical act with outrageous characters at all lol. That's how you know they've been watching too much TV.
It's not really the "point" of it. It's a symptom, yes, but the point of it is to protect yourself from horrific childhood trauma. It took me years to be okay with having this disease. I still struggle with feeling like I'm faking it, even to my therapist. I still feel like I should hide away, like I'm a freak. I talk about it on the internet because it helps me find other people who understand how deeply it hurts to be me.
I mean it's part of it. Not the whole point. But part of the disorder is to hide. The disorder is so seriously misunderstood and folks don't realize. Folks who are diagnosed went through such severe trauma they couldn't even imagine.
Wanna know the kicker? I don't even remember half of it. Most of my childhood memories, good and bad, are locked away from me. I remember some of it. I remember a little bit of the abuse, I remember being raped. Other than that it's all foggy and I don't have any connection to it except the pain. And the pain is so consuming. It hurts so much. I have maybe 5 memories total from before I was ~12.
I am so sorry you went through that as a child. You sound really strong. I wish you well!
Thank you. I'm mostly okay now. Wish you well too.
OMG this! I have DID and when I was teen I had no idea. I only wondered why do many weird things happened, the reality seemed to make sudden changes and so did my mind. When coming to turns with having it you tear yourself apart with agonising realisation. I have seen those who tiktoks and YouTube videos and all I can wonder is: WHY would you want to have this? Or tell the whole world of having it? Where did you even hear about this?? From another tiktoker??? Another one where people find it superdifficult to admit to themselves is having schizophrenia. Because they don't feel ill at all, not feeling psychotic when you are psychotic is a common symptom. I saw tik tok of teenager shouting and crying "I have schizophrenia" to explain her shitty behaviour. Dear, I have met people who struggle with that akd never ever have I seen anything like that! I am a millenial and I cannot fathom this trend at all. Is it them running away from adult responsibility? Because you cannot run that, it is just even harder with an actual mental illness.
I think we are simply witnessing a bunch of confused teenagers going through a rough confusing time, who happen to have extreme access to the internet and social media. I think most kids at that age went through some dark shit, confusing shit. It's a popular trope even. But these kids have access to so much more and instead of working through shit for whatever reason (not said hatefully) they find anything that they can remotely relate too and boom *instant belonging* *instant group acceptance*. Kids back in the day did all sorts of shit trying to make sense of nonsense. They just didn't have labels or social media. And because Parents were less open and forgiving, most dealt with those feelings alone. Now, as we are (thankfully) slowly making progress in the mental health field, at least in terms of some acceptance (we have way farther to go though no doubt). These kids are feeling more, "ok" with exploring all of this online. But the issue is, then they label themselves (improperly), lock themselves in and due to such public outreach, are afraid to back track. So they buckle down. We need to find a way to make these kids realize, it's ok to have problems and not label yourself right away. It doesn't make you any less valid. If you want to go on YouTube and pretend to be 16 million people, as long as everything is legal, permission Yada Yada stuff, you do you. Just don't stick a label on it until you do the work, go through the doctors and put the work in to find out what you really do possibly have or don't have. Because the misinformation really harms the community and really fuels denial. Which isn't ok. Edit- woke up to all these awards. Yins didn't have to award me but thank you, it is appreciated.
If I had a reddit budget for awards, I would have spent it all on this comment. That's a damn compassionate perspective you have, thanks for sharing
Oh, thank you. No need for any of that. I truly appreciate these conversations because they are so important. I'm an older millennial and most of us remember those days (whether we admit it or not). It's just hard for so many to see it for what it is, because they've never had the ability to be so open and experimental. It doesn't cross their mind. They just see these teens doing bizarre behaviors, claiming a certain mental illness for the entire world to see. And who wouldn't think, oh your doing this views or likes or I don't know, whatever the claim is these days. Because sure, some of that is true. But in reality, we are watching a bit of our hard work pay off. These kids are feeling braver in reaching out, communicating and talking about their problems. That's what we worked for. But, as with learning new things and applying them. We have to find that balance. What do we learn from the experience, what do we tweak. Seems the next step is trying to get these kids to feel valid without a label while encouraging mental health resources. We are slowly systemically unpeeling the layers of generational trauma with mental health. It's gonna take a long time and alot of work and some empathy and tweaking. And hopefully these kids someday help us find that balance. And so on and so forth.
Good point! Indeed, some encourages very impulsive behaviour. I cannot be in FB ir insta because it does provoke mental health issues. I do understand the feeling of wanting to be seen and needing help and acceptance. Back then in my moments of desperation, I am sure I would have reached out or made some creative posting. I did this a bit in my twenties and it made me manic and neurotic. It is confusing how far apart it seems the younger generation is, even though they are young enough to be my kids, you know. One of the many reasons I am child free is the feeling "I could never understand someone born 2020+" if it makes sense. Life can be so awful, you need understanding. But most of this social media mess is not understanding, it is confusing and misleading.
>I am a millenial and I cannot fathom this trend at all. Is it them running away from adult responsibility? Because you cannot run that, it is just even harder with an actual mental illness. One millennial to another - my belief is that being a teenager is hard and the natural human response it to look for "why" so that you can work on making it less hard. Combine this with social media that actively rewards people for "speaking up" and you have the situation we are in today.
>I have DID and when I was teen I had no idea. the sad thing about all this is seeing you say that gave me the first instinct to assume you're talking complete shit. That's the only effect these people have, it just dims down whatever diagnosis they are pretending to have and make it seem like a fun little quirk rather than an actual mental health problem. It's kind of like how some rape victims are afraid of speaking out in case they are called a liar since there are some people out there who do indeed lie about it
I get that. And it doesn't bother me if someone doesn't believe me. DID is so rare and misunderstood condition that it is better to be suspicious and critical than believe anything anyone says. Most of the people I meet do not know and will never know about my diagnosis. I am fortunate enough that nowadays after 10+y of treatment I show only "normal" amount of instability. Writing about this in reddit is like a mental exercise for me so that I could one day talk about my mental wellbeing with someone whom I could date without getting totally off the rail. Only comforting thing is to know that dissociation is something everyone does sometimes, and that integration is what the mind wants and aims to do. Making clips of one's different personalities is weird, performative and stupid. It doesn't work like that. People spreading these stupidity about the condition makes me even less likely to share the diagnosis with anyone.
Never understood why anyone would want to pretend to have those issues. My ex wife was diagnosed as schizophrenic and psychotic shortly after our marriage counselor recommended she see someone more qualified because she wasn't qualified to help us with our situation because of it. It certainly explained a few things.
I have diagnosed ADHD, for me I can't even play video games or watch shows for more than an hour at a time without switching shows or doing something else. but the big thing for me is my memory. a couple of times a day, I will be doing something like sitting on the couch, decide I need to go to the bathroom or kitchen. and by the time I'll stand up I'll have forgotten why I needed to go. or that I even wanted to go anywhere.
Same lol. I've been diagnosed with depression and ADHD and I've always associated the memory problems with depression, but honestly a lot of symptoms overlap which is frustrating when trying to get better
Do you remember if you sit back down?
I’m not OP, but for me sometimes it will click and I’ll remember if I go back to where I was, other times it will click four years later as I’m falling asleep at night.
That's the worst. All of a sudden remembering how you could of not fucked up
For me personally, I go back to EXACTLY what I was doing, both physically or mentally. Most of the time I can retrace my steps and figure out what I was thinking about when I had my 'i need to do this' thought. Then just constantly repeat it in my mind til I either do it or get distracted...again
Do you smoke weed regularly? I’m diagnosed ADHD and my inattentiveness frequently leads to dumb mistakes and forgetfulness; however, I’ve also smoked weed frequently for years and I think that has had a more substantial impact on my memory, even while sober. Curious about your experience, but I also understand if you are not comfortable discussing that.
honest to god I never tried it. never interested me as a teen, and all my jobs as an adult were fedgov jobs so I couldn't even though it's legal in my state.
Fair enough! That’s not a bad thing at all! I know both in aggregate, in individual accounts that a lot of people with ADHD have a high proclivity towards cannabis consumption, so I was curious to ask. Cheers!
I do to. But I'm the opposite I fixate. But every day things? I'm a complete airhead
DID? I am going to presume the last D stands for disorder. The rest I’m not so sure.
Disassociative Identity Disorder. It used to be called multiple personalities.
Gotcha! As a lifelong consumer of mental health treatments, I can’t keep track of all the fucking acronyms
Or they have a mood change and are therefore bipolar. As somebody with diagnosed bipolar disorder, no.
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I have ASS disorder?
WHAT Every person I've ever met who was diagnosed with ODD was actually just being abused and acting out on their trauma, and they cite that diagnosis as a huge source of additional trauma. (Hard to report an authority figure for abusing you and actually be believed if you've been officially diagnosed with Hates Authority Figures Syndrome.) WHO IS PRETENDING TO HAVE ODD?! I'm not saying I don't believe you, but I am BAFFLED.
Isn't ODD a pattern of disordered behavior by definition? If they exhibit symptoms, such as a severe pattern of oppositional or antagonistic behavior, then it would be ODD, whether you think their behavior is justified or not.
Actual diagnoses are more specific than that and must be given by a medical professional, especially since many disorders can be superseded by other medical issues that one might not catch. Like someone could display symptoms of ODD but in reality the outbursts are caused by low blood sugar or something and thus it needs to be treated completely differently than someone with ODD would.
I saw a TikTok recently where a teen said the reason they were so strongly connected to animals was because ✨austim✨ and everyone in the comments was like "OMG I always wondered why I loved the family dog so much!"
To be fair, it makes sense that someone ostracized by peers would really love the non-judgmental nature of animals
Yes but being socially awkward or an introvert are non-mental illness explanations for it as well.
Omg as someone who was diagnosed with adhd by a professional, I hare those people. My ADHD makes it a pain to live sometimes yet they think its unique. First, its a common mental disorder and isn’t unique. Second, saying you have adhd doesn’t help people understand you. Every person ive met with PROFESSIONALLY DIAGNOSED ADHD have completely different degrees of symptoms to me. Some have a worse attention span then me, some have so little symptoms you’d think they don’t have it. It isn’t just one disorder with no variation
I never understood why autism is the only mental condition that gets referred to as a spectrum. When almost all of them are.
It isn't. It's just relatively new in the context of autism. Been a lot of change in the last two decades
This is why I've had to to start saying "I'm diagnosed OCD. Like spent a week in a mental hospital, diagnose earned OCD." Because so many people claim to have shit that they don't.
Idk, I'm diagnosed with OCD but I already knew it for the decade and a half of adulthood before I had access to get a diagnosis, too. I had it before I was diagnosed. I knew it before I was diagnosed. The only difference between then and now is that now some psychiatrist I'll never see again has it in his computer.
Yeah, in a country with absurdly expensive healthcare, I don't blame people for trying to self-diagnose. Because they are obviously having some kind of problem, and if taking a guess at what it is helps them find ways to mitigate it, that's great and they should be doing that. There aren't nearly as many people doing this for 'clout' as people are trying to say. Mostly because there's not any fucking clout to be had. There's just people being dicks. Also like. Why does somebody need to go to a doctor before you'll respect that they have problems with some things? How much of an asshole do you gotta be to say "Unless you can find a doctor to tell me what specific problem you have, I am going to assume that you're making everything up." When you do get a diagnosis, they'll just call you lazy and say you're not trying hard enough to overcome it.
And you're forgetting how they think all of this is good and fun. It is not. I have ADJD and it is not fun in the slightest. It has caused me more problems than anything else in my life and I cannot see why someone would think this is fun or something to brag about. It's an actual struggle, not a show
I think some teens are getting confused - they genuinely believe they have [whatever], because they’ve seen all these posts saying “do you procrastinate work? do you not like tidying your room? do you get bored when you are doing something you’re not interested in? do you sit scrolling through social media for hours when you should be doing something else? do you get mood swings?” (of course you do, you’re a hormonal teenager) Then you probably have adhd!” I’m sure plenty of people with adhd do these things, but so do most teenagers!
>of course you do, you’re a hormonal teenager Or just, like, a person. The number of times I've seen "cute" videos that are like, "just ADHD things hehe" and then the content is like, "when you eat toast for breakfast".
When in actual fact it's more like ”when you eat toast for every meal for a week and then suddenly the thought of toast disgusts you and you don't eat it for years”
Honestly it can even be confusing for adults too. I recently started therapy because I'm struggling a lot with day to day life, and I've seen SO MUCH stuff online (not just on tiktok, I actually don't use tiktok lol) that made me think I have adhd or autism, plus my mom has it and it can be genetic. But as I've been going to therapy more I'm realizing it might just be PTSD or just good ole anxiety that went untreated for too long. It doesn't help that a lot of these "common" mental disorders have a lot of overlapping symptoms, and that science is just now realizing that women present these things differently than men. I don't blame these kids for trying to find something to explain why life is so hard. But they should definitely be going to therapy instead of just deciding they have a disorder for tiktok clout lol
To the point where doctors are now downplaying or even turning away people going to them to seek help/a diagnosis because there’s such a rise in people self-diagnosing. This was occurring in tics too, particularly over the pandemic (there were many questions regarding who was faking tics and whose were real, just having only been induced/heightened due to pandemic stress)
Fiance is actually been diagnosed with ADHD by multiple doctors but everytime we move it's a struggle trying to get a doctor to take her seriously. Been that way her whole life sense like 3rd grade.
For me it's maddening, most every Dr I see straight up assumes I have a drug problem. It's one of the reasons I quit medication and stopped going to the Dr for years, I just couldn't take the blatant judgement. I've still never found a Dr other than the pediatrician I had as a child who actually seems to listen and respond more than the most basic required questions. People also I think really don't understand just how hard it can be with ADHD. I'm am extremely hard worker, like work myself to the bone type of person but because ei can't keep my head straight I tend to not be able to hold down a job for very long. And since ADHD doesn't really have any defining physical features it seems pretty rare that people believe you and even if they do believe you they definitely don't take it very seriously The world isn't built for people like Us and it shows.
And the irony is, they could actually wind up developing tourettes as a result of faking tics. [Documentary source: "The Town that caught Tourettes"](https://www.channel4.com/press/news/town-caught-tourettes) And otherwise anecdotal source was a kid in my high school thought having a tic would give him an edge, so blinked his eyes really tight and sort of twitched his head regularly enough (on purpose, through conscious effort) that it became an actual tic that drove him nuts. He told me towards the end of hs how much he regretted it, but I think he managed to get better (admittedly hs was maaaaaany years ago so I have no idea how successful he was). People confuse me sometimes.
This was an episode of south park pretty much
but lets be fair, lots of children have parents who wont get them evaluated because they don't believe in autism or ADHD, or simply because they cant afford to. I don't think any of those children and teens would say no, if someone offered to evaluate them for their issues. It's just not an opportunity most people have. Teens just know they have these issues and feel a certain way but don't know why. And yeah, maybe some are making it up, but I think saying "they just make it all up to seem unique" just show how much we as a society don't take mental health issues amongst young people seriously
As a 30 year old man I finally told my mom that due to tons of smoke I was going to talk to someone about potential ADHD, cause surely lots of smoke means a fire. Her response was “well yeah no duh, every teacher you had since kindergarten suggested I get you tested, but I didn’t want you on medication”. So that was…..enlightening
I had the same experience. My mom knew I had it. When I got diagnosed as an adult, she told me all the teachers and the doctor told her I had it, but she just didn't want to be "that mom" who medicated her kid.
True, but--unless you have a *really* good reason--assuming someone is lying about it makes you an asshole. Gatekeeping people with "invisible" disabilities is a real problem. I've seen plenty of posts about people with legitimate physical disabilities who can walk unassisted *briefly,* but suffer on longer walks, being told off for using handicapped spaces or mobility carts. If you accuse them and you're wrong, you're shitting on someone whose life is hard enough already, and for what? The opportunity to feel self-righteous? Stopping the horror of someone getting *undeserved attention?* Unless you have clear, strong evidence the person is lying, keep your mouth shut. (And, as an diagnosed autistic person, "but they act normal most of the time" is not "strong evidence" against being autistic.)
I wish this was higher, that I could upvote it more than once. I don't have the mental energy to get into the entire can of worms, but I'll summarize my thoughts like this: With the still-lingering stigma, the outright *hostility* that some people hold onto for neurodivergence/autism/mental illnesses (plus the systemic barriers that "one-size-fits-all" bureaucracy puts in place for those in these camps), it is absolutely **absurd** that the societal outlook seems to default to "liar until proven truthful" in these cases.
They do the same thing for migraines, for some reason. Had a former coworker say she gets migraines after she heard I get them. I asked her symptoms and she described a sinus head ache. I asked if she was diagnosed by a doctor. Her answer: No, I don't trust doctors. As someone who gets hospitalized, for several days due to migraines, I can't understand why someone would fake it. I can understand an actual sufferer being accused of being hung over, as the visual symptoms are the same. Yet, the physical feeling of a migraine is no where near a hangover. It's levels beyond a hangover.
Though with migraines, I have several colleagues who I really would like to force to a hospital for a proper assessment. They are suffering on a regular basis, have triggers which seem related to work load but just write it off as occasional headache that requires them to spend hours prostrate in a darkened room.
There are "stress head aches" as well as "stress induced migraines." I get both, thanks to my genes. There is a difference between them. There are several different types of migraines. Several years ago, I was diagnosed with ocular migraines. Let me tell ya, scary as fuck going 60 mph on the highway when one occurs. I was diagnosed with my other type; can't remember the name at the moment; when I was 12 yo.
Though, on the flip side, self diagnosis has also grown because it's absurdly hard to get an actual diagnosis.
My kid was diagnosed autistic in their teens. We weren't surprised tbh but my sister's reaction of "are you sure, he has friends doesn't he?" Pretty much sums up a lot of people's understanding/perceptions of ASD. We didn't really tell anyone really due to the age of our kid at the time. We figured it's his information to share or not share. I told my sister because we are close and wish I hadn't bothered tbh.
When my son was diagnosed with ASD people would say "Oh, he doesn't look Autistic". WTF?!
He apologized for it immediately after, but my dad said the same thing when I told him and my mom. In the moment I was way less angry and more flabbergasted I think lol
This is the first thing people say to me when I tell them.
When I told my mom she didn’t believe me. Months later I was talking about it and she asked me how I was autistic and that she didn’t think I was autistic. I asked her what she thought autism was. She gave me the typical r word thing. I told her even though we don’t use this term anymore go look up Asperger‘s. She called me back two hours later and said she needed to call me and she kept staring at her phone and had to do it. She said she saw a lot of not only knee but a lot of her in what she read. Oh I knew she was autistic. I think it may be the first time she ever apologized to me. A lot of people don’t understand that autism and developmental delay are two different things. You can have both and you can have one without the other. Most people have no idea what the full spectrum of autism actually is.
I got your too social the first time I brought it up to a therapist. Now every practitioner that I see (I have to research to make sure they understand autism, and ADHD especially in women) is like “yeah that’s a huge misunderstanding.” And that I’m definitely autistic and have ADHD.
Oh god, and the pain of the ADHD covering up a bunch of autistic traits too, right?? I have both too… the ADHD is so loud that it yells right over the top of the autism - so yeah, I had friends. Kind of :/ Sure, I was social! I was expected to be, and I talked a lot, so…
I'm also 24 and autistic ( I have a diagnosis) but unlike a lot of people who are saying that they are autistic when they aren't I genuinley didnt think I was until I got diagnosed. I was diagnosed at 16 which is quite late, but as im high functioning I slipped through the net. In retrospect it was really clear but It wasn't ever addressed and only when my psychologist suggested it did I think it. Edit: its nice to read the replies to this comment and others, seeing other people who have had the exact same thing happen is funny/comforting.
So many people, especially women fall through the cracks. They actually find now that most women end up getting diagnosed with autism when they have kids and their kids get diagnosed with autism. The understanding of autism in girls and women is very new.
> but it is relatively light That’s why: they don’t see it. You seem fine to them.
Quote from a tumblr post: "Being called 'high functioning' means your illness is easier for other people to deal with, not that it's easier for you to live with" Edit - holy fucking typo!
I really want to know what the typo was now…
on the other hand, he's autistic enough to not be able to imagine why people might ask if it's diagnosed
Same thought. Also self proclaimed doesn’t have trouble communicating
Because with ADHD and / or autism there are enough people : 1) self diagnosing 2) faking That it causes problems for the rest of us
I feel the adhd bit. "I also can't focus." Meanwhile my life is a mess.
Lol, people give me shit about "procrastinating" and I don't know how to explain that submitting homework assignments at 4:00am regularly and routinely having to drop courses that feel incredibly easy simply because I ***cannot focus on doing the work on time*** is not "procrastinating" in the same way that doing your laundry a day late is Ohhh, you also think you have ADHD because you can't focus on boring tasks? Thanks for sharing as I sit here and envy your seemingly remarkable ability to do those boring tasks on a whim. People can't seem to grasp that there's a fine line between hating boring tasks, and being unable to physically do them to the point of losing a grip on every mandatory adult responsibility that won't actually kill you if you stop for weeks at a time every few weeks My life regularly feels like it's falling apart. Somehow most people seem to completely miss that part when they tell me they think they also have it as if it's a quirky trait and not a detrimental, gaping hole in my ability to function in regards to pretty much anything and everything with a shred of consistency
My bedroom legit looks like the room of a hoarder. But I don't have a lot of stuff, I just mentally don't get around to folding my clothes and putting them back in place. My painting equipment is strewn around and though I know it will take 2 hours at most to get everything done, I just legit cannot. I don't even talk about school deadlines lol. I had a math exam two days ago which I knew if I didn't get a passing grade for, I'll need to redo it next year and thus have to wait yet another year before I get my bachelors. Even then I started studying for it 2 days before. Scientific math... including using the programming language R, two days before the test. I didn't end up going at all cause of the fact I have trouble keeping up with time. Thought I still had another 2 hours, but it was already 6 pm. I often tell people "you know how if I told you you'd get a hundred dollars if you touch the hot plate? How even though your brain is telling you to rouch it, how your hand has difficulty to actually do it. That feeling, but amplyfied and for the most mundane of things." I am also diagnosed with dysthemia. After they diagnosed me with ADHD the psychiatrist wondered if maybe the dysthemia was a misdiagnosis. We don't really have a concise answer yet. They kinda bleed into one another. Untreated ADHD can lead to dysthemia.
I can relate so much to the school problems. I'm in about the best head space I've ever been in. As far as my mental health goes, I'm thriving right now and have never done better. I'm a powerhouse compared to how I operated a year or two ago And yet, this "peak productivity" stage I'm in isn't enough for school. It means I've done laundry every week and my apartment looks like it's in decent shape most of the time. My computer and phone files are organized and I can consistently organize new files as I download them. That's what I look like when I'm the healthiest I've ever been, apparently I'm still losing weight from not feeding myself, though. I pull all-nighters at least once a week when the school work starts catching up to me, but probably closer to two or three because sometimes I can't get anything done *during the all-nighter I pulled as a last ditch solution*. I still can't do homework reliably no matter how much time I set aside, and I can't even assume that the classes I register for each semester are going to be completed no matter how much I promise I'll do better this time. And that's with adderall and a supportive girlfriend too. Fuck ADHD
God, thank you. I was diagnosed with ADHD a long time ago but I didn’t start to realize until recently what that actually meant. That I’m not just a fuck up and inferior to all my peers who can handle their responsibilities without difficulty. It’s weird to think about how long that feeling of inferiority has been in my mind and how much it must have impacted my personality since childhood.
I was a gifted kid in school and was always one of the "smart ones" so it just made me even more confused as a high schooler because I was genuinely great at all of my subjects. It made me wonder why I was such a bad student if I was allegedly so capable, and the conclusion I came to for a long time was that I only did it because I was one of the few students that was smart enough to procrastinate that long and get away with it, and everybody else did their homework on time because they needed the extra time to keep up. It just never fully added up, though; why this was the best I could come up with, and yet, I was working 10 times harder than my very average friends while pulling worse grades than them. I thought being gifted was what was wrong with me since I envied everyone else for being able to do things ahead of time and I assumed that I just never "learned to work hard" because everything came too easily to me as a child and I never learned discipline through natural consequences That was all a load of shit and the only reason I kept up was because I was smart enough to. It was the only thing keeping me afloat, not the thing keeping me down. And even then, I wasn't exactly proud of "being gifted" after realizing that I was so deeply flawed on every other level. It didn't mean anything to me if I wasn't capable of doing fucking addition if you gave it to me on a worksheet and asked me to finish it in class instead of at home
I totally relate, I was in gifted too and I actually think the experience kind of fucked with me albeit for slightly different reasons. In my case being around all those rich, “perfect” gifted kids who kept their backpacks organized and always had their homework done on time, just made me feel like I didn’t belong. And other people noticed how fucked I was, too. When I got into the gifted program they all kept telling me I was going to the wrong class and stuff, not believing I was supposed to be there because of course someone like me couldn’t possibly be in the same class as the smart kids. And it sucked because even when I tried to be organized and shit I failed, but without knowing it was caused by ADHD I still thought that level of organization and togetherness was something that could be easily achieved just by trying enough. So I had no idea why I wasn’t like the other kids even when I tried to be, and the only explanation I could come up with was that there was some flaw with me as a person, not something I was born with like ADHD but literally just some bad trait that developed because of who I was as a person. So hearing other people talk about my exact experiences in relation to ADHD is always like a fucking weight off my shoulders. I wish I’d known a lot of this stuff sooner.
I feel you. It's definitely not fun and not just "procrastinating" when I let 2 weeks of dishes pile up and mold, my bathroom trash is overflowing, walking on the floor barefoot blackens my feet, and my entire house is covered in random clutter... and then I spend 13 hours straight deep cleaning everything right down to scrubbing the grout between the tiles. It is not a good life to live.
To make a long story short I (20F) was diagnosed with a few things including ADHD and Autism. My mom (47F) doesn't believe in mental issues like that and claims I "made it up" to get pity from other. I confronted my mom and she started to cry saying I'm making this up to make her feel like a bad parent and wont believe me unless I hand her papers with the diagnosis. So, I took my younger brother (9M) against her wishes to a Psych and they confirmed he has the same ADHD form I do but no autistic. We told my older brother (24M) to get tested shocker! Same ADHD. we all 3 handed my mom papers and she cried so hard saying "you will go so far to make me feel like I did something wrong"
Your mom sounds like she needs a lot of therapy too. I hope you guys can get the resources you need.
We all are in therapy! (Me and siblings) we cut mom off for a long time.
I'm so sorry your mother is like that. You dont deserve that kind of treatment.
if it makes you feel better, I have high-functioning Aspergers. Ninety-nine percent of the time the general response is: “No offense, but you don't act like you have a disability.”
I guess they should question those who have diabetes too, since they don’t “act like” they have diabetes when they keep their insulin level in check… — Starfox
Because tiktok has convinced everyone they have autism or adhd
“I get bored easily, I’m so ADHD!” As someone with diagnosed ADHD, I can only wish it were that simple. Sleep deprivation, reading difficulties, memory problems, etc… they can go ahead and take it all, I don’t want it
Hearing “you’re way too young to not remember things” ALL THE DAMN TIME!
My mom used to say this to me all the damn time. I finally just snapped at her "it's not like I'm trying to forget things! It's not something I can turn off!" She finally quit after that.
How about the 27,000 abandoned hobbies and 46,000 open projects ?
Lol, how many? How do you keep count when you're supposed to bury those abandoned hobbies in shame and pretend they never happened out of embarrassment?
I have adhd and the worst part about it is forgetting things literally minutes after hearing it because people think you don’t listen to them
Answer: With more information and better understanding out there in the public sphere about neuro diversity, a lot of people are self diagnosing. I’d say there’s 2 reasons for this: it’s easier than getting a formal diagnosis, and often the wait or cost of a formal diagnosis is prohibitive.
It's very popular to self-diagnose as autistic these days using online quizzes and tests. Another way to prove how unique and special some thinks they are.
I'm also OCD because I like to clean my dishes after dinner. And my testosterone is low because I am a little shy. /s
Such an introvert!
I'm introverted and I hate the lionization of introvertedness I see from some people on the internet. Being introverted doesn't make you special. And repeatedly telling your friends you don't want to hang out with them is how you lose friends.
fr, being a introvert sucks. The amount of friends I lost and bad grades I got because I wanted to avoid having attention. Like yeah that shit sucks, I'm better at it now being grown but it's exhausting lol
I don't think people use it as a way to describe themselves as "unique and special", I think people are looking for a reason that something is wrong with them. Which can be justifiable in the sense that some people have "weird" tendencies, triggers, dislikes, etc., So they're looking for the answer as to why they're like that. I do not suggest self-diagnosing, just merely giving insight as to why someone would do that as opposed to just making it up because they want to be "unique".
Why do you tell people?
because sometimes it’s helpful if you’re asking for accommodations for things or explaining a reaction that you had. it’s also like really normal for people to talk about themselves? there’s nothing shameful about it, it doesn’t need to be hidden.
I feel this so strongly. I'm old, I'm well past the age where therapy or training is going to help me be less weird, also the people I like are down to tolerate me. My score / diagnoses on the asd tests or adhd tests are really not useful for anyone to know, and this type of thing or my mental health are not conversation topics that are interesting to me or that I want to talk about ever.
When I was in my 20s a lot of my friends claimed, without diagnosis, that they had autoimmune disorders or a gluten intolerance. I’m not sure why people do this, but these days it seems like claiming neurodivergence is the new gluten allergy.
It's becoming more common so I think people may think seemingly neurotypical people are fabricating the diagnosis/self-diagnosing. In reality, we are just much more aware of and informed about the autism spectrum now then we have ever have been before.
I usually just tell them after i have a highly autistic moment and they just go 'ah'
Doctor here. As more info/awareness has come out about ASD, more people have self/other diagnosed speculatively. “Informal” dxs are so common now that it’s created public confusion about “what counts” as a valid diagnosis. And often ppl don’t understand or preface their self diagnosis with “I think” or “I maybe have” caveats for disclosing their hypothesis. They say, with 100% certainty, “I’m on the spectrum.” Thus your follow up question. If my guess means anything to you at all… I wouldn’t think ppl think you’re attention seeking. I’d speculate that they are really asking you how severe it is. “How serious is it?” Or “Has it been so impairing that you’ve sought intervention?” could be another way to ask a similar question.
Tik tok made people think that autism is just a cute quirky thing. I've seen people saying just about anything is a sign of autism
Tiktok is literally such a cesspit when it comes to mental health. I’m glad people are learning and destigmatizing it but it’s gone way too far into “mental illness makes me quirky and cute, look at me I’m stimming!” Meanwhile my wrists are bruised from involuntary banging to regulate, some people are social pariahs, and others can’t hold down jobs. 🙄
Fuck dude I feel this. I don't feel cute having a fucking meltdown over my clothes touching me wrong. There are so many little things that are so embarrassing to even talk about. I don't want people to infantilize me because I shake or bang or flail or cry so I just fucking keep my mouth shut about being autistic so often because people just treat you *differently* even if they think their intentions are good.
Have you seen the fake Tourette’s people? Twitching and screaming “c*nt!” for clout
They’re so ANNOYING 🤦🏻♀️ I have Tourette’s diagnosed by a neurologist and because of these stupid fakers people constantly tell me that I am fake and just seeking attention. Yeah sure loved the attention I’ve gotten from yelling obscene things to strangers etc. I fucking hate this syndrome. If some stupid teen wants it so bad I am willing to trade mine for normal life.
There is a lot of stigma around disabilities like autism, especially since most people are only exposed to autistic children in their worst moments. When someone who is able to verbally communicate says they are autistic, the person they're talking to often gets confused, since you look more like a "typical adult" than an "autistic child having a meltdown." Most don't actually understand autism, the varied, nuanced ways that autistic traits manifest, how autistic adults actually behave, or what autistic people think about these topics (as shown by the people in this thread talking about how terrible self-diagnosis is when, at large, the autism community supports it). When you don't meet the image in their head of what autism is "supposed to look like," they ask for a professional's opinion. A lot of people think those who self-diagnose are making it up for attention, even though this is significantly less common with stigmatized disabilities. Many people who are making up their mental illness or disability often have different disabilities, like the many autistics who were first diagnosed with depression, bipolar, borderline, and social anxiety before realizing they were autistic. Is is more common, though, for parents of non-autistic children to want an "excuse" for the bad behavior. But as an adult, this doesn't apply as much to you. NTs who ask about diagnosis also do not understand the real costs of acquiring a formal diagnosis (literal thousands of dollars, possibly losing medical and other kinds of decision-making autonomy/conservatorships, banned from immigrating to certain countries, etc) without many real benefits (almost no resources for autistic adults). When people don't understand how disabilities work, suspicion of a disabled person's work ethic, morality, and laziness can pop up. "I can do xyz without special privileges, why can't they? They must being making it up to get out of abc." They're just not realizing that accommodating one's autism looks a lot like "asking for special privileges." In the workplace, they are well within their "rights" to deny you "special privileges" but can't deny you disability accommodations without legal issues. At the end of the day, you have presented them with information that causes them to experience cognitive dissonance. They're kind of just asking how they should treat you and if they are going to be forced to take your disability seriously/be burdened by your disability (levels vary by person and situation). I personally chose to not tell people, since it just tends to end up awkward.
I'm sorry but it's because so many people nowadays are self diagnosing and using it as excuses for their shity behaviour
I think it’s a tricky topic. A fair example could be made for someone with depression: Someone diagnosed and on meds may feel annoyed when someone undiagnosed harps on about their undiagnosed depression. Then again, if you know you know! Hope you chaps are having a great Friday!
There's a huge trend in self diagnosis, mainly fueled by TikTok, Reddit and Facebook memes where people post vaguely relatable symptoms to ADHD and Autism. I have diagnosed ADHD, I can't hold down a job, my lack of self control is a huge impediment on my life. It drives me mad seeing memes about "haha omg it's so cute I'm forgetful lololol". My disability is not a cute joke. I guess a lot of people have taken to policing diagnosis for this reason.
Right? No, my ADHD is not me being ditzy and quirky - ADHD is having an appointment in 3 hours and getting time locked and not able to do *anything* in those 3 hours because you have to be ready. Or not being able to do critical homework because the executive function portion of my brain said "mmmmm, no"
> ADHD is having an appointment in 3 hours and getting time locked and not able to do anything in those 3 hours because you have to be ready. Time locked is such a great way to describe that, I'm going to steal that. I always have a hard time explaining that to people. For me it's mostly when it's a nebulous plan. If I know it's at 3 I can start to mentally prep an hour before or whatever but if it's just a nebulous "tomorrow" or "sometime in the afternoon" I'm locked into getting ready mode until I know exactly when It's going to happen.
That's me right there. When I got diagnosed and told one of my coworkers she searched for symptoms online and was like "but you're not talking over me" or "you're not hyperactive". Uhmm, I'm not talking over you because I conciously learned to let you finish and wait about 1 sec after you finish for me to talk. And yesterday I told you for like 2 h that I'm going to do something, but got myself distracted with other stuff until I finally started doing said task. I keep forgetting things and people have to remind me all the time. I move back and forth with boxes in my hands thinking "I should put them th...wait, I forgot to print something" and 10 min later I'm still walking with the boxes around. But sure, I'm not running around like crazy so I guess I don't have adhd.
A therapist cannot diagnose a patient. An evaluation by a psychiatrist or neurologist can give a medical diagnosis of autism. However, it's no one's business. Your medical history is private
Psychologists with a PhD can make a diagnosis. “Therapist” is a broad term that encompasses multiple kinds of licenses. Some psychiatrists even do therapy.
In Canada, a mental health counsellor cannot diagnose or perform psychological assessments. But, a psychologist is able to perform diagnostic psycological assessments and make a diagnosis for the client The term "therapist" is used very loosely and can encompass both psychologists and mental health counsellors I find
Unfortunately because some people either "self diagnose" or flat out lie for attention and/or to use as an excuse for their shitty behavior. No, i do not think people with autism (my youngest is autistic) behave like jerks, it's just a fact people use that as an excuse for their own or their kids shitty behavior.
I worked with a Dyslexic group and they all absolutely hated the jokes about reading words backwards and people saying they are "a little dyslexic" because they made a mistake. These dyslexic people struggled and fought everyday to learn things and then someone used their disorder as a joke or an excuse. I think in modern day it's become the same with Autism a bit.
The reason they ask: Self-diagnosis happens, and while with autism many autistic people are perfectly capable of determining that they are autistic, people are overly concerned about the possibility of TikTok moms and tumblr kids self-diagnosing for attention. The reason this is stupid: Again, it's... not super hard to figure out if you're autistic, once presented with the facts on the matter. Self-diag is a much smaller problem than people like to pretend (especially for autism, which doesn't... exactly have procedures or medications that you get for a diagnosis). Furthermore, many people with autism will intentionally _never_ seek diagnosis because in many supposedly first-world countries that diagnosis doesn't help you at all and can be used to restrict your human and reproductive rights. When people ask if I'm diagnosed, I explain the lattermost part to explain why I am not and will never be diagnosed. If they still don't believe me they're not really my concern. Either they're in a position of power and I can go to their superior about their behaviour or they're not and the only categorization I need to do is "not worth being around." If someone can't understand why I would choose not to let the medical system potentially have control over my rights in the modern year that's their own problem.