Hi, what's everyone's views on self diagnosis. If a professional option is not available is it ok to self diagnose or is just best to be open minded and not being sure with what the illness is. Thanks
I personally don’t like self diagnosis at all because at the end of the day you aren’t a professional and what you think your symptoms are for any health condition really physical or mental could be something else entirely. That being said I understand that getting a diagnosis is a privilege for a lot of people as well, so I think if you want to say I have OCD type symptoms or I think I may have OCD but I’m not sure then thats fine but I overall don’t think it’s a good idea to self diagnosis for any medical condition, because again you aren’t a professional and there are a lot of conditions both physical and mental that can mimic each other. If you can’t get a diagnosis then I would focus on coping with the symptoms that you are experiencing and working on coping with those because you don’t need a diagnosis to work with your symptoms
How would you say Is the best way to work on the symptoms
@Chris85Floki I recommend things like support groups to everyone because support groups are almost always free. If you’re experiencing a lot of anxiety then I recommend finding grounding techniques that work for you whether that’s traditional grounding (think find one of each of the 5 senses), breathing exercises, starting to take note of where you feel anxiety and tension in your body and noting how you know your anxious can be helpful for some people and then practicing those techniques when you aren’t anxious regularly as well so they start to become like second nature. Some people like journaling, I’m someone who really needs a routine in the morning and evening to help me calm down a little bit and keep myself on track so if you need that work on that, there are a lot of things that you can do on your own you just have to figure out what works for you. If you can obviously see a professional but if you can’t that can be a good place to start to help the anxiety in general. I don’t do erp because for me personally it’s never worked for me, but if you try that on your own you have to go slow and take baby steps if you throw yourself in to deep to fast you’ll do more harm than good.
Sigh. I wish everyone had healthcare. On the other hand, OCD can go undiagnosed for years, so… not all providers understand what they’re seeing. You know yourself better than anyone. If OCD seems to fit, if other people with OCD think you have it, you probably do. Professional guidance is helpful and validating but you can figure a lot out on your own—there are good books/workbooks/podcasts out there. Find what works for you. For me, it was most important to believe that it was possible to make a change and to practice self-compassion. Wishing you the best.
In in the UK and the NHS is free but there mental health is awfull, basically you just get told you have anxiety and put on sertaline
If you can't afford a diagnosis, I don't have anything against self-diagnosing. A diagnosis is just a label on symptoms you're living with. Not having one doesn't change what you're going through, although it might change how you treat it. I personally don't have an issue with it, but I think it's beneficial to seek a diagnosis if it's available to you! :)
Hi, so can I do erp alone without a diagnosis
@Chris85Floki Technically, yes. But it's usually recommended to work alongside a professional when doing ERP. It can be a lot on a person.
@nae nae Does the number of thoughts you get matter in OCD? And are some thoughts (that may be related to your theme) easier to let go than others?
@serenity_1 OCD is definitely a spectrum. Some people experience more symptoms or thoughts than others or to a more debilitating degree, but it's all treated the same way (ERP). I do think some thoughts (for me, at least) are easier to let go than others. "Taboo" OCD themed intrusive thoughts or anything that targets morals has usually been the hardest for me to move past. If you're just beginning your OCD journey, NOCD has good articles on their website! Nathan Peterson on YouTube is also REALLY helpful, especially with tips for managing every theme. The IOCDF has information, too.
Ok, so first of all, I’m undiagnosed. However, I’ve been pretty certain for a while now that what I’ve been struggling with is OCD. My problem though is that it’s not easy to get diagnosed, and in some cases, it would require me to pay money. It frustrates me that I have to pay to deal with my mental health. Is it worth it for me to get diagnosed? I know I don’t need a diagnosis to start healing and working on these things, but I also don’t want to be “self diagnosing” the problem, because that makes me feel like a liar and an imposter. My other problem is that I fear my family doctor won’t properly diagnose me. I came to him about mental health related issues once before, and he read off a very generic list of mental health symptoms. when he got to what sounded like the ‘OCD’ section, we asked one or two very generic questions that had nothing to do with my themes, and since I couldn’t relate, I just answered no to them. He then told me I was fine, that I was just a “type A personality”, and that I was just being too hard on myself. I fear that my doctor might not be very knowledgeable or up to date on current information regarding OCD, and this might make it increasingly difficult for me to get diagnosed. Another problem is my symptoms seem to come and go. I often have an obsessive cycle that can last months at a time, and then it just goes away. Sometimes I won’t experience any symptoms for years. This makes me feel like I don’t actually have OCD or that it’s not ‘bad’ enough to be diagnosable.
I'll start by saying, I have not been clinically diagnosed, as I do not have the funds to see therapists or psychiatrists in my current situation. Once I'm in a better spot, I very much intend to. That to say; after months and months of having issues with anxiety, specifically health related, my partner was the one that mentioned OCD. I did have some somewhat OCD related behaviors in my youth, though those likely could be explained by potentially undiagnosed ASD (as my mother is on the spectrum as well as a sibling, both diagnosed.) But I never considered OCD taking form in a health sense. I posted earlier about how I've had 4 days of pretty minimal anxiety and intrusive thoughts, and it has led me to doubt the OCD label I've been working at treating? I don't want to be the person that identifies themselves with a disorder they don't have, which is why I hesitate to self diagnose with OCD or ASD or anything else. At the same time, I've read that a lot of even clinically diagnosed people with OCD doubt their diagnosis. It makes me wonder if I will always have this doubt, and if that means it is worth it or not to get tested? I know that if I do, they can actually do ERP (whereas I've been self taught and self guided so far) so that would be worth it...
I don't have an official OCD diagnosis, although I am near enough certain I have it after a long year of distressing intrusive thoughts and compulsions that have strongly affected my life. Unfortunately though, I do not have the opportunity or the finances to get checked or go to therapy for a good few months at least. Due to this, I have taken it upon myself to teach myself techniques to tackle it and to reduce and not engage in compulsions, as I did not want to take the risk of getting even worse before being able to get help (and desperation lol). For the first time in the past year I feel like I'm finally making some progress in getting better since incorporating these techniques into my life as my symptoms have become more manageable (minus the obvious bad days) at the time being. Is self-recovery actually possible? Has anyone managed to recover without a therapist's help?
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