5 reasons self-diagnosis unequivocally helps

There's a creator I follow and deeply respect who made a post about self-diagnosis that I disagree with. 

(I will not call this creator out, but instead, address the content of their post because that's how we make progress as a community.)

The content of their post made a few points, which I will address individually in this post.

1. Self diagnosis doesn't help

2. If a diagnosis is not done by a professional, you can't act on it

3. You also can't expect people to treat you as though you have the condition 

4. You can't get medication for it

5. You shouldn't expect anyone to care about your self-diagnosis because it's not a real diagnosis

Now here's why I disagree with this perspective, point by point...

1. Self diagnosis doesn't help.

This depends on how you define "help." 

I am currently formally diagnosed, but my self-diagnosis (I didn't call it that, but that's what it was) helped me a LOT before I was able to pursue a formal assessment.

So, from my lived experience perspective, self-diagnosis absolutely helps. 

And I'll explain exactly how as I respond to the remaining points.

2. If a diagnosis is not done by a professional you can't act on it.

I can name at least a dozen ways I got help for my autistic needs when I was still self-diagnosed. Here are a few of them...

- I was instantly better able to understand and articulate my own needs to my family, friends, and work colleagues. This was life changing for me.

- I was able to discuss what I was learning in real time with my therapist (who, to my extreme luck, was/is also neurodivergent). Who was able to be extremely supportive as I started looking at my life through the lens of autism.

- I was able to research strategies for dealing with my challenges that were specifically designed for autistic people, which dramatically improved my life as well.

- And though I'm listing this one last, it was by far the most important one for me... 

I was able to be kinder to myself for the things I had spent 38 years of my life thinking were character flaws. 

Things that put the responsibility of all the mistreatment I had experienced throughout my life squarely on me.

Now, back to the points I'm addressing...

3. You can't expect people to treat you as though you have the condition.

I learned very quickly that telling people I'm autistic is actually a barrier to them understanding my needs. Mostly because they have many extremely incorrect perceptions about autism.

Most of the time, simply saying "This thing you're doing is giving me massive anxiety. Can you please not do it for a few more minutes until I am able to leave" is more than enough.

And even if that only works 50% of the time. That's still 50% more of the time I am being treated with empathy and kindness. 

And to be clear, I am only able to do that because I understand myself and my needs. Which goes back to my response to point #2 

4. You can't get medication for it.

When it comes to autism, there is no medication for it anyway. 

There are meds you can take for co-occurring conditions, but there are no meds for the condition itself. So this is a moot point when it comes to autism self-diagnosis. 

5. You shouldn't expect anyone to care about your self-diagnosis because it's not a real diagnosis.

I think it's fair for me to expect people to care about me as a human, just as much as they want me to care about them. 

Life is about co-existence. 

We are not 8 billion individuals living in parallel with one another. We are 8 billion people who are interconnected and rely on each other for survival.

I think it's fair to expect that if I am in distress or am expressing some form of distress over something, that other people, at minimum, care. Even if they are not in a position to help.

But if they *are* in a position to help, that's where advocating for yourself can change everything. 

So, respectfully, self-diagnosis absolutely and unequivocally does help.