I Diagnosed Myself With ADHD
The pros and cons of self-diagnosis
I am a self-proclaimed hypochondriac. I’m not a germaphobe — I just pay close attention to my mental and physical health and look up the symptoms, and then discover diseases and disorders that parallel what’s happening to me. Sometimes the answers I get from WebMD are far-fetched — I know I don’t have cancer because of a headache — but often times I can form some kind of conclusion for how to (somewhat) properly treat myself from home.
My philosophy is that no one knows you better than you do. I knew all my adult life that I had ADHD but my family didn’t believe me. I wasn’t portraying characteristics that most people perceive as ADHD symptoms (this is mostly due to stigma and stereotypes surrounding the disorder, particularly in women). But with thorough research and support from my husband, I was able to get an official formal diagnosis when I was 23 years old.
I also have mostly self-diagnosed myself with an auditory processing disorder. Words go in one eat and out the other for me and if I am not concentrating on listening, I’m going to completely miss whatever is being said to me. In the last year I started watching TV and movies with subtitles and I was shocked by how much I had missed by not having the words on the screen; there are whole conversations in my favorite movies that I didn’t even remember because I had no idea what was being said.
As far as I can find, there’s no real treatment for auditory processing disorders but rather just accommodations in your regular life that can be made to minimize issues.
As a zillennial (not quite a millennial but also not part of gen-z), I’ve learned a lot about accommodations and home treatment for neurodivergencies on Tik Tok. Obviously Tik Tok is not a doctor and neither are most of the people I follow on there, but getting advice on how to make small changes in my life to make survival a tad bit easier is always helpful.
There’s a lot of discourse about self-diagnosis online and whether it’s helpful or harmful. The way I see it, there are two primary advantages and two primary disadvantages.
Advantage 1: Validation for yourself
Again, no one knows you better than you do. If admitting to yourself that there is a problem that needs fixing and you go to find the answer, that can be incredibly validating and comforting.
Being self-aware and recognizing all of your relevant symptoms, and then taking that information and doing adequate research can not only make you feel better about how you’re feeling, but also give great resources for what to do about it.
Advantage 2: Being able to make accommodations in your day-to-day life that work best for YOU.
No two people are exactly alike. Which means that no two treatment plans can possibly look exactly alike. My personal accommodations that I make for myself on a daily basis are going to differ from another 25 year old cis woman with ADHD.
I get overstimulated by noise, so I purchased some earplugs to help me when I go to the store. I get overwhelmed by last minute plans, so I’ve asked my family to try and avoid bringing things up last minute with me and giving me time to think and process the new information.
These are not treatment plans from a therapist, nor are they impacted by the medication I take to help treat my ADHD. They are simply small changes I’ve made in my day-to-day life to make things easier. Even a complete expert in executive dysfunction wouldn’t be able to perfectly treat me.
Disadvantage 1: Judgement from others in the community
I never actually said out loud that “I have ADHD” until I got a formal diagnosis from a doctor. I didn’t want to dismiss the experience of someone else with an actual diagnosis, nor did I want to take up space in a community that I had no “real” part in.
I don’t believe anyone actually cares about whether or not someone self-diagnoses themselves. But through college and starting a full time career I was fearful of judgement; not just from those with a formal ADHD diagnosis, but from those without one who would view my personal ADHD diagnosis as illegitimate.
Disadvantage 2: Not getting the proper treatment due to misinformation online
The beauty of the Internet is that there is a plethora of information available at the click of a button. That doesn’t mean that all of that information is good.
Using websites that are not fact checked or reputable can lead you down a rabbit hole of misinformation, which could be — worst case scenario — dangerous.
Diagnosis is a privilege. Not everyone is as privileged as I am to get a proper diagnosis even as an adult. There are a ton of people walking around completely undiagnosed and also untreated, probably feeling like they’re the only person in the world with their specific set of problems.
There is a huge discrepancy in specifically autism and ADHD diagnoses amongst people of color and women in particular. Healthcare is supposed to be a right, but in our society it’s absolutely a privilege. Not to mention how expensive going to a specialist can be, especially if medication treatment is involved. My ADHD medication is close to $350 without insurance. I’m incredibly lucky to have good insurance (again, privilege) and only pay $30.
Even though there are some slight disadvantages to self-diagnosis, I think the pros well outweigh the cons. If you are able to see a specialist and get a proper diagnosis for a mental illness, please do. But in the meantime, treating yourself with kindness and patience can be just as life changing.
