What's in a word? The harms of self-diagnosing

When something feels different or wrong, the first thing many of us reach for is an answer externally. Whether it's a soft tickle in your throat, a random headache, or some type of pain you didn’t notice yesterday - we tend to reach for our phones and trust a Google search to define it. In the same manner, when we feel restless, fatigued, irritable, or simply don’t have a word for it, a label feels like a lifeline; something to hold onto and provide meaning.

So, we take online quizzes, doom scroll through mental health content online, read articles on our symptoms and this helps us feel seen. Suddenly, the discomfort has a name and it feels good to know we’re not alone. This is a crucial essence of human nature at work; the desire for certainty. Knowledge that what we feel is tangible, that we are not alone in this feeling, and that the existence of it out there validates what is going on within. Sometimes, this is what sparks us to reach out and seek support. However, when we stop at the knowledge provided online, we risk self-diagnosis and this causes more harm than good.

Pop psychology is generalised and quick information about mental health and it is everywhere. Buzzwords that have recently grown in popularity like narcissism, trauma, gaslighting, toxic, and triggering are well-known and well-used terms now. The struggle here is that the oversimplification of mental health damages the true extent of support and diagnosis that is available when we reach out to trusted professionals. As we’ve discussed in our recent blog ‘The whole you’, a diagnosis is not a simple checklist of symptoms, it’s a careful analysis of everything that makes you, you. Your history, present self, lifestyle, stressors, physical health, aspirations are all considered when treating you. 

Adopting a label without proper care and guidance, and simply on the whim of information online limits our understanding. It creates a lens for us to overanalyse our every action, thought and word to explain behaviours that actually require deeper exploration. In most cases, uneducated labels delay getting the right kind of support.

So, if we shouldn’t diagnose ourselves, what should we do instead? 

Firstly, be curious. If you find yourself grasping for answers to define what you are feeling, let go of external validation and look within. What are your symptoms? How are they showing up? When are they showing up? Are there any physical implications of what you are feeling mentally or emotionally? Self-awareness is an effective starting point.

Second, expect to uncover a lot during therapy. More often than not, what sparks our therapeutic journey is not where the support ends. Again, therapists treat the whole you. A true, informed diagnosis does not happen in one conversation. Fast-tracking mental health support does not make the treatment any more effective; in fact it might make it worse.

The desire for external validation when we feel something is usually rooted in something much deeper than we think. For some, a label may be a sign of certainty. For others, it may be a sense of belonging. Seeking the answer is never a problem, but the way we approach it matters. For meaningful and support as unique as you, consider talking to a mental health professional.

With warmth and encouragement,

Ruchi