Why we need to stop blaming social media for diagnosis

Something that has become more prevalent over recent years is the number of professionals that I speak to who blame social media for individuals (adolescents and adults) seeking a diagnosis. Often, this surrounds needs such as autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit disorder, but can branch out to a number of different diagnoses.

This might look like:

“Why do you need a label”

“Tik Tok is increasing the number of people who think they have ADHD” 

“People need to stop self-diagnosing” 

“You’ve lived with it for years, why do you need a diagnosis now?” 

“You can’t read an article and decide you have a condition” 

Whilst I appreciate the reasons why these comments are made, they can be incredibly detrimental and lead to blocked care from the professional, diagnostic overshadowing and also prevent client trust being built. Whilst there are occasional cases of individuals with conditions such as health anxiety who will morph between seeking diagnoses, for many issues, others have struggled in silence or been given a label such as anxiety or stress, without exploration.

Take a moment and consider:

How do you feel if someone tells you something you believe about yourself is not true? 

How does it feel if someone tells you that your beliefs or understanding is not accurate? 

How does it feel when a professional (manager, senior or peer) is critical of you? 

Whilst sometimes, individuals can get it wrong. I want to counter this potentially dangerous practice, which over the last few years I have seen delay individuals from being given a diagnosis that they desperately needed. Often, because they do not have the stereotyped or ‘typical’ symptoms.

So, why do we need to stop dismissing individuals seeking a diagnosis if we perceive that they gained the idea from social media?

#1 – Seeking understanding

Frequently, individuals who arrive at an appointment and highlight their concern or question surrounding referral for diagnosis, have spent multiple years questioning why they have experienced the world differently to others. The majority of children and adults, recognise that they are different, respond in novel ways, view the world from a different lens or have alternative reactions to their peers. Most often, when they discover an article, video or podcast which gives a name to this collective number of challenges or experiences that they have tried to navigate for a lifetime, there is simply a ‘a-ha’ moment in which they realise there is a reason for it. Taking the step to voice this to a professional means that they have taken the chance at finding out about themselves, and deepening their understanding of their own needs. When this is dismissed or at worst criticised, we invalidate and breakdown communication and it can frequently take years for the individual to seek out help again. In some cases, this failure can lead to deterioration in mental well-being as a consequence.

#2 – Developing an identity

Can you imagine spending a lifetime with a set of symptoms which impacts, or limits your interactions with the world around you, like an invisible wall, but not knowing what this is? Perhaps being told to ‘be brave’ or ‘challenge yourself’ and not understanding why after doing so, you crash for days on end and cannot decompress? For many people who discover articles or videos surrounding mental health or neurodiversity (or even menopause), especially females, there can frequently be a moment of enlightenment where there may be a reason why they cannot experience the world in typical ways. The information presented to them in these mediums is often in a simple delivery which they can relate to, and is completely accessible. Where do you find these lists of symptoms if you do not know what you are looking for? This provides a sense of identity and recognition, whilst simultaneously reducing guilt, self-punishment or criticism which they have imparted on themselves for years before thinking they were to blame.

#3  – Cause not symptoms

We often fail to seek out the cause of symptoms individuals present with. In many realms of life, we seek to explain away challenges, behaviours or reactions, or to treat the symptoms instead. We will punish poor behaviour, rarely asking ‘why’. We criticise things that do not fit with our ideals without questioning what is being aggravated within us. We comment on other’s lives or beliefs, without asking why we make them about us. Or we generalise the issues as ‘hormones’ ‘stress’ or ‘lifestyle choices’. In doing so, we run the risk of diminishing those who try to understand themselves, because it does not fit with out own belief systems. When an individual is desperately seeking out the WHY to their behaviours, feelings or beliefs, they are looking at the causation. When we have this, we are in the most informed position to be able to identify the most appropriate treatment, therapeutic routes, strategies or medical treatments required. By doing so, we can reduce the impact, improve the quality of life and the well-being of the individual.

 

Every case is unique. Each individual is important. If we can move away from tick box exercises, generalisations and stereotypes, we stand the opportunity to identify individual needs faster, reduce the impact on the client in the long term, and improve quality of life and well-being.

 

Want to learn more? 

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Further help 

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