By Tylia Flores
The internet impacts many aspects of our lives, including our mental health.
Nowadays, you can easily self-diagnose a mental health problem based on online research. But this can lead to incorrect assumptions and incorrect treatments.
It is important to seek help from a licensed professional to get an accurate diagnosis and effective treatment.
We should always consult a professional to accurately diagnose and treat mental health problems.
Self-diagnosis does more harm than good. It can damage your self-esteem and make you see yourself in a negative light. You may convince yourself that you have a serious mental health condition when you are really experiencing stress or a minor problem.
Self-diagnosis is like trying to dig a splinter out of your foot with a hammer—it’s the wrong tool for the job, and it’s likely to make things worse.
They were only humans and they weren’t medical professionals. Mental health specialists have more field training than we do.
They study mental illness and ways to cure it. This experience and education makes them better equipped to treat mental health issues.
Self-diagnosing a mental illness is like trying to fix a car engine without the right tools or knowledge. You may be able to fix it temporarily, but it won’t be a permanent fix. That’s why we ask for help from professionals.
Modern culture has normalized self-diagnosis. Thanks to advances in technology and medicine, we know that mental health problems are common and that it’s no one’s fault that they suffer from these disorders.
It’s hard to focus on school, work, or any other aspect of your life when you’re dealing with undiagnosed mental health issues. And support groups, both online and in person, have created a warm and welcoming community that makes it easier to fight the darkness and have someone there for you.
Everyone wants and needs to feel supported; there is nothing wrong with that. But that doesn’t mean that an ordinary person is skilled enough to make a diagnosis.
Most of us are rarely equipped with the right tools to make a correct diagnosis, much less offer adequate treatment. We are always out of our depth when we begin to self-diagnose.
But it’s not our job to be mental health experts. This is the job of a psychiatrist, someone who can prescribe and adjust medications for you to see what works best.
This is the job of a therapist, someone who can try various forms of therapy with you and strategies to help you work through your struggles. This is the work of someone who has studied mental health and understands how to best help you through it.
Mental illness is common. It can take a toll on your life and it’s natural to research what’s going on.
But research can be misleading if you don’t have the knowledge to make an informed judgment about your health concerns. That’s why mental health professionals study in their field and that’s why you should seek help from experts.
They know what issues you might be interested in, and they know the best way to help you live your best life.
Tylia Flores is an author and writer for Unwritten and Digital Fox. She mainly writes about lifestyle, relationships and mental health topics.
This article was originally published on Unwritten. Reprinted with permission from the author.
#stop #selfdiagnosing #online