What do you think of self-diagnosis?

Question

I am a first year psych student and am very curious about the thought of self-diagnosis. On one hand no one knows a said person better than themselves no matter how many questions a professional asks, on the other it is potentially dangerous and can lead to bad results if you do not know what you are doing. So I'm curious to know what others' dispositions on this is.

Answer 1

just my opinion,but i think with a little info& mabey some serious inqueries its very possible to self diagnose. [as long as you bring the subject up with a professional} before acting or self medicating...theres an old addage [physician cure thyself]

Answer 2

I think, that self-diagnosis, as every other diagnosis, has to limit all the spectrum of problems (which usually tends to be without a particular number) to the limited quantity of properties, which determine what the diagnosis has to be. That is the reason why usually the psychological diagnosis can't be fully and perfectly accomplished. When an individual attempts to diagnose somebody, this should be considered, but not only this. It is practically impossible to make the right conclusion about the condition without a periodic monitoring it. A doctor prescribes treatment, and when he can see the changes that occur, he can correct treatment AND diagnosis. But when he attempts to cure himself this way, usually he'll end up in a hospital. The reason for this is that the life mode of a doctor is completely different from those of his patients. He can't usually allow himself what his patients do. To sum it up, there is no "the only" way to approach the treatment. But knowing exactly what you should (and should not) do is very necessary, when it comes to the treatment of anybody, including yourself.

Answer 3

No psychologist would ever recommend self-diagnosis. Medical doctors learned long ago that they can't diagnose themselves, or even their family members, because you cannot be objective when your emotion is involved. That doesn't mean you can't look out for problems, just that you can't diagnose or treat yourself. You need to have someone else do that. There's also something called "medical student syndrome," where doctors in training start looking for every disease in themselves...and they notice that they have at least one symptom of most diseases. The same happens with psychology students. Don't do it.

Answer 4

my experience is that we all have a blind spot to our own stuff. that is why therapists still see therapists, have to watch for their counter transference, transference..and have to be supervised as students..we are after all human. I believe that is why people seek out assistance because the are not capable of seeing the entire picture. I will say that Freudian psychoanalysis has been beneficial because it addresses so much unconscious material.. but then again that has to be done with assistance.

Answer 5

As the old saying goes, "The person who treats himself has a fool for a doctor."

Answer 6

Get a second opinion.