Nope, you can't diagnose from the internet. That doesn't stop me from doing it occasionally, LOL.
TBH, it's hard to dx someone face-to-face, often. They did a blinded study on the DSM where they paid actors to "mimic" some disorders. Let's just say that inter-diagnosis repeatability was FAR from accurate, this may have to do with background training, a clinician's "pet project" and whatnot. Oh, there are various tests you can do, and psychologists LOVE those tests, but again, they're counting self-reported "sx" so I'm not so clear they're entirely useful either.
The DSM is a billing matrix, for the most part. Homosexuality used to be a diagnosis, now being transgender is (you have to find a way to bill for all those psych tests they make you do before transitioning), it's kind of more accurately a reflection on the way society deals with MI. In broad strokes, it can be fairly useful in terms of pinpointing mood dx and some other things, but it's really a tool to bill and a kind of broad generality type thing in terms of using it to treat (with medicines) some rather broad categories. But, also why (like so much in the mental illness world) finding the right med cocktail can be tough. Let's say some doc dx you as schizoaffective, your treatment would probably start out differently than someone with bipolar II, for example. I rather think a lot of more accurate dx happens based on a patent's response to medications.
Oh, I know it is supposed to be my Holy Grail and all, and I actually DO enjoy reading it, LOL, but it's not the holy grail, not by a long stretch....
Anna
TBH, it's hard to dx someone face-to-face, often. They did a blinded study on the DSM where they paid actors to "mimic" some disorders. Let's just say that inter-diagnosis repeatability was FAR from accurate, this may have to do with background training, a clinician's "pet project" and whatnot. Oh, there are various tests you can do, and psychologists LOVE those tests, but again, they're counting self-reported "sx" so I'm not so clear they're entirely useful either.
The DSM is a billing matrix, for the most part. Homosexuality used to be a diagnosis, now being transgender is (you have to find a way to bill for all those psych tests they make you do before transitioning), it's kind of more accurately a reflection on the way society deals with MI. In broad strokes, it can be fairly useful in terms of pinpointing mood dx and some other things, but it's really a tool to bill and a kind of broad generality type thing in terms of using it to treat (with medicines) some rather broad categories. But, also why (like so much in the mental illness world) finding the right med cocktail can be tough. Let's say some doc dx you as schizoaffective, your treatment would probably start out differently than someone with bipolar II, for example. I rather think a lot of more accurate dx happens based on a patent's response to medications.
Oh, I know it is supposed to be my Holy Grail and all, and I actually DO enjoy reading it, LOL, but it's not the holy grail, not by a long stretch....
Anna