zoie @gn0ccip074703 - Tumblr Blog

JODIE COMER Noble Panacea’s #BeExceptional Ad Campaign

“My 20s have been the loneliest era in my life. I am surrounded by people but not connecting with anyone. Everyone is living their own lives while I am still waiting for mine to start. I feel lost between what I should be feeling and how I actually feel.”

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“I feel like I am so far behind in life that I will never catch up. Everyone is doing so many things with their lives. I am just here. Frozen. I have been a ghost for years. I wonder if that is all I will ever be.”

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five-crows-in-a-trench-coat

When I mentioned my (apparently hot) take that I believe self-diagnosed people are valid, I got a handful of (my first!!!) hate comments.

So I thought I'd elaborate.

People who are self-diagnosed with anything might just end up being default settings. That's okay. What's not okay is denying someone aid on the basis that they don't have a diagnosis.

I always carry earplugs because a bunch of my friends have auditory sensory issues. None of them are diagnosed with anything, but I've helped them through panic attacks nonetheless.

If a stranger came up to me at a loud event and, seeing I have earplugs, asked for a pair, I wouldn't hesitate to give them. Don't bother giving them back, I buy in bulk.

Maybe that person was a neurotypical with sensitive ears, or maybe they were an autistic person with auditory sensory issues. I'll never know. But if my response was, "Do you have autism?" that would just make me a jerk. If their response was "Yes," and I then demanded paperwork as proof of their autism and therefore eligibility for ear plugs? That would mean I'm violating their privacy.

One of my friends had a panic attack at a loud event where she was working, and someone took her shift without question when they asked if she was okay and she said she wasn't. That's being a cool person. Saying "Well, you're not diagnosed with autism," and refusing to help her on that basis while she is clearly in distress is not cool. Even if she is neurotypical, anyone in distress merits help. Just because someone can swim doesn't mean they need breaks to keep from drowning, and refusing them a lifesaver on those grounds is just being a jerk, especially if there's no one else who could use the metaphorical lifesaver.

One of the main reasons I'm pursuing being a psychiatrist is so I can give my friends the diagnoses that I know would make their lives easier. I have the privilege to be diagnosed. They do not. I want to help give people free therapy and diagnoses since, at least in the United States, money is a huge barrier keeping people from diagnoses.