some idiot was whining about self dx - the usual "this is why no one respects people with actual dx" and "makes people avoid seeking the medical treatment they need"
firstly, literally any planned visit to the doctor as an adult that isn't just an annual physical involves the patient going through what they've been experiencing, which more often then not does include research they've done on what it might be
literally that's how my last meeting with my gp went, I told him what I knew about the skin rash I had based on the last time it came up, and he used that to help determine what it was
secondly, every single time they pitch a fit about self dx, it's always about people self dxing mental health or developmental disabilities, which are a far cry from "cancer"
like, do you know how diagnosis of those things go? the patient gets asked some questions, and if they match enough checks, then they get the label, if they even determine a formal dx will be useful
thirdly, the "treatments" aren't medication, or even physical therapy, they're like, mental health coping techniques which are generally helpful to anyone, not just autistic folks or people with clinical depression
Yeah, and like...mental health shit is usually something you HAVE to at least suspect yourself, or someone in your circle has to, because you have to REQUEST TESTING for mental health issues?? Unless things have changed significantly, things like autism and ADHD and depression aren't just routinely scanned for in people???
Also, getting officially diagnosed with autism is something I've seen some autistic people argue AGAINST, because it can be used against you when arguing your mental competence? iirc
ALSO also, I have heard that you can go to two different specialists and get two conflicting diagnoses about whether or not you're autistic, so like...it's not foolproof
It's true that you shouldn't just go on WebMD and diagnose yourself with whatever you read about there because, like, for one thing usually a doctor will be able to run tests that can CONFIRM a diagnosis, but also trying to do the job of a doctor from online articles is hard to do and can lead you to scary and potentially very incorrect conclusions
(There are so many things that can cause a headache, for instance, and a doctor can better look at all the evidence, compare it with their medical knowledge, and go "it's likely this based on these factors", while a search for headache causes online will give the exact same weight to, say, brain tumors and clenching your teeth while you sleep in the results)
And people who do have rare disorders often have to self-diagnose, since doctors don't often consider them unless they have very distinctive symptoms, if they've even HEARD of them.
Because doctors are trained to assume it's not something rare, and generally don't put much effort into studying conditions they'll 'likely never see'!
You would never "self diagnose" cancer would you?