Do doctors diagnose people incorrectly?
....and is it wrong for people to diagnose themselves? By that, I mean do doctors diagnose people with certain things, but it turns out that they might have something else? Also, why is it considered wrong to diagnose yourself and think that you might have a disorder?
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Diagnosing can be very tricky, especially when it comes to mental health issues because there's so much we still don't know or can't explain. Sometimes instead of meeting specific criteria to diagnose, doctors have to rule out other diagnoses. So even with a lot of specialized training it's possible that a doctor will get a diagnosis wrong.
That alone should be reason enough for people not to diagnose themselves: if you don't have the training that doctors or other mental health professionals do, you're not likely to accurately diagnose yourself. The vast majority of people simply don't have accurate information. Sometimes, when it comes to things like self-diagnosing, it's made worse by people's anxiety. For example, people may be very, very worried that they have paranoid schizophrenia, but it's actually their anxiety that's making them think that.
Doctors are human and humans are not perfect so yes, they do make mistakes. That said, they have had the schooling for the mental health field and you have not. The odds of you properly diagnosing yourself is not high. Is it wrong? No. But it could send you down the wrong road. You would not fix your own transmission on your car, don't try to play doctor.
YES! Doctors diagnose people incorrectly all the time! Read the book "The Great Pain Deception" by Steven Ozanich. The author was just one of 100,000s, more likely millions of people who were misdiagnosed.
Because Most People who are diagnosing themselves always leads to Hypochondria and they believe everything they have are either going to die or are cancerous. This is where a doctor comes in, with all his medical knowledge. That is why he went to medical school to diagnose you. My grandmother and her "Friends" tried to diagnose her until her doctor stepped in and said "Molly, How many years has Dora been a doctor"? OH! She's not a doctor...she's my SISTER." I rest my case. Everyone wants to "Play doctor" but most people don't have the knowledge to do so. A Professional opinion is warranted.