It is not a coincidence that transmedicalists are frequently against self-diagnosis

it is not a coincidence that people who openly self describe as transmedicalist are frequently also against self diagnosis, or who permit self diagnosis but consider a paper diagnosis to be inherently more accurate.

both positions require support of the idea of medical authority over how people should group themselves in society, rather than groups deciding for themselves what determines belonging.

this is not an invitation for transmedicalists to respond with a “but I support self diagnosis 100% across the board” gotcha as if one data point disproves a pattern and as if people always come to their positions after carefully considering all the possibilities and determining that all of their positions are consistent with their values.

this isn’t me saying that I’m always successful at having positions consistent with my values either. i have a gigantic amount of difficulty sorting out my thoughts, and only sporadically have the ability to make cohesive posts about them. the best i can say, with respect to my abilities as an autistic person with adhd, is that i try my best to make it so that I’m acting in accordance with my values.

i don’t value medical authority. i consider my doctors as collaborators in figuring things out. any paper diagnosis i have has been the result of a team effort, or a doctor agreeing with my self diagnosis. doctors and therapists who viewed themselves as authorities over me (such people don’t make it a secret that they think of themselves as authorities) responded with condescension whenever i did anything to question their authority, like critically analyzing their reasoning or asking them to learn more about a condition before making a hard determination that it’s impossible for me to have it. that happened to me with regard autism and adhd, multiple times over the course of a decade, until i met therapists and doctors who specialized in those things—who, incidentally did not see themselves as in an authority position over me.

this is also why i say paper diagnosis rather than professional diagnosis. licensing to diagnose a condition doesn’t imply specialization or expertise.