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[–] 1 point 3 days ago (2 children)

Oh, I didn't think you were being cavalier about diagnosis and that part of my comment wasn't directed at you, but was an aside/explanation for why I felt it mattered I hadn't been told by a professional.

I of course think we should just be generally helpful and kind to people and their quirks and preferences. Just part of keeping society friendly and welcoming.

I just prefer if people distinguish between feeling a certain way and being externally evaluated.
Before I actually got a diagnosis I preferred not to say I had ADHD. I had difficulty focusing, I tended to get distracted, and all the management strategies helped me a lot, but that was subjective.
Likewise, a family member has an actual gluten allergy. The people who prefer not to eat gluten but can have made it a lot harder for her because the line is blurry.

It's purely a belief that accurate reporting and assessments make it easier for everyone, not that we should dismiss one and not the other. Doing that is what made people blur the line in the first place.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 days ago (1 child)

    How would you get evaluated for a trait independently of a diagnosis? That's not really a thing.

    The problem with psychological diagnoses is they are mostly bundles of symptoms that are grouped together into a diagnosis, and it can't be a diagnosis that effects too many people because then it wouldn't be a disorder. That is to say, there is a very serious political component to psychology.

    A medical diagnosis can be very targetted to one thing (like celiac disease) and it can be demonstrated objectively.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 days ago

    I wasn't saying you would. If I gave that impression it was unintentional.

    I don't disagree that psychological diagnosis is more tricky. There are objective criteria and tests for some, but the interpretation is still able to be vague.

    I'm simply saying that we should both respect personal preferences as well as requests for accommodations based on subjective need, while also recognizing that an objective diagnosis by a professional is different.

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