In this emerging blogger post, Ezi of Living Resiliently writes about mental health screening tools vs. diagnosis.
Recently, I was scouring my FB page when I saw one of those games that could diagnose someone for OCD by decoding some puzzle. I didn’t know whether to laugh or frown at this (not that it was that difficult for me anyway to decode). It was making light of a serious mental health condition that I myself have witnessed. It was so stupid.
We’ve all heard people say, “I’m SO OCD because I’m SUCH a perfectionist!” or “You’re SO OCD!” *sigh* Again people using terms they do not understand. They of OCD, but they know absolutely nothing about it: washing your hand several times even after you count to 10, because your brain says your hands aren’t clean enough. Fearing you drove over someone…having to walk back to your car and click on the “lock” button several times, because you don’t believe you locked your car….Does OCD still sound like a joke now?
It’s already bad enough people can self-diagnose through Google or apps like WebMD, but diagnosis though such stupid games? Not a good idea. But sorry the best way for anyone to diagnose themselves is through a mental health professional or even mental health screenings.
Mental health screening tools are online or paper resources that can help determine if you may be displaying a symptom or symptoms of mental illness. Typically, they can ask general questions like questions about yourself (age & gender) and depending on your mental health concern, the type of mental illness you are screening for. There are various online screenings and concerns:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Psychosis
- Bipolar disorder
- Eating disorder
- PTSD
- Parenting
- Youth
- Addiction
- Work Health
- Caregiving
Now when you get the information remember, what you receive is not final. However, it can get a conversation started with your mental health provider.
Sorry, but when it comes to diagnosing mental illness there is no avoiding seeing a mental health professional. If you have a concern about your mental illness you should take it as seriously as you would if you had a physical illness. You wouldn’t let a simple game determine if you had a serious physical ailment would you? If you would like to do a mental health screening, use the following websites:
US:
*Anxiety and Depression Association of America
Canada:
*Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment
Visit Ezi on her blog Living Resiliently.