diagnosis status in online cdd communities is weird because in the overwhelming focus on the questions of "is self-diagnosis valid?" and "does a cdd diagnosis make you more knowledgeable on cdds?" a lot of genuinely more vital questions and discussions in regards to diagnoses get ignored or shamed out of being spoken about.
over the years ive had the occasional "oh youre so lucky to be diagnosed!" and "im so envious of your diagnosis" told to me and ive kinda just had to smile and nod along. i think i am lucky sometimes. i dont think id be here if i didnt have a little bit of fortune. but ive never really had the chance to say that i was coercively diagnosed. my process began with a court order. haha. i legally couldnt say no. maybe its still lucky, it led to me getting out of hell. but lucks got its scars too, yeah?
and like this isnt even just applicable to cdds too. when i got my schizophrenia diagnosis, my fucking fashion sense was cited at me. and because i was diagnosed with a conduct disorder (which arent fucking real), the validity of my emotions and reactions is constantly called into question, and i thus have very little ground to challenge any unethical behavior in a medical or certain legal settings. i never knew i was able to have medical autonomy after years of medical abuse, and i only realized that i had the legal right to refuse treatments and evaluations after i was branded with conditions that undermine my autonomy and dignity.
i just wish we could talk more about diagnosis beyond terms of validity and confidence.
