Kamala!, Why You Should Never Self-Diagnose, Tips For Therapy

Welcome to #Millennial, the home of pretend adulting and real COCONUT TREE talk! "We did it Joe!" (Got you to stand down :/ ) Kamala Harris broke fundraising records in the 24 hours following Biden's endorsement of her as the Democratic Presidential candidate. Are we feeling better about a Harris v Trump race than a Biden v Trump rematch? Dr. Sarah Steelman joins the panel today to discuss the impacts of self-diagnosis via social media (namely TikTok). Please note that her contributions to today's episode are not a replacement for therapy nor do they apply to everyone.  A few weeks ago, Laura mentioned self-diagnosis via TikTok as a gripe, and Sarah followed up in our Facebook group agreeing based on her professional experience. What are the consequences of self-diagnosis, and how often are professionals in the mental health space seeing this? With increasing rates of diagnosed Autism and ADHD in general, has misdiagnosis or self-diagnosis contributed to existing structural issues in our healthcare system, like medication shortages? Is there ever a case for medical advice on TikTok to be taken seriously? What if someone has limited or no access to healthcare resources? What is the difference between a therapist and a psychiatrist? Sarah shares several things that can help you get started with addressing your mental health concerns: Psychology Today for finding a therapist in your area, contacting your insurance for a referral list of covered providers, giving your new therapist 2-3 sessions to see if they're a good fit, and come prepared with your questions about their therapeutic approach and scope of practice. This week's recommendations are part entertainment, part escapism: Veep on Max (Andrew), 'Zero Escape: The Nonary Games' (Laura), and Claim to Fame and Blood on the Clocktower (Sarah). And in this week's installment of After Dark, available on Patreon and Apple Podcasts: Continuing our discussion with Sarah from the main show, we turn to bad medical advice being touted on social media. With 55% of young adults regretting medical decisions they made based on misinformation online, how do we avoid getting pulled down these rabbit holes? Or are we the ones shoving garlic up our noses? The beauty and fitness industries are infamous for this too, and those scams far pre-date social media. TikTok just makes it worse! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices