I Have Been Diagnosed with ADHD, ASD, PTSD, BPD, etc, or Have You?
- Brainz Magazine
- Jun 8
- 4 min read
Written by Brian R Basham, Counsellor
Brian is a mental health counsellor who brings with him decades of lived experience and academic study to the profession of counselling. He has lived with a brain injury for over 30 years and has developed various strategies to live a full life. His focus is men's mental health and employment mental health.
I work in private practice and contract to an employee assistance program (EAP), and increasingly, the first words out of a person’s mouth are that they have a diagnosis of some form of disorder. When questioned further, many have told me that they took an online test, and that’s how they got their diagnosis. Some have been to their doctor and were told they have this diagnosis.
These two approaches contribute to the ever-increasing number of people with a mental health disorder. But... do they, and you, really have a disorder of any type?
To understand my question, we need to explore the history of the core diagnostic tool, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Psychiatric Disorders, commonly referred to as the DSM.
Critics of the DSM argue that there is limited scientific validity to justify the diagnoses, and that some sectors of the mental health community, such as psychologists and psychotherapists, were excluded in the development of the DSM. The committees that develop and vote on the diagnostic criteria consist mainly of psychiatrists who ignore the biopsychosocial model of mental health or have embraced the psychopharmacological approach to treat mental illness.
The DSM was developed in 1952, in post-war United States, and contained approximately 128 diagnostic categories and was 132 pages long. By the time the DSM-V was released in 2013, it had “grown to 947 pages. There were a total of 541 diagnostic categories, an increase of nearly 160 categories compared with the DSM-IV.” This represents a 322% increase in 61 years.
Included in these criteria was homosexuality until 1974, when it was removed after a postal vote. A great read on this topic is Andrew Scull’s Desperate Remedies. A lot of what I discuss here comes from that, and a few other books.
A lot of what is in the DSM-5 is pathologizing life.
When you go through the DSM-V, the latest version, you will find Persistent Complex Bereavement Disorder, which has a “criteria of persistent yearning/longing for the deceased.” So, if you are an adult and miss your loved one for 12 months or more, you could have a mental disorder. Imagine that!
If you are female and have mood swings, irritability, depression, feelings of hopelessness, or self-deprecating thoughts, marked anxiety, tension, and/or feelings of being keyed up or on edge, you may have Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder.
What is a disorder?
One of the best descriptions I have heard is that your affliction stops you from functioning orderly. In other words, can you live a relatively normal life? Can you shop, go to work, socialize, etc.? If you can, it’s not a disorder. It might be an issue, but not a disorder.
But, I did a test online?
Many people tell me they did a test online, and this showed that they have ADHD, childhood trauma, or an attachment disorder, amongst many other issues. The problem is, like the DSM, there would be very limited scientific validity to these online tests, and they are linking in to get you to buy a product, take a course, or see a professional (for want of better words).
Yes, but I spoke.
Not everyone is a professional or ethical. A lot of what I see online is scary and offered by people who have no experience and/or qualifications to give advice. Often, their advice is flawed, simplistic, and sometimes harmful. Let me give you a few examples.
A current client of mine was advised by a life coach that he has an attachment disorder. After discussing this, the reasons the life coach gave him were the very reasons why my client rejected this notion a few months ago. He rang me to discuss it, as he wanted my input. I directed him to some relevant and appropriate web pages and reminded him that to a man with a hammer, everything is a nail.
On an Instagram page, which I am proud to say I have been blocked from, I saw what I considered to be inappropriate guidance/advice. For example, one person asked if it is a red flag if a person won’t open their phone for you. The answer the “professional” gave was, “Yes, they have something to hide.” My response was: Why did that person want to go through their partner’s phone in the first place? I wanted to address the insecurity felt by the questioner. On another occasion, a person asked if it is a red flag if, after dating for a few weeks, they had not been to the other person’s house. Again, the simplistic answer of “yes” was given. To me, as a former police officer, I could think of several reasons why you may not want someone knowing where you live, couldn’t you?
So, does mental illness not exist?
No, that’s not what I am saying. What I am saying is that not everything is a mental illness. For example, research now suggests that many people are being incorrectly diagnosed with ADHD. A lot of what passes as anxiety or depression is just normal responses to life. And a lot of issues can be dealt with through talk therapy and not medication.
Finally, a lot of what is happening can be dealt with through just moving forward.
Read more from Brian R Basham
Brian R Basham, Counsellor
Brian is an experienced counsellor and educator who focuses on men's mental health and encourages employers to focus on their employees' mental health- a focus for his PhD research. He has developed a tool to build effective resilient relationships, and from his experience in policing, has identified five levels of critical thinkers and an assessment tool to guide critical thinking development. Although he has lived with a brain injury for over 30 years, he has achieved a number of academic qualifications and learned to pivot when an obstacle appears. His life motto is "refuse to lose".
