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It seems to be relatively common to think one has a psychiatric disorder one does not.
I think part of it is that in the case of some mental illnesses there is a lot of misinformation out there, or misinterpreted information, which makes it easier to think you have the disorder. Also, when certain disorders are being over-diagnosed at any given time in history, it can be easier to be erroneously diagnosed with it, or assume oneself has it.
I see on the bipolar disorder forum, occasionally, newcomers asking if they have bipolar disorder, and/or thinking they do. Even though some of these people clearly do not fit the criteria (i.e. changing mood in a matter of hours, or even minutes instead of fitting the inheritanty episodic nature of the illness) some people are still convinced that this is what they have. A small minority seem to *want* to be diagnosed with it.
But then why would someone 'want' to be diagnosed with a major mental illness (as opposed to suffering from it, which isn't necessarily the case)? I think that it's human nature to look for answers. Why do I feel the way I do, why do I act the way I do. It can be hard to tolerate the unknown, or explanations that are more psychological than 'brain-based' (if one accepts the notion that bipolar, for example, is purely a brain issue).
I think if one has a shaky sense of identity, a mental illness diagnoses can also fill that hole, where a strong grounded sense of who one is is lacking. At the other end of things, there are those people, a minority, looking for 'excuses' for their behavior, which certain diagnoses, on the surface, may provide.
I don't know if this helps to answer your question. But it's something I've seen a lot, so it doesn't seem terribly unusual (though on a forum like this, it may well be more common than in the general population).
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