I do not have anything against self diagnosis; I think we know ourselves better than someone else can and don't need a profession to tell us we are "anxious" or "depressed", etc. Diagnoses are used by professionals to help a patient/client, prescribe the right meds, or know what direction to work in but I don't know that self diagnoses can help/hurt more than professional ones or that professional ones are necessarily necessary If I go see a therapist complaining that I am anxious all the time, fine; they will probably work on that with me since it is me and what I want to work on. However, if I go to a doctor complaining I think I am bipolar I expect some tests and ideas on their part, starting with "why do you feel you are bipolar?" and a bit of work to learn my medical history, etc. before prescribing meds. But I think most mental health diagnoses are based on questions asked us about ourselves and I think we can come to some of the same conclusions as a professional, with regards to most mental health questions.