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<\/p>\nLISTEN | Why some people want psychiatric labels:<\/p>\n
The Dose20:07Psychiatric labels \u2014 why some people want one!<\/p>\n
Alberta resident Amy Brandley was diagnosed with ADHD in her youth, but despite receiving treatment, she felt she had symptoms not explained by the diagnosis.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Brandley says she consulted with mental health specialists throughout her childhood for things like not being able to control her emotions, but her concerns were always chalked up to ADHD.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 27-year-old artist says it wasn’t until she saw videos of young women talking about their mental health on social media that she started to make sense of things. Experiences she thought were unique to her \u2014 like sensory overload \u2014 pointed to a potential explanation: She may be autistic, too.<\/p>\n
“It was both a long journey, but also a few sparks here and there of seeing this content and being like, that seems rather familiar, that seems rather relatable,” said Brandley.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Alberta artist Amy Brandley was diagnosed with ADHD as a child. It wasn’t until her early 20s, after coming across videos on social media, that she considered the root of some of her personal struggles may have been connected to undiagnosed autism. (Submitted by Amy Brandley)<\/p>\n
After meeting with an autism expert and undergoing a battery of tests, Brandley was diagnosed with both ADHD and autism spectrum disorder.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mental health experts say they’re seeing an increasing number of young patients, like Brandley, leaning on advice from social media to connect symptoms to a potential diagnosis, even before consulting with a physician. <\/p>\n
While, they say they aren\u2019t against patients getting information from online sources, they caution against treating symptoms without professional oversight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Neurodivergence leading the conversation<\/p>\n
Ottawa child psychiatrist Dr. Gail Beck says she’s used to patients coming to therapy with concerns about conditions like depression and anxiety.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Over the past decade, however, she’s noticed that young people \u2014 especially women \u2014 are increasingly asking about autism and ADHD.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the things that’s \u2026 very different, is the number of young people who come to me and tell me that they’re neurodiverse,” Beck told Dr. Brian Goldman, host of The Dose<\/a> podcast.<\/p>\n Toronto psychiatrist Dr. Doron Almagor says patients who were never diagnosed as children may see examples of neurodivergence on social media and find that something just clicks.\u00a0<\/p>\n WATCH | More than 67,500 Ontario kids waiting for core autism funding as demand grows: More than 67,500 Ontario kids waiting for core autism funding as demand grows <\/p>\n Despite increased provincial funding, only about a quarter of kids registered for the Ontario Autism Program are receiving funding for core clinical services, a figure that has remained relatively unchanged for the past year and a half. Meanwhile, the number of kids registering with the program continues to grow. <\/p>\n Boys are more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD<\/a> and autism<\/a> than girls, in part because girls are more likely to mask their symptoms, says Almagor, a former president of the Canadian ADHD Alliance\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey would \u2026 try not to cause any trouble, not get in trouble, try to do their work and not get diagnosed with either ADHD or autism.\u201d<\/p>\n People often imagine children with ADHD as class disruptors, unable to sit still or pay attention. While that stereotype can be true, research suggests it\u2019s more often boys who get identified for exhibiting hyperactive symptoms<\/a>. Girls with ADHD<\/a> are more often identified for showing the inattentive symptoms associated with the condition.\u00a0<\/p>\n Likewise, boys with autism<\/a> may exhibit symptoms like withdrawn social behaviour or blunt, literal communication, whereas research suggests<\/a> girls might be surrounded by peers but still feel\u00a0 unable to meaningfully connect.\u00a0<\/p>\n It’s OK to look up your symptoms, but be open to being wrong<\/p>\n Beck says she notices her patients typically start to question their mental health around middle and high school, sometimes going to the web for answers.\u00a0<\/p>\n So when patients come to her having already researched their symptoms \u2014 even pitching certain diagnoses \u2014 the first thing Beck does is ask them to share their research with her.\u00a0<\/p>\n “And if they tell me \u2018I got it on TikTok, I’m on a group on Instagram,\u2019 whatever they tell me, I will look it up and often with them in the office,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I want to see where they’re getting this information.”<\/p>\n Once Beck knows more about where her patients have researched their condition, she guides them through the consultation, trying her best to correct any misinformation along the way.\u00a0<\/p>\n Likewise, Montreal psychiatrist Dr. Alexandre Hudon says social media is an everyday part of life, so clinicians can’t minimize its influence on how people examine their symptoms.<\/p>\n “It can be really rich because you can open [them] up and really, really try to get a better sense of how they ended up using this information to put labels on their life,” said Hudon, who researches how social media and artificial intelligence influence youth mental health.<\/p>\n Not only do these conversations help clinicians learn more about their patients, being open-minded about where patients get their information also helps clinicians guide their patients to more accurate diagnoses, says Hudon.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nonetheless, Almagor cautions that not all online sources of information are equal.<\/p>\n “One of the talks that I give to the public is trying to guide them to finding social media influencers that are in fact valid, reliable, are able to give good information,” said Almagor. He notes that some influencers who present as neutral could be paid content creators capitalizing on the mental health distress of others.<\/p>\n He says patients also need to be open to formal diagnostic evaluations for their conditions, especially if their symptoms point to other reasons for their distress.<\/p>\n Use of AI for health questions also increasing<\/p>\n Of course, people aren’t just leaning on social media for mental health guidance.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792291465_547_default.jpg\")
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