An exploratory analysis of self-diagnosis on Reddit

Bibliographic Data

ID19491663
AuthorsA L Johnson (0000-0003-1263-7730, Lehigh University, corresponding author)
Year2026
Volume9
Pages100597
Publication date2026-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSSM - Mental Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2666-5603 • E-ISSN: 2666-5603
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.ssmmh.2026.100597
OpenAlexW7128695555
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited52

Online self-diagnosis is an increasingly common phenomenon. Its ubiquity counters the expectation that people will generally avoid stigmatizing labels like mental illness diagnoses. Yet social media may provide a space for users to anonymously “try on” labels without fear of stigma or social sanction. This article uses exploratory qualitative analysis to examine self-diagnosis on the social media platform Reddit. I document how self-diagnosis is a relational process of identity work involving three steps: a feeling of mental wrongness, proposal of a diagnostic explanation, and request for a community solution. Using sentiment analysis, I also show that posts mentioning self-diagnosis express less negative emotion than those mentioning professional diagnosis. Despite widespread criticism of self-diagnosis, this work suggests that it offers a means of engagement with sympathetic others and a tool to understand the self in a culture dominated by psychiatric thinking. • Social media offer new contexts that facilitate self-diagnosis with mental illness. • Exploratory qualitative analysis uncovers self-diagnosis as a multi-step process. • Sentiment analysis indicates more negative affect around formal diagnosis than self-diagnosis. • Self-diagnosis on social media is a form of identity work and community engagement

Affect (linguistics) · Criticism · Exploratory analysis · Exploratory research · Feeling · Identity (music) · Qualitative analysis · Qualitative research · Sentiment analysis · Social media · Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Mental Health and Patient Involvement · Mental Health via Writing