I wish I believed this. My experience indicates otherwise. For example, bipolar disorder was a big scare word diagnoses back in the 1990s. Now, people who aren't even in psychiatric care are self-diagnosing based on the more available understanding of the disorder. TBC, these people are almost certainly misdiagnosing themselves in virutally all cases of self-diagnosis. The psychopathy for BP and several other mental or developmental conditions are also being used as catch-alls for unchecked bad behavior.

My experience is that those self-diagnosing are veneering themselves in these diagnoses to cover their unacceptable behaviors. While these fakers may have some genuine disorder or condition, they are muddying the waters, so to speak, for people who are actually dealing with genuine diagnoses and care. The fakers become the face of the healthcare issue, bleeding away both care and sympathy for those genuinely in need.

Maybe these fakers suffer from "Munchausen syndrome," as suggested by my son (who is aiming for medical school). Then again, maybe the fakers are just arseholes who've figured out they can get away with pretty much any outrage if they find the right trick with which to brazen it out.