To think it should be illegal for the occult to "diagnose"?

[Letdownbackthen]

I became interested in astrology and tarot and spiritualism etc a little while back, always been a little bit woo and a seeker (backstory)
On a bit of a personal venture to prove to myself it's mostly bullshit now after being scared by it

I had signed up to this astrology forum and as I'm quite aware of how I'm feeling atm I thought I'd look at it today to check if it had any accuracy (nope) but I saw on the forum someone asking if a child's birth chart showed ASD and when I read it it infuriates me - the child is 2 and there are "astrologers" who have practically diagnosed both the child and the mother

It got me thinking about some medical stuff Iv been told in tarot readings and spiritualist readings and I thought I was able to take it with a pinch of salt initially but I realise actually really were very very dangerous

AIBU to think there should be some sort of regulation over psychics/woo that they don't give out medical opinions?

A part of me thinks well we ask on forums like this and people suggest it sounds like or doesn't with things like ASD but then I think yes but we're not paying for the "service" and there's no 'client' in the way there is with these things

I know I will get told I was BU to look into it on here but I was vulnerable, as are most I think drawn to it - you look and hope for answers and comfort. Along the way I didn't meet anyone who I think believes they're a charlatan, I think they genuinely believe they're providing a service and helping people and I feel pretty stupid that I have been scared but then I see there are others looking for answers from the occult too like this father worried about his son

Anyone looking for an online diagnosis whether it be on a forum like that, Mumsnet or anywhere else is a danger to themselves.

I don't see how it can be regulated really.

Part of being an adult with free will, is learning to take responsibility for the forums you visit and the questions you ask.

Some people are deluded about these things and either can't be told, or simply won't be told.

So you just have to let them crack on with it.

These people are charlatans who prey on the vulnerable and desperate. Sadly the vulnerable and desperate are only too keen to be exploited. I can understand the desire for regulation but it'd be regulating something which is fabrication. There's only so much legislation you can have. Desperate people will always find someone who'll tell them what they want to hear. I was aghast the other day when a friend shared a fb post by a local celebrity psychic who had homed in on her friend whose mother had died. This psychic's great revelation was that she sensed a heart problem and a photo in a silver frame! I was embarrassed for her and furious that anyone would prey on someone so vulnerable that they'd view that generalised guess work as a special connection.

Regulation? Legal restriction? How about people use the Brains they were born with? Psychics and woo peddlers come with caveat emptor I'm afraid. If you seek out their 'advice' for anything then you're a fool.

As with any industry with no accrediting body or professional qualifications it would be impossible to regulate or legislate. Even those practising alternative therapies often feel free to diagnose and recommend treatments without specific medical knowledge or hard evidence of efficacy.

I agree - I was a danger to myself, but I didn't realise that at the time, it seems like people believing they have a gift and are helping are really potentially doing a lot of damage to vulnerable people. There's even diets being prescribed by those astrologers on that site so not only have they diagnosed the boy they're telling the father how to treat him!

I know there is some talk of diets helping some children but it's terrifying the influence these people can have

It would be nigh on impossible as the sites may not fall under any form of UK legislation or indeed EU legislation. Even if they did there's probably a T&C somewhere that anyone posting accepted when they signed up that says they aren't liable for any damages incurred as a result of following advice on the board.
I think it is illegal to pretend to be medically qualified but that doesn't sound like that's happening.

Yes of course they're dangerous.

But as you yourself know, when you're vulnerable you sometimes grasp at straws.

Humans really like this sort of stuff for some reason - I mean, meaning, gods, religions, magic, karma, tarot cards, ouija boards. There's a part of us that seems to really react to it and want to believe in this stuff.

It's all bullshit but if you're vulnerable or needy or desperate, it's a lifeline, and other people will always be there to either naively help or purposefully manipulate.

What worra said.

People post unhelpful (and sometimes dangerous) "medical advice" on here. There are all sorts of horrendous websites peddling snake oil as cures or unscientific views on vaccination. I don't know how you regulate the internet.

The advertising standards agency can have ads with spurious claims removed. It is a minefield though and I can understand how normally sensible people in desperate situations get sucked in.

You can't use legislation to counteract stupidity - if people are prepared to take the word of a complete stranger over the internet (or a woefully ill-informed journalist, or a sham faith healer, or the inventor of a completely wacko diet programme) that's down to them. Same way that we can't introduce a queuing system in A&E that assesses the stupidity of whatever you've done and bumps you down the queue proportionally

I think stupidity is unfair, It's vulnerable desperate people. You only have to watch derren brown to see it's easy to get convincingly deceived

For some it's ignorance, or what they've been taught by parents, it's hardly wilful on their part. Indeed, one's intelligence isn't something one has great control over.
Some people are more susceptible to untruths.
I agree that they need protecting, but not sure how.

No YNBU. But it happens in all sorts of occults / religions / faiths.

Recently gave a christian friend of mine a royal telling off because they'd stopped taking their diabetic meds because a church had told them they were healed. Few weeks later, water infection, really poorly and couldn't work out why their sugars were through the roof.

I've also had an elder tell me my (AS) DS was not autistic and he was just possessed. Turned on my heels and never took him there again. Point is, there's always going to be people from all sides of faiths and belief that prey on the vulnerable. But not all are like that.

Completely agree with Worra about the online thing though. Very little you can do unfortunately. People are responsible for themselves.
Being diagnosed on an internet forum and actually having a proper medical diagnosis from a professional are two completely different things. One is to be taken seriously, the other not.

Adults with free will do believe in stuff like this it makes them feel better my dh aunt believed she was phsycic mil used to get her round every month for tealeaf reading it blew my mind what BS it was. People diagnose ASD on mumsnet all the time personality disorders are dropped in too. Astrology forums are probably just as harmful however they believe what they are saying and Adults believe what they are told not sure what could be done about it really.

That kind of thing is infuriating, I agree. Other PP's have already pointed out why it would be difficult to criminalise.

Hospitals and hospices need to become more aware of all that quackery, though. There was an NHS employee handing out sugar pills (she'd call them homeopathic remedies) at the hospice my DH was in. As if that wasn't infuriating enough, she tried to give readings and heal people with her bare hands alongside it. When I complained, and she was told to stick to the sugar pills, she told another patient that my husband wouldn't get better because of my cynicism. Nice, huh?

Btw I agree with you seeking out alternative is not only frightening but bloody dangerous. I once saw a thing on tv where a man was saying he was a phsycic surgeon and operating on people was ridiculous

Im a bit woo. But I don't think anything homeopathic should be allowed anywhere near a hospital or hospice personally. Somerville that's awful