In today’s society, we seemed to be obsessed with labeling ourselves.  The mental health world is no exception to this.  If a child is “acting up,” we are so quick to give him or her a diagnosis.  Somehow, there are more children than ever with AD/HD, for example.  Does this mean that AD/HD is an epidemic that is getting worse?  Or are we over-labeling children as AD/HD when they show the slightest sign of distraction?   I would argue that it’s the latter.

 

 Diagnoses are useful for few reasons.  The most important reason that clinicians diagnose isto help psychiatrists figure out what medications to prescribe.  That said, diagnoses are not always that accurate.  They come from the DSM IV, which is the book that clinicians refer to when diagnosing.  However, the DSM IV does not allow for unique sets of symptoms.  They give a general set of symptoms, and then diagnose a person.  So, for example, it may say that depression is a set of symptoms that include irritability, lowered mood, inability to sleep, etc.  However, let’s say that your child is suffering from some symptoms that look like depression, but others that might fit another diagnosis.  The clinician will fit the person into the closest diagnosis to your child’s symptoms. 

 

When I work with clients, I am much more concerned about who they are than what their diagnosis is.  If I get too locked into diagnoses, I will make too many assumptions about them that may or may not be accurate, and I could give them the wrong treatment. 

 

My favorite story regarding diagnoses involves a time that I had first met with a new clinician.  She said to me, “oh, you are Bipolar.  That means that you are of average to high intelligence, you tend to be irritable and easily agitated…..,” and she went on to virtually label me right out of the DSM IV.  I took one look at her, and said, “Let’s start again; my name is Emily, not Bipolar.” 

 

In my opinion labeling is a part of stigma.  We need to start treating people as people, not diagnoses.  So, the next time you hear that someone has a mental health diagnosis, try not to make assumptions.  Get to know them.  We are not our diagnosis; we are unique people with unique traits and things that make us all special.  I don’t want to be boxed into a label, and I venture a guess that most people would agree with me. 

 

Be Well

~Emily

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Add Comment