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Do Labels Limit Us or Liberate Us?
The difference between diagnosis and identity.
The Mind, Explored.
January 07, 2024
There are no anxious people, there are only people with anxiety.
There are no autistic people, there are only people with autism.
There are no schizophrenics, there are only people with schizophrenia.
Insight:
Defining a person by their diagnosis reduces their identity to a single condition, loaded with stigma.
Instead, labelling the problem guides us towards a solution and clarifies that a person’s illness is just one part of their much broader identity.
Why do we have labels?
Labels help us understand the world around us. We categorise objects, experiences, and people into groups so we can more easily interpret information.
Label comes from the Old French word label, meaning a ribbon worn on clothes, like attaching a tag onto someone to signify that they are a certain brand.
In mind health, labels appear in the form of a diagnosis:
A diagnosis explains a person’s symptoms, guides treatment, and enables healthcare professionals to communicate with each other.
This can help people better understand themselves and accept the ways they feel different.
People can also connect with others with the same diagnosis to foster a sense of belonging in a community they can relate to.
For example, diagnosing someone with autism gives them permission to accept their quirks, lean into their strengths, and seek support from those who understand them.
The dark sides of a diagnosis:
A diagnosis often makes people feel they are forever tied to a mental illness, as if they are unable to overcome their problem.
By categorising someone into a box, a diagnosis can overlook the variability in experiences throughout a person’s journey and between different people.
People begin to see themselves solely through the lens of their diagnosis, leading to a negative self-identity that overlooks their full personality.
Others also view people through the lens of their diagnosis, engulfing them in a negative illness identity - how a person incorporates an illness into their sense of who they are.
For example, a person diagnosed with schizophrenia may think of themselves as a ‘schizophrenic’, consuming all other parts of their identity (e.g. ‘brother’, ‘friend’, ‘student’) and limiting their recovery.
“The danger of labelling someone is the separation it creates between who they actually are and the person they think they have to be.”
Diagnostic labels are just one type. We also label each other by profession, ethnicity, personality, and more.
What they all have in common is the more we identify people with their label, the more they conform to them - leading to a self-fulfilling sequence.
How labels can become self-fulfilling:
Labelling: Labels oversimplify an individual’s full personality (e.g. ‘lazy’).
Internalising: They may internalise this label and accept it as the truth about themselves (e.g. ‘I am lazy’).
Confirmation: The person subconsciously starts behaving in ways that are consistent with the label (e.g. binge watching TV).
Reinforcement: Others respond to the person’s behaviour in a way that reinforces the belief (e.g. rarely trusting them with responsibility).
Imagine the limitations this would place on a child at school, a patient in hospital, or an employee at work.
Now, imagine if the label were positive rather than negative. Replace:
‘lazy’ with ‘hardworking’
‘binge’ with ‘finishing their work before’
‘rarely’ with ‘often’
“While negative labels limit us, positive labels can liberate us on a path of growth.”
Tool:
Don't label yourself. Label the problem.
Framing your issues as a problem to be solved, rather than an identity to accept, puts you into a state of action.
The greater the detail, the clearer you can understand your unique needs.
Detaching yourself from the problem allows you to take a curious, non-judgemental approach to understand where you struggle and where you thrive.
For example, a person who labels their feelings as ‘sensitive’ can better notice when they feel overstimulated, and choose a career that rewards their attention to detail.
“We can choose how our illness defines our identity, rather than surrendering to its limitations.”
Therapies and approaches that can be helpful here:
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to reframe the negative perceptions associated with a diagnosis.
Narrative Therapy to reconstruct the stories we tell ourselves about our lives.
Strengths-Based Approach focuses on what makes us uniquely strong.
Prompt:
Notice the labels you give to yourself. Instead, label your experience.
Then, you can find ways of improving your experience, rather than trying to change who you are.
Resources on Labelling:
One video: Diagnosis: A lifeline or just a label? (BBC Stories) - on the pros and cons of a mind health diagnosis.
One article: Rethinking Mental Health: Challenging the Dangers of Labels (Padraic Gibson) - on taking a more flexible approach to diagnosis.
One film: The Soloist (Joe Wright) - the true story of a person diagnosed with schizophrenia who shows there is a human behind the label.
Written by Dr Manu Sidhu 🩺
If you’re interested in hearing founders, investors, and experts explain how technology is being leveraged to improve mind health, check out the MindTech Podcast, also hosted by Dr Manu Sidhu.
The most recent episode is with Min Lee, the Co-founder and CEO of Humin - an app that helps you better understand your mood using data collected from your smartphone. Available on Spotify and on YouTube.
Feel free to email back with any thoughts, questions, or ideas for us to explore.
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The Mind, Explored. is for informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information in this newsletter or materials linked from this newsletter is at the user’s own risk. The content of this newsletter is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of health care professionals for any such conditions.
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