How Labels Cause Psychological Harm
In 2018 I experienced my first panic attack at work. And it scared the life out of me. It felt as if I was having a heart attack. I was sweating. My heart was beating at an alarming rate. My hands and legs were going numb. It was so bad that after I called 911, I called my husband and left him a voicemail essentially saying goodbye. I had no idea if I would live through that day.
Luckily it was just a panic attack. I can say that now being many years from the experience. But a heart attack can kill you. A panic attack only feels like you’re dying. Both experiences are awful in their own ways.
I was so fragile at that point in my life that I couldn’t get myself to go back to work. I would start to freak out either in the office or on the drive in. I started seeing a mental health professional to help me with all of the emotions that I was holding within myself that contributed to the panic attack. I needed some time to process what was happening to me and I looked into the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) at my job. One of the requirements for the FMLA was a diagnosis that I was being treated for an ailment that prevents me from working.
The diagnosis that made sense at the time was panic disorder. I had a panic attack and I was having moments of intense fear that would build into a panic attack if I didn’t stay home where I felt safe. What I did not realize was that this diagnosis, this label, could cause as much harm to me as the symptoms I was going through.
Diagnostic Labels and Receiving Care
In order to diagnosis a psychological disorder, you would have to reference the 5th iteration of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM V). The DSM V lists every mental disorder that is currently recognized and includes a list of criteria to qualify for the diagnosis.
The purpose of the diagnosis is for mental health professionals to have a short hand to describe what each of their clients are going through. That is one of the primary purposes of the DSM.
In a medical diagnostic book, they would also include the known forms of treatment for the condition listed. But the DSM does not contain any forms of treatment for any condition. That is up to the expertise of the mental health professional. So, the DSM has its limitations.
What make the matters worse is that the legal and healthcare systems have latched onto the DSM in order for them to reimburse clients for services. To put it bluntly, in order for your insurance to cover any mental health services, you have to be diagnosed with something. And based on that diagnosis, the insurance companies will allocate a certain number of sessions for you to “cure” the problem.
This puts mental health professionals in a bit of a bind. Most clients cannot afford to pay cash for their services and avoid going through insurance. So, they have no choice but to find a diagnosis for their clients that is close to what they are going through and allows for the proper time to be allocated by the insurance companies for care. That diagnosis in of itself can cause notable harm to the client.
The Harm of Labels to One’s Identity
A study was published in December of 2021 by the Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare (IEBH), out of Bond University in Australia, to examine the effects of being diagnosed with a variety of physical and mental conditions. They compiled 146 separate clinical studies to determine any overall patterns.
Some impacts of being diagnosed that the study found include:
72% reported a negative psychological impact
42% experienced negative treatment from healthcare providers
28% felt more uncertain about their futures
37% lost emotional support from family and friends
The study found that these negative impacts occurred to those who were diagnosed with the following mental conditions:
Bipolar / Manic Depressive Disorder
Depression
Anxiety
Attention Deficient Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)
Preventing Harm from Diagnosis / Labels
The first step is to be very careful about how you refer to yourself regarding what you are experiencing. There is a big difference between saying “I struggle with anxiety” and “I am an anxious person”.
The first sentiment, “I struggle with anxiety”, creates a separation between yourself and the anxiety you are dealing with. It acknowledges and honors that you are having a hard time with anxiety at the moment. It also implies that it is possible to overcome the anxiety and get it under your control. The ailment has the ability to be managed and thus “cured” at one point.
The second sentiment, “I am an anxious person”, is a present tense statement about who you are. This causes your ailment to become a permanent feature of you. Every time you say it this way, you reinforce that this is just who you are and nothing can be done to change that. And once it folds into your identity, you will resist any claims to the contrary.
This is very similar to people’s connection to sports teams or political parties. If someone says anything that goes against the viewpoint of the “team” they identify with, they will defend their “team” vigorously. For example: “I’m not going to go to that party, it supports the political party I don’t like.”
Now translate that into your ailment:
“I can’t go to the party, I’m anxious person.”
“I can’t hold a job, I’m depressed.”
“I’m not good at school, I have ADHD”
Yes, there may be times when the above statements are accurate. But they way they are phrased implies that nothing will ever change. You are stuck as you are. But if you change how you talk about yourself it changes the long-term outlook on your life. For example:
“I’m feeling anxious about the party so I will pass today. But let me know when the next one is happening. I might be up to it then.”
“I’m going through a depressive episode and need some time off from work. I’m hoping to resume working in a few days or a week.”
“The ADHD that I struggle with makes it hard to concentrate in class. Maybe a tutor could help me with my homework.”
These statements acknowledge that you are struggling but removes the permanence of the ailment in your life. It is an experience you are having not a part of yourself.
I’m Already Attached to My Label – What Now?
You can still heal that attachment to your label in addition to the ailment itself. It’s not too late. You just have to make the choice that you do not want to be your ailment. You are a person. An individual with hopes and dreams and possibility. You may have lost touch with these parts of yourself but they still exist. You may be struggling but those struggles don’t have to be permanent. You just have to chose yourself over your ailment.
The biggest thing that helped me do this was the Emotional Freedom Technique. EFT, also known as tapping, involves tapping on acupressure points on your own body in order to calm the amygdala, the fear center of the brain. The tapping allows for the Chi (emotional energy) to move more freely and bring a sense of relief and calm to the mind and body.
This technique helped me move through the cause of my panic attacks and also prevented me from absorbing the panic disorder label into my identity. I haven’t had a panic attack since 2018 and I don’t worry that it might happen in the future. It is part of my history but not who I am.
I want to give that same benefit that I received as a gift to you. You just have to choose to take those first steps toward taking responsibility for how you label yourself. To treat the ailments you are living with as temporary and healable. Are you ready?