Labels, it becomes a psychiatric breakthrough when a new label can be added to a set of behaviors and emotions. Labels indicate understanding and can specify treatment for a particular issue leading to a patient successfully overcoming adversity. Although these characteristics of a label can be beneficial to clinicians what is the effect on a patient?
Let me be the first to say I am not a professional in the field of mental health. However, I have been a patient and so will examine influences labels have on patients working to overcome their issues.
Labels exist in educational development such as Dyslexia or Attention Deficit Disorder [ADD] and go as big as mental health concerns such as Anorexia, Bipolar, Borderline-Personality Disorder and Depression. All these titles exist to support Psychologists in supporting their patients through tested methods of care in order to overcome the issue
First, think about the last time someone told us "you seem sad today" or even harmful phrases like "your ugly!" "You’re stupid!" Perhaps we were having a great day, someone misread our behaviors, we now have this thought that we could be sad and influencing our behavior in the day. The same is true for the hurtful phrases they can modify our view and create a false image of what we had preconceived in our self.
Moving back to the topic of labels if a patient knew they had a learning disorder it could be possible for them to re-think what they are capable of limiting their true potential. The same is true for things like Depression and Anorexia, these labels could influence someone to believe they are more down, or more focused on their personal mood or weight then they may have been originally.
As we gain more knowledge in the field of mental health some of these labels people outside of the field have become aware of terms like depression and are replacing "you seem sad today" with “are you depressed lately?” Teens use the word anorexic in a way that could be described as bullying. Possibly magnifying a childs natural struggle over body image. Growing up I will never forget the famous words of a dying super hero's father, "with great power comes great responsibility" knowledge is the futures power, and in the field of mental health we need to ensure we use the labels of discovery responsibly and leave the labeling to those trained within the field of mental health.
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