Pros and cons of labelling mental illness?

[MyProfile]

I was thinking today how different my life might be if I hadn't ever had my anxiety and depression labelled. It's almost a burden that I can't shake, I'm not just someone who is a "bit stressed or overwhelmed", I'm the "girl with anxiety". It's almost unfair.

At age 15 I read an article on social anxiety and cried. It was a relief to know that how I was feeling was a real "thing", that people out there understood and could help. To my dismay, when I shared this with my mum, she laughed at me and told me not to be ridiculous. So it took 5 more years and a suicide attempt before I actually sought help for my anxiety and depression.

So here are some pros and cons.

Pros

Easier to communicate with professionals

Easier to find information on specific illness

Can be used as an umbrella term rather than detailing to friends and family the exact little things you are feeling

Labelling the way you feel can help to make you recogise you are not going crazy, it is the illness making you feel this way

Cons

The stigma:

Some people think it's just an excuse

Once you tell people your label you can't take it back and you'll always carry a "stain"

Some people will avoid you once you share your label

The label might not fit, or any feelings automatically get labelled by others so you feel they aren't valid, they're lumped as a problem rather than something to consider fairly

For myself, I use the label as an excuse to avoid things

I'm sure I could think of more but I'd love to hear others opinions. Especially cons that aren't just related to the stigma of mental illness.

Please share if you have any thoughts!

[white knight]

Hi myprofile, welcome

This is an excellent post.

The "stain" of which you mentioned is, in my experience, only half as bad as what you describe. Half of this stigma is in our own mind. We have a defect, a problem people cant see and therefore feel powerless.

The other half is made up of naive judgemental people or people that dont have the capability to relate.

Your mothers reaction isnt unusual.

Google- Topic: they just dont understand, why?- beyondblue

Re: " Some people will avoid you once you share your label" well those are the people you should be avoiding. They come under the toxic banner.

Find friends worthy of your company.

Go to anxiety section and read a new post ...

Anxiety how l eliminated it

Cheers

Tony WK

[blondguy]

Hi MyProfile. Thanks for being on the forums

TonyWK is spot on......you have written a great post and good on you!

I was diagnosed with severe anxiety in the 1980's and I still know the GP.

The first time she said I had acute anxiety disorder (GAD didnt exist then) she also mentioned and I quote "that it may last for the rest of my life" They didnt of course as she was only getting me to 'accept' the anxiety thus rendering it less powerful and nearly 'boring'

Yes I panicked and was angry too (just because I didnt understand that anxiety symptoms were only bad feelings)

If I went to another GP or specialist at the time I probably would have been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder as well as being 'manic depressive' (nowadays Bi Polar)

My GP and specialist did the right thing and treated the primary issue at hand....the GAD.

I am so grateful that I never had a specialist or a GP give me a 'list' of labels (illnesses) that only would have exacerbated my anxiety attacks.

Unless a person's well being is at risk, I think adding more labels only interfere with recovery.

Great Post MP

I hope you can stick around the forums 🙂

my kind thoughts

Paul

[Croix]

Dear MyProfile~

There's one thing that applies in here:

If I say to someone posting in with one of the things I suffer from I can say, I have PTSD, or depression or anxiety and straight away I'm a bit of the way towards a bond with them. I'll follow up the bald statement of course with how I felt etc, but it is an introduction.

It helps the poster feel that they are perhaps prepared to listen to this weird walrus character called Croix who might be able to understand them.

Another pro - hard to believe, but true - until I came to the Forum and saw other people labeled PTSD and read of their symptoms I did not know that's what I had is now called. (I was diagnosed before that term became official) and now I look up treatments for PTSD and enlarge my arsenal of coping mechanism.

My best wishes

Croix

[geoff]

hello, anxiety and depression isn't what anyone would ever want and if they haven't had it then they won't understand what we are talking about simply because they have no idea, but it's always so sad when someone as young as you are to actually have it, but when a parent dismisses the fact that you are really struggling is truly a disappointment, because it means that you don't have the support you want.
If unfortunately you had attempted suicide before any help was sought then that's a let down by our socially, but this happens so many times when we could have lost an innocent life, not knowing what to do or who to contact, because depression can begin at a much earlier age in the prime of their childhood.
There is so much knowledge we can learn from the net, but there are times when we can read into too much that has been said, so there is a possibility of talking ourselves into having an illness which your doctor may dispute, so you have to be wary that this may happen, so keep on open mind, even though your anxiety and depression are dominant.
It is easier to talk to a psychologist, as long as you are prepared to open up to them, because once you decide to hide important information, then basically it's a waste of time.
Don't ever be afraid because you do have many friends on this site, whether or not these people reply, they are learning from someone else, and eventually will be able to post their own comment. Geoff.

[GemAndLogan]

Hi MyProfile,

I'm fairly new here but I liked reading your post because I relate to it so much and I wanted to share my feelings.

Before I was diagnosed with depression I thought I was losing my mind.

Something just wasn't right but I didn't know what was happening. When I started thinking about taking my own life I decided enough is enough and I told my GP and she helped me with medication and referred me to a psychologist. She also provided a lot of support too.

Severe depression was diagnosed and after the initial shock and anger wore off, I actually felt a bit empowered because it turns out I'm not crazy or losing my mind and there are people, especially on BB that I can relate to which helps me a lot.

My "label" suffocated me at first, I couldn't believe that I had depression. I felt heavy and burdened.

After years of suffering badly, I decided I wasn't going to let my "label" define me anymore, I stopped viewing myself as the girl with depression and focused on anything I could find that was positive in my life and wrote them down everyday.

Sometimes it was just small things (if I was having a bad day) but it helped because it took the focus off the bad day and the depression that caused it.

Now I see those positive things as the things that define me, my depression is still there but it has become background noise. Of course I still have low points but I look back through my positive journal and it helps.

I have difficulty opening up face to face with people, even my doctors so BB has helped me so much throughout my journey. Mainly because you really do realise that you are not alone in this, you are not crazy or stained and honestly, the people who avoid you once learning of your illness are not worth your time anyway.

I really wish you all the best

Gem

[MyProfile]

Hi WK, thanks for the reply.

I know you're probably right, the "stain" is probably only half as bad as I think it is, I know my mind has a tendency to blow things out of proportion. It's good to be reminded of that! I am also sure I am harder on myself for having this stain than what people are thinking of me. And you're right that it feels powerless - people can't see the internal struggle we face. I've sometimes thought that I wish I had a physical illness insted, people would be more understanding!

I also recognise that some people are naive or simply cannot relate. It's funny that years after I told my mother how I was feeling, she too went through a depression stage and wasn't coping, was considering self harm etc, and was leaning on me. At least I could understand and not scoff at her. That's an advantage to having mental illness, I think it made me more empathetic.

I've also had a look at your post on how you eliminated anxiety. I am actively trying, for today at least, to just be less anxious. Every few minutes I get anxious about something or rather, and I try to remind myself to relax, tell myself it's ok, I can choose not to get sucked into the feeling. I certainly need to relax more actively, do more pleasurable activities - and no one but me can make me do that, I need to take responsibility for my own mental health.

Thanks again for chatting.

MP

[MyProfile]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for taking the time to reply!

I like your interpretation of "she was only getting me to accept the anxiety, thus rendering it less powerful and nearly boring". I can see that that can be the opposite to giving it a label and feeling powerless and consumed by it! It's interesting how there can be different ways of seeing the same thing. And also, how we have the ability to agree with both at the same time or switch between them. I too would panic if I was told I might have it for the "rest of my life" - even though that's entirely possible if we don't do our best to combat it.

It's also overwhelming to have a "list" of labels. Tackling the one issue can be a better idea (even if it was only because you hadn't yet gotten the diagnosis of bipolar) - I have a list, and there are days where I think I am too much of a screw up to ever feel better. But realistically, no one is perfect, no one is "normal", I am just me, and I only have to try and improve certain things to make myself happy, just like everyone else!

I think I need to stop focussing so much on labels, all the different things that are "wrong" and instead focus on positive steps to just feel happier.

🙂

Thanks again Paul.

MP

[MyProfile]

Hi Croix,

Thanks for the reply.

I agree that having a label can help you to bond with others who also have the same label so to speak. Especially on these forums, it helps to start out with "I have anxiety..", and people can try to understand almost instantly. That's definitely a pro.

I relate to your seeing other people having a label and recognizing that that is what you have, and then being able to research for your arsenal, as I mentioned in my intro. I'm glad for you that you have found a label and it has helped you.

May I ask why you call yourself a walrus character? I found this pretty funny! I actually quite like walruses 🙂

Take care

MP

[MyProfile]

Hello Geoff,

thanks for the reply.

Also, thanks for recognizing and being sympathetic to the disappointment of my parent not understanding or being supportive of my struggle. It's comforting to hear that sort of stuff.

You're absolutely right about reading too much into what has been said and even self diagnosing by reading the net. It may not be helpful, and even detrimental, to keep adding more labels, especially if they're not given by a doctor who is actively trying to treat the illness that they're labelling. It's a bit like hypochrondria - believing that you have suddenly developed an illness that you just read about because you have some of the symptoms, and we can be quite convincing to ourselves, can't we?

"It is easier to talk to a psychologist, as long as you are prepared to
open up to them, because once you decide to hide important information,
then basically it's a waste of time." - Personally I am more than willing to open up, but I feel like I have too much to share, too many issues, that I actually choose to focus on the one or two main problems that I started seeing the psych for in the first place. At the moment I haven't been to therapy for 3 weeks or so, because we have been focussing on some major current problems in my life, rather than my work anxiety which is what I started seeing her for. I guess I need to speak up and say "hey, thanks for helping me through this issue, but we need to go back to the original issue I came to see you for".

I agree that people learn on this site whether they reply or not - I read a lot of posts and replies without contributing, just because I am getting enough just out of that. Although I still try to reply where I feel I am actually making a difference.

All the best,

MP