I don't have a mental Illness?

[Wonderlands]

Third session with my Therapist. I asked them before I left, is there some sort of diagnosis or something ( because I work best with labels). They said no, it is only our third session and right now, I cannot say you have a mental illness. There is distress (self esteem, confidence and putting other people first vs yourself) which causes you anxiety, depression and also unrelated phobia but nothing to say you're ill and we will work through this with what is best for you, rather than a label.

So now I'm confused and conflicted? Why am I so sad all the time if I'm not "actually" depressed. What's the explanation? Is it just my personality that's really bad? I feel like I'm wasting resources of this is the case.


I shouldn't have asked the question.

[Nurse_Jenn]

Hi Wonderlands,

You have inspired a great discussion here on the beyondblue forum. Having a diagnosis versus not having one is something that people, both clinicians and people experiencing symptoms, can have quite different opinions on. This can be based on their experience in how a diagnosis has impacted themselves or if they are a clinician, how they have been trained.

For example, I am a mental health nurse that was employed in child and adolescent mental health settings in the early years of my career and most young people did not get labelled with a standard diagnosis where I was employed unless it was really clear. Everything focused on 'symptoms' or 'traits'. This has shaped me as a practitioner today so I rarely focus on a diagnosis (unless it is helpful) but rather focus on symptoms and strategies to improve symptoms to gain a sustainable recovery. The other side of the coin is that a diagnosis can be very helpful in many ways for clarity around a cluster of symptoms you are experiencing, gaining funding, explaining your symptoms to people in a short succinct way and like in therising's example, finding support structures that work for you. It would be quite hard to find a support group by listing the symptoms of what you are experiencing on say google but at the same time, if you are diagnosed incorrectly, then you might exclude yourself from a support that might be just right

What I emphasise to people is to do what is right for you, right now. As a practitioner, this is what is referred to as a 'person centred approach' and keeps you in the centre of care so that caregivers, like your therapist, work with you and support you in the decisions you make in your treatment planning. If you are a person that feels comfort in knowing what your symptoms cluster is pointing to right now, then revisit this with you therapist and explain that a diagnosis, is important to you. If you change your mind and prefer to not use the diagnosis and rather describe your symptoms as say 'a period in your life that was challenging', then this is your choice too.

I have found this link for your interest on the SANE Australia website about some of the upsides and downsides to diagnosis that you might find interesting. https://www.sane.org/the-sane-blog/managing-symptoms/what-use-is-a-diagnosis

Wishing you the best possible outcome,

Nurse Jenn