Psychiatric Labels: What They Mean to You

You would think that receiving a diagnosis from a doctor would, to some extent, be a relief but for many people who are struggling with mental health problems, it is both surreal and, at the same time, claustrophobic. From this moment on, your entire life will be confined by a psychiatric label but what does it actually mean to you.

The names actually come from the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) and is published by the American Psychiatric Association and to say that is a bit ephemeral would be a polite understatement (Frances, 2013).

Task forces and working groups get together to discuss symptoms, in secret, (protect by non-disclosure agreements) and then vote on the name that they give to this particular aspect of human suffering (Spitzer, 2008).

You can go to a mental health professional in the morning and be diagnosed with “Depression” and, if you had the money and the energy, go again in the afternoon to a different psychiatrist and be diagnosed with “Anxiety”. What is worrying, is that you would be given different drugs for each diagnosis (Davies, 2013).

What most people don’t understand is that these labels were invented by committees to make the job of psychiatrist easier, they do not reference any biological abnormality (Kirsch, 2010).

There are two different ways of thinking about the mind: theoretical and practical and the theoretical models are always changing and expanding to include more behaviours.

Third wave psychotherapy deals with how the mind is actually experienced by you and how to heal the causes of your distress.

So in conclusion, it is your symptoms that matter and they will be contextual. Some days you may feel depressed but some days that gives way to fear and anxiety. PTSD is one of the most contextual disorders in the book (Cloitre, 2009)

Don’t get hung-up by diagnoses and their labels and be very careful what drugs you take. I got a prescription from a psychiatrist but luckily the pharmacist was vigilant and wouldn’t fill it because of the dangers to my health. Of course, this is an extreme case but “informed consent” means that, ultimately, your life is in your hands, so use your common sense.

Davies examines DSM development and institutional forces.

• Davies, J. (2013) Cracked: Why Psychiatry is Doing More Harm Than Good. London: Icon Books.
• Davies, J. (2017) Sedated: How Modern Capitalism Created our Mental Health Crisis. London: Atlantic Books.
• Frances, A. (2013) ‘DSM-5 is guide, not bible—ignore its ten worst changes’, Psychiatric Times, 30(6). Available at: https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/dsm-5-guide-not-bible-ignore-its-ten-worst-changes
• Frances, A.J. (2010) ‘Opening Pandora’s box: The 19 worst suggestions for DSM5’, Psychiatric Times, 27(2). Available at: https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/opening-pandoras-box-19-worst-suggestions-dsm5
• Kendell, R. and Jablensky, A. (2003) ‘Distinguishing between the validity and utility of psychiatric diagnoses’, American Journal of Psychiatry, 160(1), pp. 4–12. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.160.1.4
• Kirsch, I. (2010) The Emperor’s New Drugs: Exploding the Antidepressant Myth. London: Bodley Head.
• Kirsch, I. et al. (2008) ‘Initial severity and antidepressant benefits: A meta-analysis of data submitted to the Food and Drug Administration’, PLoS Medicine, 5(2), e45.
• Spitzer, R.L. (2008) ‘DSM-V transparency and disclosure’, Psychiatric News, 43(5), pp. 1–3. Available at: https://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org