The Power of Diagnoses

Therapists often shy away from mental health diagnoses. Some fear that telling clients their diagnoses will scare them. Others feel that diagnoses interfere with and have no place in therapy.

Clients, meanwhile, will often view diagnoses as a death knell. Others will over identify with them. “I’m addicted. I’m bipolar. I’m depressed.” It becomes like a second name.

The ancient Egyptians believed that naming a god gave one power over it. The same can be true of mental health diagnoses. If you know that you have generalized anxiety disorder, for example, you can learn to recognize when you feel anxious, sit with the anxiety, accept it without reacting to it. You can feel anxious about going out and still go out. You can practice relaxation techiques and take medication to calm the anxiety. You can learn to reframe anxious thoughts. Knowing what it is empowers you to control it. It no longer controls you.

So perhaps we shouldn’t be afraid of mental health diagnoses. Perhaps we should recognize what the ancient Egyptians did, that naming a thing gives us power over it.