3 ms·

That's not how this works. Having a reason for why you are struggling so badly is a relief. Your problem now has a name and it's not your fault. Having a name

That's not how this works. Having a reason for why you are struggling so badly is a relief. Your problem now has a name and it's not your fault. Having a name opens up a lot of support and treatment options. This gives you hope that your suffering isn't endless and infinite. You may not be able to be cured, but you can have a much better life.

kneebonian 4y ago
I've found the opposite usually happens in my experience. It is easy to give into the temptation to then blame all problems on the condition, and start to abscond responsibility for your behavior. This leads to increasing feelings of helplessness, and not taking any actions that could help. This ultimately results in you feeling miserable powerless and see no hope. I think that the framing around this is very important. I had a teacher that constantly used the phrase "Don't let your reasons become excuses." Knowing there is an issue can bring relief and be helpful only if it empowers one to act. An example I have seen in my life is two people that have anxiety, one started using it as a reason to avoid interacting with people, to avoid school, and to basically hide in her room and read books all the time, to the point they would have a breakdown when forced to talk to a grocery store clerk, her sibling had a similar struggle but forced themselves through it, to learn how to interact, to push themselves to be in difficult and uncomfortable situations, and eventually although still struggles with social anxiety presents a pretty passable facade of being able to function in society.
tweetle_beetle 4y ago
That is a very optimistic outlook. One person's new relief is another's new label, stigma and anxiety. People experiencing depression-related mental health conditions could lean towards the latter. In addition, many diagnoses in mental health aren't really tangible or helpful to think about as a layperson, they're just a vague description of a symptom (this applies across a lot of medicine, see IBS, etc.).

kneebonian 4y ago

I've found the opposite usually happens in my experience. It is easy to give into the temptation to then blame all problems on the condition, and start to abscond responsibility for your behavior. This leads to increasing feelings of helplessness, and not taking any actions that could help. This ultimately results in you feeling miserable powerless and see no hope. I think that the framing around this is very important. I had a teacher that constantly used the phrase "Don't let your reasons become excuses." Knowing there is an issue can bring relief and be helpful only if it empowers one to act. An example I have seen in my life is two people that have anxiety, one started using it as a reason to avoid interacting with people, to avoid school, and to basically hide in her room and read books all the time, to the point they would have a breakdown when forced to talk to a grocery store clerk, her sibling had a similar struggle but forced themselves through it, to learn how to interact, to push themselves to be in difficult and uncomfortable situations, and eventually although still struggles with social anxiety presents a pretty passable facade of being able to function in society.

tweetle_beetle 4y ago

That is a very optimistic outlook. One person's new relief is another's new label, stigma and anxiety. People experiencing depression-related mental health conditions could lean towards the latter. In addition, many diagnoses in mental health aren't really tangible or helpful to think about as a layperson, they're just a vague description of a symptom (this applies across a lot of medicine, see IBS, etc.).