Posted by shar on November 1, 2000, at 19:26:13
In reply to Re: If i've said it once, I've said it 1000 times, posted by Kingfish on November 1, 2000, at 11:01:51
We use labels to categorize things in the world around us, to make sense out of chaos, to provide information to others, to receive information in a meaningful format.
I don't have any research results or anything, but I don't really believe that people become their labels. Or, use them to define themselves. At least not to any greater extent than any other medical diagnosis. Ie, the person with asthma who "can't do x, y and z" when that may or may not be true.
Without a label as a starting point, how does any treatment occur--ie, if you don't use "depression" as a starting point, how do you know that you wouldn't necessarily go through all the hypnotic agents, then the antipsychotics, then some endocrine meds, before finally hitting some of the antidepressants.
Personally, in any medical situation I prefer to have some kind of label, or else how do I research it? If a doc says I'm bipolar, and I research it and none of the symptoms fit, or I don't experience any of the things that "bipolars" talk about experiencing, I'd have to get back to the doc (or get another doc) and straighten things out.
Recently, a doc in an ER referred me to an ENT because I had a quickly appearing growth or something on the roof of my mouth, and my sinuses were hurting like crazy (really, really hurting). It turned out to be a split in the root of a tooth that had a root canal previously, and it was not a good root canal, so it was infected, and since they put a little plug in, the abcess that might have formed along the gum line of a normal tooth went to the roof of my mouth. All of this was inflaming my sinuses (or putting pressure on them).
So, instead of an ENT I went to my dentist because I suspected something like that, and ended up with oral surgery.
Point being, no field has a corner on perfect diagnoses, psych included.
The important thing IMHO is that one doesn't get so entrenched in labels that they close off their minds to any other thing. There are often multiple things going on (like thyroid stuff) that can be checked when people are depressed.
BTW, other posters may rebut this if they want, but I'm just interested in putting in my 2 cents to the person who originally asked for input. I'm not interested in debating the perceieved merits (demerits?) of my response.
poster:shar
thread:47817
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001022/msgs/47961.html