Mental Health Diagnosis is not Real | Labels We Use to Define Ourselves

Diagnosis: A Therapist’s Perspective on the Labels We Use to Define Ourselves

As an individual with a higher education degree in marriage and family therapy, I've come to question the very concept of diagnosis time and time, again. Society often views diagnoses as definitive labels that neatly categorize individuals, providing comfort in a world of complex emotions and behaviors. But what if diagnosis is less about clarity and more about our need to simplify what we don’t fully understand? What is diagnosis is separating us as a society? What is diagnosis is only amplifying the core issue?

The Comfort of Labels

We diagnose to find a name for the chaos we feel when emotions spiral out of control. A diagnosis offers a way to organize the unfiltered and sometimes overwhelming experience of being human. It can give us a sense of certainty in an uncertain world, a roadmap to help navigate our interactions with others. We tell ourselves that if we can name the issue, then we can understand it—and if we understand it, we can control it. Yet, we forget, that we are resilient as humans. We know how to heal.

But here's the problem: labeling people with a diagnosis often reduces them to that label, separating them from the nuanced reality of their lived experiences. It separates them from other human beings, potentially othering them and making them feel isolated or different. We see the diagnosis instead of the person; we focus on their "disorder" instead of their humanity. In this way, labels do more than categorize—they confine. The key word here is humanity. My belief is the answer — the solution — to this worldly problem is coming back to humanity.

The Illusion of Understanding

Society often finds comfort in these labels because they provide a sense of order. When we label someone as "depressed," "anxious," or "bipolar," we assume we understand what they’re going through, even though each person's experience is profoundly unique. Diagnoses might offer a common language to talk about emotional states, but they risk oversimplifying what are often highly individual experiences. We can tend to take away the power of one’s full story. We may forget that we all are a mosaic of experiences. We are not identities. We are beyond identities. We are in fact “unidentifiable” because we are much more vast as human beings than we think.

These labels become shortcuts in conversation, ways to justify behaviors, and even excuses to distance ourselves from the complexities of another person's inner world. They create a false sense of clarity in the ambiguity of human emotions.

Separation Through Diagnosis

By labeling someone with a diagnosis, we inadvertently create barriers. The label itself becomes a form of social distancing, a way to separate "us" from "them." It feeds into the illusion that those who have a diagnosis are fundamentally different or broken compared to those who do not. Once we create the label, we wake up each day remembering we are labeled that way. Psychologically, it recreates the history of that label like a record on repeat. With that label, we are not creating space in our minds for a NEW reality. As humans, we are all navigating the same ocean of emotions, just in different vessels. It is each one of our jobs to wake up each day and start anew. What reality do you want to live in?

Diagnosis can make people feel boxed into a narrow definition of themselves, limited by the confines of a label. Again, instead of empowering them to explore the full range of their experiences, it encourages them to filter their identity through the lens of that diagnosis. This separates us not only from each other but also from ourselves.

Beyond the Label

Therapy, at its best, is about moving beyond labels and understanding the broader context of a person's life. However, with an emphasis on diagnosis (in order to be able to bill insurance) and treatment plans (to prove that there can be a (false) linear process to a human experience), we keep therapy confined. We lengthen its process and keep our clients stuck in the same loop.

It’s about seeing the whole person—not just the diagnosis—and understanding how their experiences, environment, and relationships shape their emotions and actions. True healing starts when we stop defining people by their symptoms and start listening to their stories.

Instead of trying to fit individuals into predefined categories, we should strive to understand their unique experiences — the entire mosaic. Emotions are not problems to be solved but signals to be interpreted. Emotions are the post powerful signals we receive, minute to minute, hour by hour. I argue that the rise of emotions is when you are actually on the brink of the most pivotal breakthroughs in your life. Your emotions are a sign of positive evolution versus a sign of failure or brokenness.

The Call for Compassion

What if we approached each other with curiosity instead of judgment, seeking to understand rather than to label? If we allowed people to be complex, contradictory, and ever-changing without trying to force them into a narrow definition, we could bridge the gaps that separate us. We could create a society where our shared humanity is more important than our diagnostic labels.

In the end, what we need isn't more labels; it's more compassion. When emotions arise, we need to remember that we are one in the same. We need to be there for each other. When we unite during these brinks of intense emotion, we hold each other’s hands to walk each other to the other side of those fears into our transformative breakthroughs. We help each other remember our own power. We need to connect to each other’s experiences without the crutch of diagnosis, allowing room for the full spectrum of emotions to exist without needing to fit them into neat little boxes. Healing begins when we see each other for who we truly are—not for the labels we’ve been given.

For more, listen to the following two podcasts: Mental Health Diagnosis is not Real & Part 2: Mental Health & Labels