The Person Behind The Diagnosis
Those who receive a diagnosis feel in that moment that everything has changed, that their past was not the same as today. With the power of the word, someone has created a turning point in their lives.
They often feel as if a sack of stones has been placed on their backs. Not only do they have to carry their personal problems with them, but they also have to adapt to a new label. This weight and readjustment involves a lot of effort from them.
Sometimes they experience that the diagnosis is greater than they are. That it has got its own life and that it, like a monster that has devoured everything, has also devoured them. They can feel a strange feeling within themselves, in their bodies, their personalities and their whole being.
Meeting this new reality and all the changes involved is no easy task. Initially, the word overlaps the person and creates a reality that, despite being there in one form or another before it was given a name, has settled down in the person’s mind without invitation.
When you meet the monster face to face, only you can decide to embrace and learn to live with it, or start a fight that will leave permanent wounds. The ultimate responsibility for how to handle this new situation lies entirely with you.
Living with a label and being fully aware of its importance is difficult and time consuming.
Like what the seasons are for the plants, the diagnosis is for man. It is like a forest that experiences a change of seasons as the months go by. Even if flowers and trees change color, they still stand on the same ground.
Sometimes the person may feel that the ground and the trees are the same. But as time goes on, the leaves on the trees will change color, fall and make room for others to be born. The same tree can even remain or be cut down and disappear forever. But despite all the superficial changes, one thing remains, and that is the need to always have a place where vegetation can make itself at home.
The same thing happens in the forest as within a person. The word changes the person in some ways, in others not at all. It is a part, a piece of life that differs from the rest, but there is nevertheless a deeper layer that does not change and that will always be there.
Sometimes the diagnosis can hide the person. For example, it is common to hear “she is bipolar”, “she is depressed” or “he has schizophrenia”. Such sentences are not only used incorrectly, but also promote and cement one of the major problems with mental illness – stigma.
Diagnoses are often used as if they were immutable attributes. A diagnosis is not a noun, a person is not bipolar, depressed or anorexic. People are not just diagnoses, labels or words. This does not mean that the person will become ill or stop being himself.
The diagnosis will always be attached to a face. We must not forget that the diagnosis is just a set of symptoms that tell us about the disease, not the person. It provides general information about what may have affected the victim, but does not tell anything about the person themselves.
Despite our similarities, we are all unique. We all have a name, a personality, tastes, hobbies and special qualities that set us apart from the rest. A diagnosis will never provide information about these peculiarities, which we should discover a little at a time.
A well-used diagnosis is important. It says something about the person who received it and conveys useful information on a professional level, but does not give us all the necessary information. We must never forget that behind a label there is a unique and irreplaceable face – a person who knows and who is much more than just a word.
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