In the United States context, there seems to be a reticence on the part of healthcare professionals to even discuss diagnoses for mental health conditions with patients/clients. I think it is worth asking what the interpretive role a diagnosis could and should have in a patient's/client's mental health journey. As you are aware, Elliott, there is much diversity in how a diagnosis enters a patient's/client's interpretive schema. This interpretive diversity is also the case with physical health conditions. Thus, I argue, that healthcare professionals need to discuss with patients/clients not only what their diagnosis is but also how the patient/client is coming to understand the significance of a diagnosis in their own lifeworld.
I have a few things going on at once and strange life circumstances, so it gets hard to know what comes from what, and doctors all point at each other. If I go check my fibromyalgia, they say it's my thyroid, I go check my thyroid, they say it's my narcolepsy, I go check my narcolepsy, they say it´s my depression... and so forth. That and the fact that my therapist thinks every symptom is about my mental health, but doesn't like labels, so won't diagnose me, kinda drove me mad to the point I gave up trying to figure things out and just go with survival strategies...
"Fortunately" for me the mind/body connection of a combined ADHD diagnosed as an adult was super obvious - morning one of a prescribed stimulant was like "ooohhhhh". It caused me to reflect on how much I loved doing all kinds of martial arts as a kid - regular time to fight, yell, etc was profoundly helpful in so many ways. On comorbidity though, still not sure if just poorly socialised as a result of ADHD and/or actually autistic - trying to understand it frustratingly concludes in it kinda doesn't matter either way I need to figure out the normy's games if I interact with them.
In the United States context, there seems to be a reticence on the part of healthcare professionals to even discuss diagnoses for mental health conditions with patients/clients. I think it is worth asking what the interpretive role a diagnosis could and should have in a patient's/client's mental health journey. As you are aware, Elliott, there is much diversity in how a diagnosis enters a patient's/client's interpretive schema. This interpretive diversity is also the case with physical health conditions. Thus, I argue, that healthcare professionals need to discuss with patients/clients not only what their diagnosis is but also how the patient/client is coming to understand the significance of a diagnosis in their own lifeworld.
I have a few things going on at once and strange life circumstances, so it gets hard to know what comes from what, and doctors all point at each other. If I go check my fibromyalgia, they say it's my thyroid, I go check my thyroid, they say it's my narcolepsy, I go check my narcolepsy, they say it´s my depression... and so forth. That and the fact that my therapist thinks every symptom is about my mental health, but doesn't like labels, so won't diagnose me, kinda drove me mad to the point I gave up trying to figure things out and just go with survival strategies...
"Fortunately" for me the mind/body connection of a combined ADHD diagnosed as an adult was super obvious - morning one of a prescribed stimulant was like "ooohhhhh". It caused me to reflect on how much I loved doing all kinds of martial arts as a kid - regular time to fight, yell, etc was profoundly helpful in so many ways. On comorbidity though, still not sure if just poorly socialised as a result of ADHD and/or actually autistic - trying to understand it frustratingly concludes in it kinda doesn't matter either way I need to figure out the normy's games if I interact with them.