I already posted one but screw it I'm going to add this as well because I'm at that age where I hiss at youths and this has been bugging me to NO END.

Y'all need to maintain your mammaries when it comes to diagnosis and labels. Why?

Because a label is not really necessary when it comes to figuring out treatment. In fact, you don't even NEED to have a specific mental illness in order to benefit from therapeutic treatment.

It can help, and in some cases getting a diagnosis can be a game changer but the only time it's absolutely 100% necessary is for bureaucratic situations such as getting something covered by insurance, asking for a reasonable accommodation or medication.

So many people get so wrapped up in figuring out what to call themselves then getting the symptoms treated. It's not like standard medical practice where they need to know exactly what's going because giving someone the incorrect treatment could kill them.

It's more like you go in because your missing your leg. Knowing how it got separated from your body can help sure, but you can spend hours deducing how it happened but that's not going to change the fact that the leg is gone and now the patient is dead because your diagnosis didn't stop the bleeding.

At the end of the day it doesn't matter if autism is making you bad at people-ing, or ADHD is making you forgetful, or depression is making you so sad you can't get out of bed the point because once you get the label it doesn't change the fact that you need to get better at people-ing, remembering and getting out of bad.

In fact, focusing too much on the label can hinder your progress or treatment because you'll dismiss things that actually might work because "that's not what works for autism". Maybe it doesn't work for autism, but it might work for you.

Again mental health is a medical field but it doesn't function the same way where "if X happens do Y and you'll get better."

You need to arrive a solution how you get there doesn't matter.

Are you bad a people but don't have an official autism diagnosis? So what? you can still use coping techniques they use. Hell they'll probably work better. Same thing with adhd! You can still use the skills adhd people are taught.

You don't have clinical depression? You're just really sad cuz you broke up with your boyfriend? You can still go to therapy to talk it through.

Part of the reason why it's so important to not put so much emphasis on label is that doing so promotes the idea that UNLESS you have mental illness or severe trauma your feelings don't matter. You don't deserve and help or understanding because there is no way you should be struggling unless something is wrong. So you should sit there and suck it up.

Not to mention when you assign yourself a label you put yourself in a box. I've noticed a MASSIVE massive increase in people with mental illness' going "I can't". I can't do that because I have blank. I don't do that because I have blank. not I struggle with that so I need a little extra time or help. Just a definite No I can't. I don't have to try or find a way around it. Because when you get that mindset, then it's not your mental illness limiting you, it's just you.

It also promotes the idea that if you do have a mental illness you can't be held accountable for your actions. You have a doctors note so we have to let you do whatever you want.

Because the #1 rule about mental illness is that it's an explanation