IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT DIAGNOSIS
Linguistics is a very powerful tool. While researching the mental health space, I’ve noticed how words impact patients. When patients are able to verbalize what they are going through and there is a common language for the doctor and patient to communicate with – it’s much easier.
There’s been a huge focus on diagnosis – but in reality, it’s not all about diagnosis. Diagnosis and the language around it is just a medium, the spoken word, for the doctor and patient to communicate. Parameters for diagnoses change all the time – they are not set in tone and researchers are constantly changing what each are.
Having a name for a symptom (ie. mania) or a viewpoint (ie. neurodiversity) gives relief to a patient because they are able to identify with its meaning. It signals to them that someone else understands them, someone else also has it and that they are not alone, and there are studies around it through which researchers have given these “things” a name.
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