Humanity & Labels

What is in a name, when it comes to diagnoses?  There are all kinds of experiences a person can have in life that run out of the ordinary.  Some of have more of these experiences and with greater intensity than others.  The placing of a label on a set of behaviors may be very useful for a doctor, but not so great for people who are trying to live life on human terms.  Labels are names that shorten conversations emensely and can create great distance from what we want to experience in connecting with life itself.   We can even forget we have a story and the label becomes our story.  It's like when a child first sees a beautiful and magical creature fluttering through the air and we label that magic- bird.  The child never sees a bird again with the same mystery and begins to label all birds- bird.  I'm not saying we are children, but that labels can be a distraction from getting at the essence of life.  I don't take medication today because someone gave me a label, I take medication because it helps me to feel safe in a world that can be quite frightening.  As a woman and victim of crimes, I see the label as a distraction from deeper truths about our culture.  They really assist medical professionals that provide me with care, but they don't do much for me.