Who’s More Damned?
I came across a quote today in a book I’m reading (The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks) and it got me thinking.
“Who was more
On Monday I attended Ryerson University’s first ever critical mental health course for undergraduate social work students. It is taught by one of The Madvocates, Prof. Jennifer Poole and she has essentially brought our research to life in this course! It is amazing! Anyways, at the end of the class (which was on sanism) Jen asked if anyone had anything thoughts or comments about what they had learned today. For many of these students this is the first time they are learning about sanism and beginning to see how it is in our daily lives so they are processing a lot. One student through out the idea of how people feel relieved when they are diagnosed with a mental illness and that at times being undiagnosed can cause a lot of confusion and pain.
This is when the above quote comes in. When it comes to mental health not knowing and knowing can be bad and good.
Not knowing can be bad because you are unable to access resources that could help you. Not knowing can be good because you are not bound by a diagnosis.
Knowing can be good and bad for the exact same reasons as above but reversed. Good= access to treatment, and bad=bound by a diagnosis.
But why does it need a name? Depression, schizophrenia, DID? Why can’t we just accept it as an experience? It is simply because that is not how dominant society wants it to be so we because so happy when we can label our experience in the social appropriate way. But, as many of us know, with this label comes discrimination and stigma. So which is better? That is really up to you.
Posted on January 23, 2013, in Madness, Mental Health, Stigma/Discrimination and tagged diagnosis, discrimination, Jennifer Poole, knowing, label, mental health, mental illness, oliver sacks, stigma, unknown. Bookmark the permalink. 8 Comments.
Knowing, they can do just what you do – reject that diagnosis!
Ah! Great point!
Maybe knowing, so you can get educated, then realizing the diagnosed label is just a word and that everyone’s experience is unique anyway, and finally, through work and dedication to your goals, rising above it. Like, ideally speaking.
It relieved me because 1) the experience had a name I could look into, and understand slightly better 2) it had a name that created a modicum of validation beyond “just deal with it”, “grow up” etc. This doesn’t remove the stigma overall, but it can be a handy tool against the dismissive “you’re just acting out” or “oh, it’s not the bad you’re just being melodramatic” or “what did you take? Let me see your eyes!” 3) SSD/SSI in the U.S. is more likely to help you if you can give them medical documentation of a thing with a name.
The drawbacks are that most people’s natural reflex is to go “Oh, now that we know what it is, what pills can we cram down you so it goes away and your JUST LIKE US?” rather than just accept it as a different parameter or need the person with the diagnosis needs to live with. But this is often a problem for anyone who’s condition is not physically noticeable. I have a friend with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome who gets some of the same kind of grief from people who don’t know about it.
“Society” is afraid of what it doesn’t understand or is too lazy to understand. So people who consider themselves sane, think of those who are different as ‘mad’. Some see their behavior as ‘normal and acceptable’, and call those not like themselves as ‘deviant’.
I am labelled as ‘deviant’ and I am happy to yell out that fact in the proverbial market square.
Also I’m not sure, as far as being bound by a diagnosis what that means? I mean, I guess for me the symptoms existed anyway, I know all labels come with history and suppositions, so I guess “schizoaffective” is just another descriptor to me, like “left handed”, “brunette”, “mixed” etc.
That’s a really good point!
Knowing helped me to understand why I acted or responded in certain ways. But there is still that blanket of being and where to go from there. It makes the future look even hazier.