The Rise of Self-Pathologizing
Photo by Hugo Miguel on Unsplash
Therapy, psychology, and wellness have become hot topics on social media in recent years. While it’s truly wonderful that we are becoming more and more open to destigmatizing previously taboo topics, it can also come with a downside: chronic self-pathologizing.
Self-pathologizing is the act of diagnosing or labeling oneself with mental health issues without proper evaluation. It assumes some sort of deficit in the individual without considering nuances of the individual’s past experiences or environmental factors. It makes sense that it would feel validating to find a label that fits our symptoms, as our brains love categorization and fitting us into neat boxes. However, it can also lead us down a path of self-limitation and unnecessary distress.
The following are some examples of assumptions we might make when we oversimplify ourselves through self-pathologization and alternatives that could explain our symptoms:
Self-pathologizing assumption: I have ADHD because I have trouble focusing at work
Potential non-pathologizing explanations:
-I’m uninterested in my job, leading to parts of me wanting to divert my attention to things that interest me.
-I’m operating in a highly stressful work environment, making it difficult to self-regulate and focus on the task at hand.
-My phone/tech has become a habitual distraction, making it hard for my brain to focus on anything else
Self-pathologizing assumption: I have OCD because I like keeping things organized, and I get anxious if anything is out of place
Potential non-pathologizing alternatives:
-Keeping things organized helps me to feel calm and safe in my space
-Things in my life feel out of control, and keeping things tidy helps me to feel in control
-Tidiness was instilled in me growing up, leading me to have a strong proclivity for cleanliness
Self-pathologizing assumption: I have an anxious attachment style because I’m worried about my partner leaving me
Potential non-pathologizing alternatives:
-My partner is acting as though they want to leave the relationship.
-I’m experiencing stress in other areas of my life, and it’s being projected onto my relationship.
-My last partner ended the relationship abruptly, leaving me hypersensitive to the possibility of my current partner leaving.
It might indeed be true that certain labels or diagnoses validate your particular experience. If this is truly the case, I would challenge you to ask yourself what this label does for you, making sure that you are not leaving curiosity at the door whenever a label resonates. It’s beneficial to engage in a discussion with someone who can help you break down the nuance of your individual experience and better make sense of it rather than prematurely jumping to conclusions and identifying with a label that could not possibly encompass the multitude of possibilities inherent in one’s lived experience.