# Potential Hazards of the Disorder Label, and Viewing Problems as Interconnected



## Pyrite (Mar 25, 2014)

One of the easiest ways to change how people react to something is to change the wording, which is why euphemisms exist.

Disorder is a word that has a large impact on how people handle an issue their dealing with, generally by making them less proactive about fixing it. The most likely reason is simply that people associate the word disorder with physical aliments outside of their control that occur spontaneously and exist as their own isolated issue.The issue is when the term disorder is applied to problems that people do have a level of control over and can fix. *A study was done on a group of obese people, one group was given articles that stated obesity was a disorder, the other was not. They were then given various situations where they had the option to make health conscious choices, such as picking a meal with the calorie amount displayed. Those told obesity was a disorder were substantially less likely to make healthy choices over all.

You can take this same concept and apply it to other situations, like social anxiety disorder, for example. Are their cases where people have a legitimate disorder? Yes. But social anxiety is also a natural response to certain stressful circumstances, which would make this situation the more common one. A person who's told they have a social anxiety disorder and someone who believes they have a fear to overcome are going to approach the situation in different ways.

Point is, if you have an issue, labeling yourself as having a specific disorder without a very good reason, then it is likely to be a hindrance.

Labeling issues as specific disorders, brings up another issue; it encourages compartmentalizing problems. The body and mind are a complex system, and any part of that system has an influence over all the others. Labeling something like social anxiety a disorder encourages us to isolate it from the system and treat it as a standalone issue. In reality, it likely has strong connections to other issues like low-self esteem, toxic shame, codependency, and bad experiences with socializing, or simply not enough of it. By isolating the concept of social anxiety with the label of disorder, people are less likely to make connections with it to other aspects of their life which could drastically slow improvement.

So, if you are going to use the term disorder, use it with great care, and be sure to view all aspects of your as being linked.

I found the report I mentioned: http://www.psypost.org/2014/04/thinking-obesity-is-a-disease-makes-you-more-likely-to-eat-high-calorie-foods-study-finds-24587


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## Pyrite (Mar 25, 2014)

Bump


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## *Dreamer* (Feb 18, 2014)

*Something is a disorder if it significantly interferes with social and occupational functioning -- that is why it is called a disorder.* DP/DR can be as debilitating as any medical disorder (depending on severity). People cannot function, fail out of school, do poorly in school, cannot pursue the career they wish, cannot sustain healthy relationships. When something is out of homeostasis -- out of balance -- there is clearly something wrong.

There are other terms such as syndrome, disease, etc. They are generally interchangeable, but are not always interchangeable. 
I would prefer that DP/DR be named after the man who first wrote of it ... call it Amiel Syndrome.

Parkinson's and Alzheimer's *disease* (they are progressive and tend to lead towards dementia and increasing disability over time). Obsessive Compulsive* Disorder* -- it is a real neurological disorder that can keep a person from functioning and is a life-long condition.

There ARE separate conditions, and it is important to know the difference between them as it dictates the therapeutic approach to treating the problem. If you don't "label" something, how do you know what another researcher/doctor/patient is referring to.

It is the language of mental illness that exists now. It is the short hand that exists now. And these things evolve.

DP used to be called "depersonalization neurosis" ... I personally prefer disorder, feel no shame that I have it, and deal with it as best I can. I thank God I know the name of this as I went for a very long time saying I "felt weird." That is not a useful way to convey a diagnosis.


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## Pyrite (Mar 25, 2014)

*Dreamer* said:


> *Something is a disorder if it significantly interferes with social and occupational functioning -- that is why it is called a disorder.* DP/DR can be as debilitating as any medical disorder (depending on severity). People cannot function, fail out of school, do poorly in school, cannot pursue the career they wish, cannot sustain healthy relationships. When something is out of homeostasis -- out of balance -- there is clearly something wrong.
> 
> There are other terms such as syndrome, disease, etc. They are generally interchangeable, but are not always interchangeable.
> I would prefer that DP/DR be named after the man who first wrote of it ... call it Amiel Syndrome.
> ...


I'm not arguing that disorders don't exist, but the way people perceive the word and how it influences their actions can be to their detriment. In this situation I'm talking about the sake of the patients, I'm not saying that the scientific community should stop using the term disorder.

The reality is that a patient can be adversely effected by having the word disorder applied to them, which would hamper their ability to recover as the study is showing. I feel like the term disorder needs to be used with greater restraint then it is when dealing with patients.


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