I think there is a tendency to assume that once we can label something, we can understand it, manage it and somehow automatically, or at least eventually, "fix" it. Labels help us make sense of things that otherwise don't, and help us to fit things in our worlds into boxes or categories. Labels have their place of course, and sometimes without them it can be hard to access the resources and assistance that we need. Increasingly I am disillusioned by them though, as one size just doesn't fit all when it comes to mental illness or many other aspects of life, and i think the greatest shame is that a label can sometimes determine the path that is taken, even when all of the evidence points against that path being successful.
Maddog
