Over a year ago I posted on this blog about Depersonalisation Disorder. I said that I thought it unnecessary to have a name for something which was in essence just a symptom of anxiety. I was continuing an argument I had made elsewhere on this site about the endless anxiety terminology which is trotted out for no earthly purpose. I stand by every word I say but I want to clarify a few things.
1. Terminology can be unhelpful because when people start to feel they have "got something" rather than "feeling a certain way" they can get into a more negative mindset. It can lead to the belief that what they have is more concrete and unmovable than it is. After all, generally speaking, people believe they have anxiety because they feel it, and feel it because they believe they will. It is of course a circle.
2. For some people psychological symptoms are caused by identifiable problems (which may be physical). For some people giving a name to that condition can be very beneficial. It can make them feel like they are somewhat understood by the medical profession, and it can make them feel like they are personally less responsible for how they are feeling. In this case, terminology can be a good thing.
3. That said, people do need to be aware of their own responsibility to tackle there issues. Presenting yourself to a doctor as you might with say a throat infection and saying "cure me" is not really an option. Although others can help you a lot, as is discussed elsewhere in this site, a majority of the work comes from you. Focusing on the names given to disorders to me seems to be focus too much on treatment from outside. I think everyone is a bit different and needs to find their own way.
4. It was not, is not and never has been my intention to try to belittle anyone else’s problems. I am the last person in the world who would want to do that. I know from bitter experience that it is the most annoying thing to hear people say "it is all in your mind, get over it". It was not my intention to say that at all. I was trying to say that rather than break things down into different syndromes and conditions we should concentrate on getting better, and in my experience that involves looking at the whole picture of our lives, not just specific symptoms. That, in a somewhat ham-fisted way, is what I was trying to say when I said Depersonalisation Disorder didn’t exist. Sorry if I caused some offence.
I agree