Understanding Your Diagnosis

Some people with mental health conditions experience relief and hope when they get a diagnosis. Others may feel like a diagnosis is “just words.”

You may even feel several competing emotions at the same time—relief at having a name for the things bothering you, but fear and anger that you have an illness. You may feel that the diagnosis you received carries negative or damaging perceptions and may not want to accept it, but getting a diagnosis is a useful step in receiving effective treatment and improving your quality of life.