Understanding Diagnosis: More Than Just a Label
“If you're viewed only through the lens of your trauma, you can forget you have other gifts you can provide to the world.”
Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman
We all have moments when life feels heavy, sometimes it’s a passing cloud, other times it’s a storm that lingers. Along the way, you might come across a checklist for anxiety, hear a podcast about ADHD, or read a post about depression and think:
“That’s just like me.”
It’s a natural, most of us will recognise pieces of themselves in these lists. Human experiences overlap, we all feel stressed, sad, or restless sometimes.
In mental health, it’s not only about whether we’ve felt something, it’s about how much it’s affecting us and whether it’s getting in the way of us living the life we want.
What Makes a Diagnosis?
A diagnosis isn’t just “having symptoms,” it’s about whether those symptoms reach a point where they become:
Persistent – lasting for weeks, months, or longer.
Pervasive – showing up in more than one part of your life (e.g., home, school, work, relationships).
Problematic – causing distress or impacting your daily functioning (e.g., making it harder to concentrate, connect with others, or care for ourselves).
Frameworks like the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5-TR) and International Classification of Disease (ICD-11), along with the WHO International Classification of Functioning (ICF), guide clinicians to look not only at symptoms and but also at the functional impact. Things like communication, learning, self-care, and how we opperate and participate in the community. Research shows even subthreshold symptoms (where criteria are almost met) can cause significant distress and impair someone’s day to day life.
The Volume Dial
Think of your mind as a radio. We all experience some “static”, stress before an exam, sadness after a loss, restlessness when we’re bored. The problems can arise when the static becomes so loud that it drowns out the “music” of life. When the static is loud that it interferes with our relationships, learning, or joy. That’s when we look more closely at whether a diagnosis might help explain what’s happening and guide us as to what steps we need to take next.
Why Diagnosis Can Help
A diagnosis can act as:
A map – providing language and direction for evidence-based treatment planning.
A key – unlocking access to workplace/school adjustments, NDIS funding, or to the medication that can help.
A bridge – helping you explain your experience and needs to others.
A diagnosis is not:
The full story of who you are.
A life sentence.
A box you have to stay inside.
Different Lenses on Diagnosis
Psychologists may draw from multiple perspectives:
Medical lens – counts symptoms, checks duration, and tries to rule out other causes.
Functional lens – focuses on how the challenges we face can impact us in the real-world life (e.g. - self-care, work, study, and relationships).
Cultural lens – acknowledges that “health” and “function” look different across communities (e.g., Australian Indigenous Social and Emotional Wellbeing model).
Lived-experience lens – recognises that a our traits and differences can be part of natural human diversity.
Trauma-informed lens – understands that what looks like “symptoms” may be survival skills learned from past challenges.
What if I Don’t Meet the Threshold?
Not meeting formal criteria doesn’t mean your experiences aren’t valid or worthy of support. There are still things to be gained, therapy or help can focus on:
Building coping and emotional regulation skills to help you handle stress more effectively.
Adjusting environments at work, school, or home to make life more sustainable.
Helping you strengthen your support networks so you have people and systems that help you thrive.
Using positive psychology and strength-based approaches to identify and grow the things that are already working well for you, such as resilience, creativity, problem-solving, or connection, to enhance your wellbeing.
In these cases, therapy isn’t just about reducing distress; it’s about improving quality of life, fostering personal growth, and helping you live more in line with your values.
Research shows early support, even without a diagnosis can reduce the likelihood of symptoms becoming more severe, and strength-based interventions can increase life satisfaction, optimism, and overall.
You Don’t Need a Diagnosis to Start Therapy
Therapy isn’t only for people who meet a formal diagnostic threshold. It can help with:
Help you understand patterns in your thoughts, emotions, and behaviours.
Provide strategies to manage “traits” that may be distressing or limiting.
Improve quality of life, whether or not you meet diagnostic criteria.
Many people seek therapy simply because they want to feel better, navigate a life change, or understand themselves more deeply.
The Takeaway
We all have pages in our story where certain feelings or behaviours take the spotlight.
A diagnosis can try to name the chapter, but it’s never the whole book. Whether or not you meet the formal threshold, your life is still your own.
