You Are Not Your Diagnosis
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A diagnosis can be a powerful thing. It can give you answers and clarity, but it can also be limiting. Too often, a diagnosis becomes a label that tells us who we are, what we can do, and how we should live. In reality, it’s only a starting point. If we take control of the narrative, reframe our diagnosis and shift our focus to empowerment and growth, it can become something that helps us live fuller lives.
The Limiting Nature of Labels
Labels are powerful because they create expectations and define us in ways that may or may not be accurate. For example, when someone is diagnosed with an anxiety disorder or depression, they may start to believe that their life will always be consumed by these conditions. In reality, this isn't necessarily true; many people with mental health conditions are able to manage them and lead successful lives.
The same is applied to physical injuries or other medical diagnoses such as back or knee pain. Some doctors may give you a diagnosis but rather than improving with time and proper movement, those diagnoses can make patients stop moving altogether, resulting in multiple health issues or worse yet, surgery later on down the pipeline.
You are not any of your conditions or diagnoses: you are the sum of all your parts. The diagnosis cannot take over everything about you.
Reframing for Empowerment
When we reframe our diagnoses from labels to opportunities for growth and self-discovery, it shifts our focus away from the negative aspects of our conditions towards more positive ones. We stop seeing ourselves as victims or prisoners of our illnesses and start seeing ourselves as capable individuals who have the power to make choices about how we want to live with them.
Let's say someone comes to me, they have back problems and they made sure that I knew it so I can train them properly and they make it a point to work on their backs every day, tirelessly pushing themselves to get stronger. They don’t just try once or twice, they do it every single day over and over again until it’s second nature for them.
In about a month or less, my clients find that their pain has diminished; all they needed was steady exercise done correctly — and they made extreme improvements!
Breaking Away From Stereotypes
Muhammad Ali was told back in the day that his boxing technique was wrong. He ends up being the biggest, baddest dude out there, knocking everybody out. But in the beginning, his critics told him he was boxing incorrectly. This proves that you don’t have to listen to these inputs. I've never really been that interested in doing something the same way that everybody else does it. I'd rather advance the technique, not work nearly as hard, and still beat the pants off everybody anyways.
Your diagnosis doesn't have to define you—you get to define yourself! By focusing on empowerment instead of limitation and shifting the narrative around your diagnosis from an external label into an opportunity for growth and self-discovery, you can take back control of your life story and write a new one full of hope and possibility! No matter where you are on your journey toward recovery, remember that it is possible to achieve greater well-being through self-reflection and actionable steps taken each day. You are not defined by your diagnosis—you are defined by how you choose to respond to it!
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