Are We Treating the Person or the Label?

Have you ever wondered how many prescriptions are written, not for the person sitting across from us, but for the diagnosis they’ve been assigned?

This question has been on my mind since a course I attended recently – a course that felt deeply personal to me, touching on themes that align with my heart and purpose.

I’ll share more about the course in a future post, but today, I want to explore one idea that has stuck with me ever since.

It’s an idea that challenges the way we approach mental health care. It’s an invitation to rethink what it truly means to help someone heal.

The Problem with Quick Fixes

Picture this: A young woman sits in your office. She’s anxious. Restless. Her thoughts spiral, and sleep feels like a distant memory.

It’s easy to focus on the symptoms. To give it a name: anxiety. To offer a solution: medication.

But what if the anxiety is not the whole story? What if the symptoms are just the surface of something deeper?

This is what the course made me realize. In our rush to categorize and treat, we risk missing the person behind the symptoms. We risk silencing the story their discomfort is trying to tell.

The Story That Hit Me Hard

During the course, a speaker shared a case that felt like a wake – up call.

A young man had been prescribed several medications for severe anxiety. The pills helped, at first. His panic attacks became less intense. His mind felt quieter.

But over time, something else happened. He began to feel numb. Disconnected. He struggled to find joy in the things he once loved.

It turned out his anxiety wasn’t the root problem. It was a symptom of something deeper – a profound sense of disconnection. From his family. From his purpose. From himself.

The medications masked his pain but didn’t address its cause. And as long as the root issue remained unexamined, true healing was out of reach.

Are We Too Uncomfortable with Discomfort?

In a world that celebrates instant fixes, discomfort is almost taboo. We don’t like to sit with it. We don’t like to let others sit with it.

When someone says, “I’m struggling,” the instinct is to fix. To offer advice. To find a solution.

But discomfort has value. It’s a signal. A teacher. It often points us toward what we need to change, confront, or embrace.

Yet, we’ve become so focused on avoiding pain that we sometimes forget to ask: What is this pain trying to tell us?

The Risk of Over-Medicalization

This isn’t to say that medication is bad. Far from it. Medications can be life – changing for people facing severe mental health challenges.

But when we medicalize normal emotional pain—when we pathologize every moment of sadness, stress, or fear—we lose something important.

We lose the opportunity to grow through adversity. To build resilience. To learn that it’s okay to feel uncomfortable sometimes.

Over – medicalization doesn’t just strain our healthcare systems.

It can also disempower individuals. It can send the message that they need fixing when, in reality, they might need understanding, connection, or time.

A Different Way Forward

What if we shifted our focus?

Instead of asking, “What’s wrong with this person?” what if we asked, “What happened to this person?”

Instead of trying to silence every symptom, what if we listened to what the symptoms are saying?

This approach takes time. It takes patience. It requires us to sit with discomfort—our own and others’. But it’s also where true healing begins.

An Invitation to Reflect

I left the course with more questions than answers, but perhaps that’s the point.

Are we, as a society, losing the ability to sit with discomfort? Are we too quick to reach for a diagnosis, a pill, or a label?

And if so, what are we missing?

I challenge you to think about this in your own life. The next time you feel discomfort—whether it’s anxiety, sadness, or stress—pause. Listen. Ask yourself: What is this feeling trying to tell me?

And if you’re supporting someone else through a difficult time, consider this: Are they looking for a solution, or do they simply need to feel seen and heard?

Mental health is complex. There are no easy answers. But I believe the way forward lies in asking better questions.

So here’s mine: Are we treating the person, or are we treating the label?

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Have you noticed this tension in your own life or work? Let’s explore it together.