Little is scarier than finding yourself sitting in a cold doctor’s office, biting your fingernails, stomach in knots, waiting for your diagnosis. Per usual, the doctor walks in the room 25 minutes behind schedule, plops his butt on the swivel chair with no arms, and informs you that you have _____ (insert medical diagnosis with a long name you can’t pronounce and have never even heard of before).
Yikes. Sounds nerve-racking, but what is a medical diagnosis anyways? A diagnosis is simply a name given to a group of signs and symptoms. Symptoms are what you feel or experience and signs are what the doctor finds when s/he examines your body, labs, and imaging. A diagnosis isn’t a thing that you put in your pocket and walk out with. It’s not something you own, it’s not a badge of honor, and it does not define you.
You are not hypothyroidism. You are not anxiety. You are not IBS. It’s just a name given to a collection of signs and symptoms your body is experiencing at the same time.
Yes, a diagnosis can be helpful. If you walk into my office with a diagnosis of hypothyroidism, I have a pretty good idea what your body is experiencing. You might have diarrhea, hair loss, cold intolerance, weight gain, etc. But that’s it. It’s a title that helps us define what you’re experiencing. On that note, I also see that people often misunderstand or are incorrectly given a diagnosis.
A well-known saying in the naturopathic community is: “We treat* people, not disease”. This is what it’s all about. If two people present with the same diagnosis, it’s almost guaranteed that they do not receive the same recommendations. Your journey is not the same as the person next to you in the waiting room, and you deserve to be supported like an individual with a unique story. At the end of the day, the diagnosis doesn’t really matter. When the root cause of dis-ease is addressed, symptoms disappear, and so does your diagnosis.
Remember, you don’t own the diagnosis. It does not define you. You’re so much more than a collection of signs and symptoms. Whew!
Now you’re ready for step 2: Finding the root-cause!
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*Because Dr. Morris supports her clients in an unlicensed state, she does not “treat” her clients. She provides education based on scientific literature.