Let Go of the Labels

By the time we find our way to brain and nervous system retraining, we have often accumulated quite a few diagnoses or labels. When we are still trying to figure out what the heck is going on and going from practitioner to practitioner, it’s not uncommon that every doctor visit ends with a new label. Sometimes these diagnoses can be supportive and provide a much-needed explanation for what we are experiencing, but more often than not, they become a hinderance to our healing.

Once we have been given a label, we often start to identify with these diagnoses and all the symptoms that go along with it. There is typically also a lot of fear that comes in when we are bestowed with a new diagnosis. Instead of seeing it as simply a way that practitioners make sense of a group of symptoms, we start to see this label as who and what we are. It can become the new lens that we see ourselves through and have a big impact on our healing.

Harvard psychologist, Ellen Langer did a study on the diagnosis of prediabetes that demonstrated this to be true. In this study, she compared patients whose blood sugar levels were just below or just above the threshold that indicated prediabetes. In other words, they looked at patients whose blood work would be classified as “high normals” and were therefore given a healthy label, and those that would be considered “low prediabetics” and were therefore given a scary label.

Langer also consulted with several endocrinologists about the difference between “high normals” and “low prediabetics.” All of the endocrinologists agreed that there is no relevant difference between an A1c of 5.6% vs 5.7%. However, standard medical practice is to label patients with an A1c of 5.6% as normal and those with 5.7% or higher, as prediabetic.

The really interesting thing is that the medical trajectories of the two groups was very different, even though all of the endocrinologists agreed that there is no significant difference between an A1c of 5.6% and an A1c of 5.7%.The patients that had been labeled as prediabetic ended up having significantly higher blood sugar values over time than those that had been labeled as “high normal.” Seemingly indicating that the label had a big impact on developing diabetes over time or not. While there might not be a significant medical difference between 5.6% and 5.7%, there is a big psychological difference between being given a healthy label of “high normal” vs the scary label of “prediabetic.”

You might be thinking that the likelihood of developing diabetes increases in a linear fashion along with each increase in a patient’s A1c, no matter how small. Langer looked at this too and compared patients whose A1c was 5.5% and patients whose A1c was 5.6%. Both groups fall into the healthy label of “high normal” and both groups tended to stay in the normal range and were far less likely to develop diabetes over time. She also looked at patients with scores of 5.7% vs 5.8% and the exact number seemed to be irrelevant when looking at the tendency to eventually develop diabetes. What matter was the scary label of “prediabetic.”  

Are there labels that you have been given that you are still identifying with? Or do you label yourself as sick, weak, unwell or broken? Those labels matter and can have a big impact on your mindset and your health. Letting go of those labels, even if they are an accurate representation of where we are currently at, can be a game changer. Try stepping into a new healthy label instead. Plant those seeds in your brain instead.

Want to learn more about letting go of labels and other things you can do to support your recovery?

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