Quillette Narrated No, You Don’t Have a Disorder, You Have Feelings
Oct 3, 2025
The discussion dives into how labeling normal feelings as disorders can trap individuals in limiting narratives. Experts argue that normal emotional responses, like anxiety, shouldn't be medicalized. A therapist's case illustrates how reframing stress as a natural reaction can foster resilience. The conversation highlights the power of psychedelics in breaking unhelpful self-narratives and emphasizes that personal growth often comes from perspective shifts, rather than strict medical diagnoses.
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Medicalization Fuels Perceived Epidemic
- Medicalizing normal unhappiness makes people see ordinary stress as illness.
- Increasing mental-health resources can entrench the perception of widespread pathology.
Diagnosis Can Limit Identity
- Treating normal emotions as disease offers people a limiting, disempowering self-understanding.
- That narrative can encourage being stuck in a sick role rather than resilience.
Student Mistakes Nervousness For Incapacity
- A college student had a panic-like reaction during an exam but completed it successfully.
- She later refused a second exam because the diagnosis framed the first event as proof of illness.
