Is Labeling Someone Diagnostically Potentially Damaging?

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Is labeling somone diagnostically potentially damaging in psychology?

I wonder now though how to move the post.. Should it be elsewhere?

No need to move it that I can see.

I think that each person is different, and a label may make some people feel better while others are distressed. A lot of it probably has to do with maturity. A young person may find that the label only accentuates the degree of difference between him and his peers and leads to self-pity, whereas someone older may find that the label helps them understand, accept and deal with their situation.

Personally, getting an official diagnosis was (at age 39) probably one of the most liberating events of my life. My neurology didn't magically improve, but most of the fear and stress I had been experiencing over my mental health went away because I was able to take inventory of my behavior and figure out what was attributable to Asperger Syndrome or ADHD and what was just my natural personality. Before my diagnosis there were times when I was really scared because I knew there was something wrong in my head but didn't know what it was. Without a diagnosis all you have is "crazy" and that's not fun.

Labeling someone is not bad if you come to a decent conclusion about why you do. If you have no idea why or you are wrong, then it's not a good idea.

It does more good than harm; at least it did for me.

I'd much rather know exactly what's wrong with me, and risk thinking of myself in terms of "Aspie"--which isn't even a negative term to me--than be forever wondering whether it's simply a character issue, and I just want to be a drag on the world's patience.

That's one of my greatest fears--that my problems simply stem from my not trying hard enough--because I don't know how to try harder. A diagnosis gives me some hope that a.) It really isn't my fault that I can't try as hard as others, and b.) a known problem implies a known solution.