I Just Received a Mental Health Diagnosis: Now What?
- Sandra Wartski, Psy.D.
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
10 tools for handling the next best steps after a mental health diagnosis
Key points
Receiving a mental health diagnosis often comes with a multitude of feelings and responses.
Allowing time to pause, having patience, and asking for support can help.
A diagnosis can be the start of traveling the roads of life more effectively.
Most mental health providers utilize the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) as a reference for classifying and coding symptoms. This manual is updated at regular intervals (the most recent version being the DSM-5-TR) in an attempt to provide a standardized way to diagnose mental health conditions and establish a common language.
Diagnoses can assist in increasing understanding; they are not designed to be critical, limiting, or over-pathologizing. Diagnostic criteria are ever-evolving, often imperfect, and sometimes controversial, but the advantages of having a diagnosis can range from getting insurance coverage for treatment to allowing the formalization of accommodations in various settings.
Receiving a mental health diagnosis for yourself or someone you care about can bring on a flood of emotions. Depending on the situation, feelings may include shock, relief, confirmation, confusion, disbelief, and even anger. It is normal to notice a variety of reactions, especially at first; hopefully, however, there can also eventually be a readiness for figuring out the next best steps.
Here are 10 steps for better coping that utilize a series of road and driving metaphors:
Pausing in the Breakdown Lane
Just as when someone pulls over into the breakdown lane to check on an engine light or attend to a crying baby, getting a new diagnosis might require pulling over into the breakdown lane to allow for some moments to reorient. It can be like an emotional flat tire that needs attention. The sudden need to integrate new information and recenter around new routines may not be convenient or planned, but different actions might be needed nonetheless. Pausing, crying, and taking a breath before getting back on the road is absolutely valid and legitimate.
Eyes Adjusting to the Dark
When we are in the dark trying to find our keys or locate a door handle, we might be disoriented and confused at first. But then, slowly, we begin to see shapes and outlines again. Our eyes and brains need some time to adjust to the dark.
Receiving a mental health diagnosis, especially if it's unexpected, can feel like the lights have been turned off temporarily. Allowing ourselves some adjustment and acceptance time is crucial. Visual acuity will return, though new lenses may be needed to adequately perceive different hues and to effectively navigate through new thoroughfares.
Studying the Map
A new diagnosis provides some overview of the roadways, entrances, and exits. We might need to better understand where the bridges, detours, or road closures are at this current point on our “map.”
Learning about our own mental health diagnosis in a curious, compassionate way can provide us with an avenue for more growth and learning. The more we know, the more we grow. And while social media influencers and TikTok videos might help us feel less alone in the journey, maintaining a critical consumer attitude is highly recommended. Finding reliable, science-based information is important.
Getting Navigational Guidance
Mental health conditions, from ADHD to Zoophobia (fear of non-human animals), are better managed with guidance, especially in the beginning. Mental health providers can provide information about best paths and ideal itineraries given one’s specific situation. Clinicians can help suggest alternative routes or additional tools that might be needed to travel more effectively along the roads. Knowledge is power and gaining new understanding on how to proceed more effectively can be instrumental.
Finding Our Lane
We all belong on the road, no matter what particular challenges or setbacks might periodically occur. We shouldn’t all be driving in the fast lane; we need to find our own right paths. There may have been confusion in the past about why others seem to have been able to pass along different roads so easily, but awareness of patterns can assist in honoring our needs. Different is not bad, and diagnoses don’t need to be damaging dead ends.
Trusting the Engine at Its Core
A diagnosis is not a synopsis of who we are. It can be information that might hopefully provide some insight about what is going on, where to possibly remediate, and how to accommodate. The goal is not assimilation.
Just as car engines might vary in style, size, and technological advancement, they are still all built to help a car mobilize. Humans are still humans, no matter what set of emotional or behavioral patterns is present. And all humans deserve respect and support in their journey through life.
Consider Displaying Those Bumper Stickers
Unlike getting a new medical diagnosis, a mental health diagnosis sometimes has more mystery, stigma, or misunderstanding surrounding it. Individuals are sometimes more hesitant to speak with family and friends about this than they might be about a medical issue, but sharing more openly can often be helpful. Telling trusted friends or family members what is going on for you can help them better support you.
Using the Horn as Needed
We may highly value independence and solo coping, but asking for assistance is a strength. No one can read our minds or automatically know when we need more support, so asking clearly and directly is imperative. And even though proactive or preventative “tapping lightly on the horn” would be ideal, using full-force “horn-beeping” in times of crisis or overwhelm is warranted as well.
Using Rest Stops
Working on recovery steps with a mental health condition takes work and can work, but individuals also need rest and times of simply engaging in regular life activities. Supporting time to rest and reset, separate from active therapeutic intervention, is invaluable. We need time to focus on what is strong and not just on what feels wrong.
Honoring the Unknown
We may not know what is around the bend, whether a rainstorm might impact our speed, or if a traffic jam may befall us. But we can keep going despite the unknown. It’s impossible to prepare for all the possible bumps and potholes we will encounter in the miles ahead, but we can aim to trust in the fact that we will figure it out.
