That's a good point, BNLsMOM, that it's not so much the label as effective treatment and I agree. That said, I do find labels helpful (to a point at least). For 30 years, I was pretty well constantly berating myself for all kinds of things. After finally being accurately diagnosed, it was a relief of sorts. Finally, there was a name for the way I experienced life and it wasn't just me being inadequate or weak. Looking back, it was so obvious, except that I didn't know anything about bipolar, so thought that all the symptoms I experienced were just personal failings. You know, like, "why can't I just get it together?!" Well, because it's hard to get a nice steady equilibrium when you can't get off the rollercoaster because you don't realize it's a rollercoaster(!) I mean, you kind of do (when you keep plummeting into depression, you know it's not an even road and when you're hypomanic, all you can think is, "if I could only be like this all the time, maybe I could accomplish something of substance!"), but it's like beating yourself up over not being the driver/in control, when in fact you can't when undiagnosed (ie. having a label for it) and unmedicated.

So labels are good for forgiving oneself (it doesn't change the past, but it does help explain it...) and understanding how to deal with it and have a clue what's going on once in awhile(!) The downside is when people try to define you by it, especially when they're misinformed. Still, after so many many years of suffering, I'm glad there is a name that explains my wiring, you know?

(Hehe, apparently not concise today! Sorry for the ramble....)