Are mental health diagnoses beneficial? Harmful? Both?

I think both and I think that sometimes when a new doctor sees that I have PTSD they tend to blame whatever issue I'm having on that DX which may or may not be the case.

I see it with lupus too. If I am feeling under the weather the docs always blame the lupus.....but.....maybe sometimes the flu is just the flu.

I just recently got an additional diagnosis (Avoidant PD) and I felt so much relief that there was a name for what's been going on with me for so many years. I did blame and punish myself for my behaviors and mistakes, and now I feel like I can see a way out of the mess of my life and have motivation to find a way to live with myself.

So in my case at least, the label was very helpful, and of course everyone has their own experiences to judge.

Up to a point. Getting a depresison diagnosis probably saved my life. A person with undiagnosed schizophrenia could become completely nonfunctional. But I'm also seeing a trend towards giving everyone's bad habits or idiocyncracies a "diagnosis." Not every kid who acts up a little has "ADHD," not everyone with poor social skills has Asperber's, and not everyone who's a little weird has a personality disorder.

I know that but it does seem to imply...it was just 'made up' by society rather than based on a condition with very obvious symptoms that was given a name. I mean the term depression is just a name given to a very real and unpleasant condition...social construct and mental condition don't seem to be quite synonymous.