I've always hated labels. I never liked being categorized as a punk, or a raver, or a hip-hopper or whatever phase I was going through at the time.

I've generally avoided putting logos on my body. Shouldn't companies be paying me to advertise for them as opposed to the other way round?

This is true for me in medicine too. I hate diagnoses or medical labels. I know. I'm a doctor. I get you might think that is weird. I'll try to explain.

Doctors run tests so they can find a label to attach to your group of symptoms which becomes nothing more than a code in their charts. But what do names like chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia mean? Nothing more than the symptoms they describe.

You’re tired all the time and you have muscle pain. But didn't you already know that?

What about irritable bowel syndrome (IBS – which I prefer to call IBStress). Yep. Darn tooting (often literally) you already know this. What about atopic dermatitis? A skin inflammation due to an immune response. Great.

So what?

Knowing the label means the doctors can open their books and give you the proper drug for that disease. But this is utterly disrespectful to the body’s natural wisdom and inherent healing ability, what my naturopathic colleagues and I call the Vis Medicatrix Naturae.

What if you believed that your body had built in guidance system? What if you considered your symptoms as your body’s way of getting your attention?

But there are three problems

1. We're often not listening to the messages our bodies are trying to tell us.

2. We have no idea what the messages mean.

3. We get the message but feel resistant to the change.

I believe our emotional, mental, and physical symptoms are the way our bodies tell us that something in our life isn't working or going well.

Symptoms are just signals. They are the body saying “Hey! I need your care and focus over here.”

It could be the food we’re eating (or not eating), or the sleep you’re not getting. It could be the toxins in your cosmetics, personal care products, or your food. It could be your heart break, the stress of the job you don't love, or past traumas that are still haunting you. Ooh yeeah. These count too. It could be your beliefs or perceptions about your personal safety in the world. Or the water you’re drinking or not drinking. They way you’re moving or not moving your body.

The medical label or diagnosis ignores all of these legitimate possibilities.

Don’t be satisfied with the label. It’s not enough. Knowing it won’t cure you or heal you.

But what will?

Understanding the root causes of dis-ease and attentive acts of self care. There is nothing more holy or sacred than looking after yourself.

This involves conscious decisions about:

• What you eat and drink

• How you sleep

• The air you breathe

• How you wiggle around in this skin costume.

• Stress reduction, and

• Choosing a quiet practice that is just for you.

Labels paralyze. They stigmatize your prognosis, stagnate your energy, and limit your healing. With a label you become reliant on the cure. What if there is no cure to fix that label? Then you live a life suffering under that name. But at least you know the name, right?

Hog wash. The name doesn't matter. Getting the body back into balance does. “Well I have been diagnosed with... the doctors say I’ll have it forever.”

If you believe that, then it will be so.

If that morbid prognosis of being sick for eternity is true, then why do my patients come to me after years of suffering and their symptoms start to go away once we access or tonify the Vis? It’s not because we are introducing a medication to suppress the symptoms but because we’re giving the body the circumstance it needs to heal itself. I assert that you do not need a label to heal. 

To reiterate your body knows how to heal – and in fact wants to. And to be honest your symptoms are actually your body’s response to the causative factors (some mentioned above) to bring you back into balance.

So if we focus less on labels and more on how we can support and invigorate the Vis Medicatrix Naturae (the innate healing power that exists with in all organisms) the body will heal (which means to be whole).

De-emphasizing labels is liberating, empowering, and action-focused.

Skin rash?

Removing an offensive food will decrease the immune reactivity.

Fertility issues?

Cleansing and detoxifying the body will restore the natural rhythm and maximize egg health.

Tired and stressed all the time?

Then rest and change or remove the factors that are causing you tension.

Yes, removing labels does demand more accountability, but you truly are your body’s best interpreter if you stop to listen.

Taking control of your own health based on your body’s unique wisdom and guidance is the only sustainable option that will create lasting cure and happiness.

I want you living a healthy thriving delightful life – so stop focusing on the problem, drop the attachment to the label and start focusing on how you can get your body back into balance. If you need guidance, I can help. I have the tools to facilitate the rehabilitation of your Vis so it can do it's job and heal you.

So yeah. That’s why I hate labels.

I get this article might have stirred the pot. I'm open to hearing your thoughts in the comments below.

In the mean time, I'll sign off with a (gluten-free) toast to your delightful life!
Dr. Tonia