Why labelling should only be done by the individual and only as temporary boxes

From a humanist perspective, labelling is only safe and useful when it’s chosen by the individual — and even then, it should be held lightly, as a temporary container rather than a fixed identity.

• Ownership of meaning: When someone names their own experience, the label becomes empowering (“I feel anxious,” “I’m grieving”). When imposed from outside, it strips them of agency.

• Boxes, not prisons: Labels can help us organize and make sense of feelings, but they are not the truth of who we are. They should be seen as snapshots, not life sentences.

• Fluidity of the self: Humans are dynamic, always changing. A label might describe a moment, but the danger comes when it hardens into identity.

• Protection from hierarchy: External diagnoses often reinforce power imbalances. Self-chosen labels keep the person as subject of their own story, not an object of expertise.

• Pathway, not endpoint: A temporary label can help orient healing (“I see this pattern in me”), but the goal is to move beyond it into direct presence with self, not to live inside the word forever.

So the guiding principle is: use labels only when they serve your growth — and let them go when they become cages.