Your Pain is Not a Diagnosis

Episode summary After two weeks on the words other people use about your body, Dr. Ya-Ling turns to the ones you supply yourself. Why "sciatica" is a street address rather than a diagnosis, why verdicts like "my back is shot" end an investigation before it starts, and how describing pain with adjectives instead of nouns gets you more accurate care, sooner. Includes a full introduction to the Five S's of Better Pain Coping. In this episode •           Verdicts and labels: two different ways a sentence forecloses an investigation •           Why sciatica is a location rather than a diagnosis, even though it sits in the ICD-10 coding lexicon •           The subtle defensiveness a patient-supplied diagnosis can produce, and how it gets in the way •           The Five S's of Better Pain Coping, named and explained: See It, Support It, Specify, Study It, Strategize •           Specify in practice — toothache or ice pick, hot or dull, throbbing or steady •           Why reaching for a label is a human thing to do, and when it's worth resisting Resources mentioned - The Five S's of Better Pain Coping™ - Better Pain Coping — Dr. Ya-Ling's Substack - ya-ling.com Connect Find Dr. Ya-Ling at ya-ling.com. Subscribe, share, or leave a review — it helps more people find the show.