What’s in a diagnosis? Is it even helpful?

The current diagnostic system  has created sharp distinctions between those who are “ill” and those who are not. Labeling people in this way not only affects how society “mental health” but may also interfere with our accurate understanding of what is really occurring and what will be helpful for these people.

This article reports that in 2013 the national Institute of Mental Health’s (NIMH) director announced that psychiatric science had “failed to find unique biological met mechanisms associated with specific diagnoses.” As a result, the institute moved away from diagnosis driven research and instead looked at common underpinnings such as fear rather than anxiety. the move away from pathology allows the chance for questioning why we may be feeling the way we are. a document released by the British Psychological Society, “Understanding Psychosis and Schizophrenia” was referenced in which the authors described hearing voices and feeling paranoid is common experiences which are often the reaction to trauma, abuse, or deprivation. The document suggests that there may be both advantages and disadvantages to the symptoms. I believe this likely is the case with most things that are currently seen as “mental illness.”

Check out this interesting article for more information.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/18/opinion/sunday/t-m-luhrmann-redefining-mental-illness.html