Mental Health Overdiagnosis
The phenomenon of overdiagnosis in mental health is due to the tendency to label certain behaviors as pathological, even when there is no apparent reason for doing so. Overdiagnosis is common in the field of psychiatry. Not only does it lead to incorrect diagnoses, but many people use drugs as a result when they don’t really need them.
The subjective nature of the diagnostic process has long been a problem in psychiatry. The psychiatrist must determine whether a patient has a mental disorder based on his observations and imprecise diagnostic tools. Given these circumstances, it is easy to make mistakes that lead to overdiagnosis.
The most widely accepted diagnostic reference is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). A group of psychiatrists (mainly from the United States) designs the manual.
They vote to make decisions about the definition and inclusion of conditions in the handbook. The first version of this manual identified 60 conditions. However, the most recent version identifies more than 500.
Is there a problem with overdiagnosis in mental health?
The data shows that overdiagnosis in mental health is a problem. If you stick to the strict definitions of the latest version of the DSM, experts indicate that 70% of the population has some kind of mental illness. Not only that, but those individuals would all be candidates to get drugs.
The DSM-5 contains some disorders that even mental health professionals themselves seriously question. For example, there is a condition in the DSM called “psychosis risk syndrome” which consists of features that indicate a high probability of developing psychosis in the future.
This diagnosis is sufficient to use medication with antipsychotics. If you stop and think about it, almost anyone can be diagnosed with this syndrome at some point in their lives. Have you never felt like you were “going crazy” but didn’t?
Treating a condition that could happen in the future is absurd. It’s like prescribing a high blood pressure drug to a child with a hypertensive parent because the child would be at risk of developing it too at some point.
Another example is ‘dysfunctional personality disorder with dysphoria’. This “disorder” basically describes an unsociable, selfish and ungrateful person. According to the DSM, someone with this ‘condition’ is also a good candidate to receive medication.
However, in reality, they just have an unpleasant personality. In the DSM-5, a feeling of sadness for more than a month after the death of a loved one is enough to diagnose depression.
The difference between having a disorder and just not feeling well
The boundaries between wellbeing and illness in the field of mental health are difficult to define. After all, ‘normal’ is a very subjective concept and relates to the specific context of an individual.
It is also important to point out that being human always involves a certain amount of suffering. Living is synonymous with dealing with constant uncertainty.
You will never have everything you desire, nor will you have a perfectly balanced life. Everyone faces suffering because death exists. This is a relentless burden. No one can avoid feeling frustrated by circumstances beyond his control and everyone is selfish or “bad” to some degree.
It makes sense that you will have times in your life when you feel sad and other times when you struggle with anxiety. Some psychoanalysts believe that it is perfectly normal to have three episodes of psychosis in the course of a lifetime.
It all depends on what is happening around you. As we mentioned above, problems that are perfectly normal are defined as disorders, thus leading to overdiagnosis in mental health.
A different approach to illness and suffering
Until recently, grief over the loss of a loved one was treated in the comfort of the individual’s immediate environment. Everyone there understands that a certain amount of suffering is normal and necessary. Today, however, these support networks are getting weaker.
Today it is more difficult to express emotional pain. Therefore, people who suffer often feel alone. The idea that we should be happy all the time puts a lot of pressure on everyone. Many people don’t even let themselves suffer. So their way of dealing with these feelings is through a pill prescribed by a psychiatrist.
For better or for worse, medication is a way to control individual and collective discomfort. Overdiagnosis is a twofold reality.
On the one hand, you have orthodox psychiatrists, who work within a very narrow scope in terms of diagnosis and intervention. On the other hand, you have people who suffer, but refuse to understand their pain. Instead, they ask for a chemical substance to help them suppress their suffering.
