Recently there has been some attention given to the definitions of mental illnesses recorded in the diagnostic manual used by doctors. The verdict was there is a tendency to over diagnose. For example, what would be considered as a case of depression by a general practitioner (GP) can be thought of as the mind's natural reaction to loss.
Taking this to a deeper level, with regard to schizophrenia, increased levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine is thought by psychiatry to be the cause of this illness. I would consider high levels of dopamine to be a natural response by the mind to pain or stress. The dopamine levels in this case would be a symptom rather than a cause. Ontologically speaking, "being there" is the correct attitude. Doctors make generalisations based on symptoms without taking a personal history. A quick look at the computer, a label and a tablet often leave me feeling rejected and despondent. This approach by doctors is based on finance, i.e., it is more cost effective to prescribe for example a Stelazine tablet which costs one penny, for a psychosis, than say many hours of psychoanalysis. Many times has medication been called chemical cosh or a chemical straight jacket. The aim of the medication is to keep the patient quiet. As a short term measure in a crisis this may be acceptable or necessary but in the long term it suppresses the trauma, or in other words, it puts a lid on things without addressing oneself to the issues which precipitated the illness. It is possible that without taking stock of the cause of a mental illness patterns may emerge. I assume by taking a full history, rigid patterns would be broken allowing feelings / emotions to surface and to be resolved.
There is another aspect to over diagnosing / labeling. If a healthy person makes assumptions about situations based on experience, he is thought to be making generalisations or stereotyping. If a patient with a mental health label does this he is projecting which is deemed to be a symptom and pathological. In this case it has led to me being frightened to approach a doctor or a psychiatrist for help for fear of not being believed. This I believe is a form of discrimination and alienation and has cognitive connotations, or in other words issues around understanding.
Finally labeling or over diagnosis can be also put in to context with the idea of gifts that a mental health patient may have. A schizophrenic has high dopamine levels but people with more dopamine have an increased susceptibility to having a religious experience. People with autism are gifted with incredible pattern recognition abilities, i.e. the idiot savante.
