Is nonconformity and freethinking a mental illness? According to the newest addition of the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), it certainly is. The manual identifies a new mental illness called \u201coppositional defiant disorder\u201d or ODD. Defined as an \u201congoing pattern of disobedient, hostile and defiant behavior,\u201d symptoms include questioning authority, negativity, defiance, argumentativeness, and being easily annoyed.<\/p>\n
The DSM-IV is the manual used by psychiatrists to diagnose mental illnesses and, with each new edition, there are scores of new mental illnesses. Are we becoming sicker? Is it getting harder to be mentally healthy? Authors of the DSM-IV say that it\u2019s because they\u2019re better able to identify these illnesses today. Critics charge that it\u2019s because they have too much time on their hands.<\/p>\n
New mental illnesses identified by the DSM-IV include arrogance, narcissism, above-average creativity, cynicism, and antisocial behavior. In the past, these were called \u201cpersonality traits,\u201d but now they\u2019re diseases. And there are treatments available.<\/p>\n
All of this is a symptom of our over-diagnosing and overmedicating culture. In the last 50 years, the DSM-IV has gone from 130 to 357 mental illnesses. A majority of these illnesses afflict children. Although the manual is an important diagnostic tool for the psychiatric industry, it has also been responsible for social changes. The rise in ADD, bipolar disorder, and depression in children has been largely because of the manual\u2019s identifying certain behaviors as symptoms. A Washington Post article observed that, if Mozart were born today, he would be diagnosed with ADD and \u201cmedicated into barren normality.\u201d<\/p>\n