Are Cultural and Systemic Factors Driving Increased Diagnoses for DSM V?

Image Credit: American Psychiatric Association

The fifth version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM V) is about to be released. An article in the current issue of Slate, titled "Abnormal is the New Normal"shows the expansion of mental health categories in DSM V. If most people can now be labeled "abnormal" then what can we now say constitutes the "norm"?

Beyond the notion that we have gotten better at detecting mental illness; and somewhat connected to the notion that more of us suffer from mental illness than in the past, this article points to increased pressure at work sites, where many of us are under greater pressure to get more done with fewer co-workers (and less pay and fewer or no benefits). And because we still have a stubbornly high unemployment rate we can easily be replaced, which may add to our anxiety. 

The article also mentions that we have a culture of instant gratification and quick fixes. The expectation that all problems can quickly be resolved and that all wants and desires can instantly be met was not something that people had been led to believe two or three generations ago. 

Some analysts suggest that the mental health profession is over-diagnosing people for mental illness. The categories for mental illness, over the past 50 years, have grown rather impressively. There has also been a loosening of the definition of mental illness, so that more people fall within the existing categories for mental illness than 50 years ago. 

In this vein, there is also an aspect of what is happening that may be sensitive for social service providers to talk about: having more diagnosiible  "mental illnesses" brings more clients to the "helping professions" and more customers to the pharmaceutical companies -- it is good business to medicalize, and pathologize behavior that was once considered within the realm of the "normal". The article points out the requirement to have a diagnosed illness before treatment can be covered by insurance companies. A person must also have a diagnosible "problem" before they can qualify for disability benefits from the government. 

All of these macro and systemic factors may be driving the sharp increase in the statistics on mental illness over the past half century. What do you think?