Diagnosing Mental Illness

I frequently a lot of misunderstanding in my practice about what a "mental illness" is. For instance, many clients are under the impression that experiencing "mood swings" means they have Bipolar Disorder. Bipolar Disorder is much, much more serious than simple "mood swings" and involves the administration of a very serious class of drugs - mood stabilizers or antipsychotics. These drugs have very serious and sometimes permanent side effects. nnMood swings are a normal human experience and not indicative of disease or illness. (See my article, "Mood Swings are Normal" for more information.) Likewise, many people are unclear about what is required to be diagnosed with Major Depression. nnSo I decided to create a page on my blog listing the diagnostic criteria for the major mental illnesses. Especially with the mood disorders it is important to note the length of time the mood must persist in order to be consider a "mental illness" or "disorder". nnThe page is Diagnosing Criteria for Major Mental Illnesses. I hope people find this helpful.