Is it normal to think that mental illnesses are over-diagnosed?

I will answer as a person with OCD and treated depressive symptoms.

It's very difficult to tell who truly has a neurochemical disorder and who is just trying to get past a bump in the road of life.

When you're unemployed for a long time and it's hard to find work, most people would be at least somewhat depressed in that situation without having any sort of brain disorder.

When you're repeatedly performing unusual and useless rituals out of pure unexplained compulsion, you likely have a neurochemical disorder or imbalance.

Some people very often just cannot find any joy out of doing anything, including things they used to really enjoy. That's a good indication of a neurochemical disorder or imbalance. People can experience this acutely after coming down from a drug-induced high, but they eventually heal -- someone with depression feels similar to this almost all the time.

A psychiatrist has to be experienced, observant, patient and knowledgeable when dealing with new patients to be able to diagnose any condition properly. There are no easy answers, and sadly, a lot of psychiatrists are too quick to diagnose, and especially to prescribe medications for, conditions that the patient may not actually have. This is a sad reality of the process by which many doctors are trained and hired. On top of that, it is very difficult to find somebody who would make a perfect doctor, be extremely empathetic and have good grades all at once.

In summary, I would say that what the OP asked is very often the case, but I think the problem goes way too deep for a quick solution. At least people can get acute care help and not be left in the dark like they used to. Hopefully things will continue to improve.

I will answer as someone diagnosed with retardation.

I cannot tie my own shoes. For 15 years they've tried to teach me and each time I just can't figure out how to pull one string over the other. I sometimes stand out in the rain and stare at the sky with my mouth opened. I've tried reading time and time again but I don't understand how anyone can make out words when the book is upside down. At 21, they finally kicked me out of middle school. I guess I can go back and get an ethamacation later.

Anyways, that make mental health experience. I'm retarded. I don't think it's a problem but...I forgot. Later. It's raining.

For a fact, there are a great many pill pushers out there masquerading as doctors, especially in the psychiatric fields. It's just so easy to make a good living by labeling someone with one of the "alphabet" illnesses and send them home with a handful of prescriptions that aren't really anything more than placebos for illnesses that don't really exist.
As our society has become "enlightened" and "spared the rod", the spoiled child that has evolved is ill equipped to deal with the stresses of modern life. That is all that these "alphabet" illnesses really are; children poorly prepared to deal with modern society; not illnesses at all.
Once on drugs for a nonexistent condition, their metabolic balance is thrown out of whack and this leads to even more complications, like depression and bipolar disorders.

It is partially for this reason that I am so distrustful of psychiatrists. As far as I am concerned, they are legal drug pushers who don't care about the well being of their clients and only care about making money. This is why, I have a therapist now. Therapists actually care about treating the whole person. All of the psychiatrists I saw gave me diagnoses that I believe to have been incorrect. I don't appreciate being labeled wrongly and this nonsense will probably carry on all of my medical records. Does anyone know how to get their medical records properly corrected?

it's true that public schools are compensated $500 per child to get them on such things as ritalin. It's a new world order/illuminati ploy, so they can fabricate some reason to put you on it. I think that herbs and holistic remedies are a whole helluva lot better than pharmaceuticals. plus cheaper

I think it depends how serious the mental illness is. Keep in mind pharmaceutical companies are constantly trying to make up new illnesses just so they can make a drug for it and make money off it. They will give doctors incentives for prescribing their drugs to people. So, I think some people are put on medications when they don't need to be. For example, they prescribe certain drugs to treat social anxiety. Take it from me, I used to have all the symptoms of social anxiety. I probably still have some symptoms, but I have learned how to cope with it better without taking any drugs for it. It's important to listen to your doctor, but always make sure to do extra research on what you're prescribed.

You can never be too careful in this crazy world we live in!! Good luck.

Thank you everyone for commenting, this was great!
Didn't expect so many reviews!

I really appreciate that you've all taken the time to write these in!

I will thank each one of you individually, this was great!

Every man and his dog seems to have a mental illness, but I think there's no such thing as a 'sane' person, we all have our little quirks and problems, we must all have traits of certain disorders but not enough to be considered the full thing.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! People saying they have mental health problems when they don't makes it so hard for people who have a genuine problem.

Are you talking about Depression? Because when it comes to that I think a lot of people diagnose themselves. I think that's one of those syndromes that people just have and doctors push pills at. However, if somebody is ever feeling sad you should at least try to help them. But stuff like Bipolar or Schizophrenia are diseases that I think actually do exist and require medication.