The Overdiagnosis of Mental Illness

Let's cut the b*llshit: America has a mental health problem, but it's not about untreated illness — it's about overdiagnosis, overmedicalization, and a system that's decided every uncomfortable human emotion is a disorder in need of a label, a billable code, and a prescription.

Now, being sad because of a breakup is "depression." Stress from school or work is "generalized anxiety disorder." Being bored and distracted in a classroom built like a prison is "ADHD." We have been duped into believing that anything other than perfectly fine is not only a problem but a terminal disease. Talk about crazy!

Big Pharma's Fingerprints Are All Over This!

Pharmaceutical companies are making billions by convincing us we're broken, and the fix is a pill. Turn on the TV — they're not just selling medication; they're selling diagnoses. "Feeling tired? Sad? Distracted? You might have this condition... ask your doctor!" And guess what? Your doctor probably will say yes. Not because they're evil, but because the system is built to push quick diagnoses and quicker prescriptions.

The DSM — our so-called mental health Bible, written by "professionals" who are all in the pockets of pharmaceutical companies — keeps expanding. Every new edition adds more "disorders" to the list, and with every addition, more people are told they're mentally ill when they're actually just f*cking human. We've medicalized heartbreak, grief, boredom, burnout, teenage rebellion, and loneliness; why? Because there's money in it.

Therapy Isn't Exempt Either

And it's not just the drug companies. Even therapists and psychologists, under pressure to diagnose so that insurance will cover the costs, often slap on a label in the first or second session. Primary care physicians write 70% of the mental health prescriptions for the whopping 55 million Americans taking them each year. That's not healing. That's insanity and greed. That's playing the game. And people often end up internalizing these labels, defining themselves by them, and carrying them like a weight they never needed to bear in the first place.

The Fallout

Overdiagnosis isn't harmless. It's disgusting and dangerous. It makes people think they're broken when they're not. It leads to unnecessary medication with terrible side effects.

And worst of all? It distracts us from the actual issues. We don't need more people on meds — we need to empower people, help them remember who the f*ck they are, and help them break free of a system that only cares about financial gain. But instead of fixing that system, we tell people the problem is in their brains.

Enough Is Enough

It's time to stop pretending this is okay. Not everyone needs a diagnosis. Not every emotion is a disorder. And not every reaction to this broken world is a chemical imbalance. Maybe you're not mentally ill — perhaps you're just living in a society that refuses to give a damn about your well-being unless there's money to be made from your suffering.

We deserve better than this overdiagnosis machine. We deserve to feel pain, sadness, confusion, rage, boredom, and grief,  and not be told we're sick because of it. We don't need more labels. We need liberation.

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• Frances, A. (2013). Saving normal: An insider’s revolt against out-of-control psychiatric diagnosis, DSM-5, big pharma, and the medicalization of ordinary life. William Morrow.

• Whitaker, R. (2002). Mad in America: Bad science, bad medicine, and the enduring mistreatment of the mentally ill. Perseus Publishing.

• Moncrieff, J. (2013). The Bitterest Pills: The Troubling Story of Antipsychotic Drugs. Palgrave Macmillan.