Is mental illness becoming fashionable?

Increasing numbers of people are choosing to be diagnosed as having bipolar depression according to a report in the Daily Mail. Reporting on an article in the official journal of the Royal College of Psychiatrists by Dr Diana Chan and Dr Lester Sireling, the article links the desire to be diagnosed as bipolar with high profile celebrities talking about their experiences of bipolar.

The report is also critical of the way various revisions of diagnostic manuals have "sofened the edges" of bipolar so that what was once seen as a severe mental illness that can have a devestating effect on the lives of those affected.  According to the report, people whose mood swings fall within a normal range of human experience are being diagnosed with an illness that used to be regarded as rare.

The article contrasts the celebrity link between mental illness and creativity with the experiences of Chris Joseph, author of Manicdotes.  "Being compulsorily sectioned under the Mental Health Act is a horrific experience,' he says. He also once had his arm broken by a violent male nurse".

The article concludes that people should pay more attention to the experiences of real people like Chris Joseph before deciding that bipolar depression is a good diagnosis to have.