uncertainty of diagnostic tools in mental illness

As I'm studying for my biopsychology final, I'm finding out some information that I find to be actually interesting and a little bit of a cause for concern. The current chapter I'm studying is called Biopsychology of Psychiatric Disorders. One particular fact that bothered me was the diagnostic tool used for the classification of mental disorders, the DSM-IV-TR. According to my book, there are currently about 400 conditions and disorders listed in the DSM, compared to 60 in the 1950's. To me this is a little bit problematic because although we can now more accurately diagnose a patient, there is an extended definition of "abnormal" labeling. Now every little quirk can be indicative of an "abnormal" symptom. A line I'll take from the movie The Tourist which I saw over the weekend-specifically said by Johnny Depp's character was "You are the least down-to-earth person I have ever met." This line from him was meant to be a compliment because supposedly where the character was from, being down-to-earth and plain was a compliment that he thought was silly. I feel that now our society is beginning to accept more quirks, but they are still not seen as normal or indicative of an "average"mind. Lady Gaga is an artist that puts herself completely left of center, but it is "creative genius" and any "normal" person walking down the street in one of her outfits would still be ridiculed and made a big deal of. She is exempt because of her celebrity status, but us average people are supposed to excel by being the best at blending in. Otherwise, we may be diagnosed with some form of mental disorder. The extended and often confusing guidelines for the DSM are bothersome because they are just that-guidelines. No one seems to be able to concretely define the disorders, which leaves room to speculation and interpretation even within these lines. An extended definition of "abnormal" needs to be carefully regulated because it can easily become a way to slap a label of illness onto someone that just sees the world in a different, but completely acceptable and equally harmless way.