The amount of known mental disorders grows yearly and the amount of medicines and treatments to solve or dissipate the effects of them grows even faster. Public perceptions and treatment of people with these disorders has changed greatly as society has evolved. Beliefs of demons and resulting persecution and isolation were ushered out to create more common methods of help and deinstitutionalization in the 1960's. This led to the common practices of diagnosis and treatment to help people inflicted by psychological disorders.
A piece that was very interesting to me was the differences seen in these diseases as psychologists look across cultures, known as culture-bond disorders. The case of periodic outbreaks of Koro was listed in the book as only been seen in asian countries such as India and China, while much of the Western world has not seen this disorder. However, most psychological disorders appear in many cultures.
Also interesting was the fact stated that many anxiety disorders have been proven to be genetically influenced. Certain people inherit genes that influence their level of neuroticism. This makes them more high strung more likely to creates a situation for excessive worrying. The thought that this could be passed down was foreign to me.
Furthermore, the sheer amount of disorders (over 50 listed in the book alone) was hard to miss. Whether it be mood, anxiety, eating, sleep, personality, adjustment, or substance related disorders, it was just shocking to see how many disorders are out there. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, every year 25% of the US adult, and 20% of teen population is treated or diagnosed with a psychological disorder. That doesn't even include those who have one and aren't diagnosed. The numbers don't lie and they were represented well in chapter 15.
I think that is interesting that there are so many disorders, but while I do agree that some people do have disorders, sometimes I feel that others just don't know how to deal with life and than get labeled with a disorder. We do all get anxiety or maybe a little depressed at times in our life, but I think some cases of these get labeled as a disorder where in reality they aren't that bad in comparison to those who deal with anxiety (and other disorders) severely on the daily. It seems that as time goes on more and more disorders are being uncovered, I wonder how they dealt with problems like these in the stone ages, or if they even existed, or is it all do to changing times and more progress each day in the world?