Personality disorder? Psychologists and psychiatrists are split as to whether it is a mental illness though more see it as being so than used to be the case.
It is perhaps the most subjective of diagnoses in what actually defines a “disordered personality” ? People may have difficulty with certain situations due to life experiences but does that make their personality disordered?
It becomes all too easy to attach such a label and use it to blame a person for things that have happened to them and for not responding in a “proper” way.
It also can reflect mental health professionals’ subjective biases to a patient. The therapeutic alliance breaks down and instead of seeking to find out why and what part he or she has played in that process the pdoc transfers all blame on the patient in the form of a personality disorder diagnosis.
Above all the illusion of intellectual and moral infallibility must be kept intact.
I am sure the government would like to label many of the disabled/poor/unemployed personality disordered for not responding well enough to the neoliberal way of doing and thinking .
The personality disorder diagnosis goes against good psychiatric practices which is not to judge but to help and support.
Above all don’t march a little differently to the beat of life’s drum or you too may be labelled personality disordered.