In general, the number of disorders has increased (to the current 256 classification codes), partly because disorder categories have been split and partly because 'new' disorders have appeared.

The publication of the Third Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-III) in 1980 (when conditions such as ADHD made their debut on its pages) substantially altered the way that we view many problems. The precise diagnostic criteria presented in the manual allowed for new types of research on the causes and consequences of mental disorders.

We don't really know whether the rates of problems have increased or not because so few studies have comparable data on mental health across the past 30 years. Children's emotional and behavioral problems are more likely to be interpreted through a medical lens now than they were 20 years ago.

A mood disorder is dangerous. You've got to get those dramatic waves of highs and lows stabilized. It's dangerous if you don't.

Which of my feelings are real? Which of the me's is me? The wild, impulsive, chaotic, energetic, and crazy one? Or the shy, withdrawn, desperate, suicidal, doomed, and tired one? Probably a bit of both, hopefully much that is neither.

Two dangers constantly threaten the world: order and disorder.