diagnosis:
Ideas of mental illness
in the 20th century

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A simple biological model of mental illness was rejected at
the end of the 19th century
by the German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin, who looked for social causes for his patients’ problems. Kraepelin divided mental illnesses without a physical cause into two groups - ‘manic-depressive psychosis’ (which was sometimes curable) and ‘dementia praecox’ (later renamed schizophrenia, which was then incurable).

Since the 1970s, biological theories have once again become dominant, as developments in genetics and neuroscience - the study of the brain - have identified physical causes for many problems.

Ideas and classifications of mental illness are still changing today. Psychiatrists are diagnosing far more cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, once restricted to shell - shocked veterans. Hyperactivity
in children is, controversially, diagnosed as a medical condition and is sometimes treated with drugs.

At the same time there is greater awareness of mental health issues in society and a popular belief that mental well-being can be promoted by lifestyle choices.

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