ABSTRACT
As I put it in the introduction to this book, my aims in this book have been fourfold: (1) To chart the emerging diagnostic cultures in contemporary society and ask:
how do psychiatric diagnoses affect modern society and the people living today? (2) To analyze the impact of diagnostic cultures on our understanding of and
coping with various human problems: how are diagnoses put to use by individuals who are diagnosed (or increasingly understand themselves in light of diagnostic categories)?
