Let me guess, you'd like to turn back to the good ole days of snake pits and asylums being entertainment for the gentry. Of the insane being damned by all, by them being locked away and chained.
Remember, not so long ago, epilepsy was thought to be demonic possession. Now we know better. And in time, there will better diagnostic tests for MI. Right now, yes, observation is all that there is...but clear patterns, behaviors lead to some pretty consistant Dx. And researchers are pioneering in brain imaging, lab tests etc.
So, one day, people like you will be relegated to the halls cruelty and ignorance. Even now, remarks like "not being a real illness" just make me laugh. Its like a someone screaming "China doesn't exist because I've never been there" to someone from Bejing.
Dang, I have nothing more to say....gotta continue to live in my unreal world with my unreal self while worrying about unreal relatives and trying to care for unreal patients.
You make a big leap in your reply. Sounds like you perhaps work in the field and accept the dogma. I merely have the skepticism and questioning ability of an observer. Instead of making assumptions, stick to what is known and knowable. You don't know me, therefore you cannot make any statement concerning my thoughts on "turning back to the good old days of snake pits " and that other bull you spouted.
I didn't say there were no problems with behavior in people - I merely took exception with your claim of objective testing for psychiatric diagnoses. Truth is a good thing, and words have meaning. Let's be precise in our definitions and not toss around meaningless claptrap.
As I said, there may be tests in the future, but they do not now exist, so please do not pretend they do. For a time PET scans were thought to be the diagnosis tool for ADHD, for example - until it was pointed out that the brains being measured were not drug-naive, and in any case there was still no method of measurement of what was "normal" and what was not.
Until humanity can come to a consensis on the definition of "normal", there is no test possible that will diagnosis "normal". We have agreed what is normal in terms of insulin levels, so we know how to diagnosis diabetes. Until brain researchers determine what is normal in terms of levels of brain chemicals, activity in certain regions, etc, there can be no diagnosis that is other than purely subjective.
As the old joke goes, "Everyone's crazy but thee and me, and sometimes I wonder about thee."