Recognition Improvement or Overdiagnosis: Dual Realities in Mental Health

In the age of digital media and clinical diagnostic technology, global recognition and diagnosis of mental health disorders have significantly shifted, and the issue of overdiagnosis and underdiagnosis is ongoing. This study highlights the dual nature of mental health diagnosis in the digital age and in updated clinical diagnostic systems, and explores the mechanism of the co-occurrence of better recognition of mental health and a higher risk of overdiagnosis at the theoretical level and in empirical research evidence. The results indicate that digital platforms can be helpful in reducing public stigma, popularizing mental health knowledge and reducing missed diagnosis, while unregulated mental health information online is readily available and leads to inappropriate self-diagnosis and symptom overinterpretation. Also, new diagnostic tools and the new DSM-5 criteria increase the accuracy of diagnosis, but lead to more false-positive diagnoses due to diagnostic strategies that are aimed at early intervention. The findings of this study have demonstrated that the improvement of recognition and overdiagnosis are not two separate processes but rather two interrelated processes. To optimise mental health diagnosis and intervention practices, a balanced and differentiated diagnostic perspective is needed.