The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HITOP) model reveals that symptoms of mental health problems cluster into five major dimensions that closely correspond to the Big Five personality traits. This suggests mental illness can be understood as an extreme expression of normal personality variation.

Psychology is moving away from a firm distinction between personality and mental health. A persistent mental health issue, by definition, is a stable pattern of experience and behavior, which fits the scientific definition of a personality trait. The two concepts are fundamentally intertwined.

Unlike medical fields requiring physical procedures, psychiatry is fundamentally based on language, assessment, and analysis. This makes it uniquely suited for generative AI applications. Companies are now building fully AI-driven telehealth clinics that handle everything from patient evaluation to billing and clinical trial support.

A diagnosis like autism may function like the 19th-century term 'dropsy' (swelling). It accurately describes a collection of symptoms but doesn't necessarily identify a single, unified underlying cause. The label captures a surface-level phenomenon, not a fundamental 'thing' in the world.

Contrary to popular belief, happiness and unhappiness are not two ends of a single spectrum. They are produced in different parts of the brain for different reasons, meaning a person can simultaneously experience high levels of both.

Contrary to the idea that all therapy is bespoke, highly effective "manualized" treatments exist with standardized protocols for issues like depression. However, most therapy consumers are unaware of this and don't know to ask for a specific, evidence-based approach from their provider.

Contrary to the dominant medical model, mental health issues like depression and anxiety are not illnesses. They are normal, helpful responses that act as messengers, signaling an underlying problem or unresolved trauma that needs to be addressed rather than a chemical imbalance to be suppressed.

Medicine excels at following standardized algorithms for acute issues like heart attacks but struggles with complex, multifactorial illnesses that lack a clear diagnostic path. This systemic design, not just individual doctors, is why complex patients often feel lost.

The term "depression" is a misleading catch-all. Two people diagnosed with it can have completely opposite symptoms, such as oversleeping versus insomnia or overeating versus appetite loss. These are not points on a spectrum but discrete experiences, and lumping them together hinders effective, personalized treatment.