[zahma]

It’s probably more helpful to think of them as spectra or overlapping circles of behavior. When we talk about psychological disorders, they are clustered and only useful insofar as they allow professionals to talk to one another and mean the same things.

Undoubtedly each human displays a unique case and manifestation of whatever behavior we choose to specify, and that individuality can pull from different “trait” or “behavior” groups on a scale.

It’s only when we start to lump together many cases that we begin to discern between types and patterns, but it’s silly to make a harsh distinction between clusters and then pretend like they are emphatically different from the next. Grouping can have its uses, but we shouldn’t forget each person presents uniquely.

[marxisttemp]

Well said. Psychological diagnoses are genres for the brain.