The Labeling Theory

January 2020 Photography and the social practice of Powerplay By Campara Rozina

Working on my socially constructed project regarding the norms of society and the underlying hidden power structures that come with it. As my work ethic is to start from a personal perspective I focussed on the underlying power structure of the DSM-5, the diagnostic manual for psychological disorder, which not only psychologists use to diagnose a mental illness, but also me, a some what hypochondriac if it comes to my own mental health. I asked myself where to draw the line between seeing divergent behavior as problematic and look for professional help, and what could be seen as an actual strength to my own identity. The problematic divergenties did not perse had to be problematic, if our society had just accepted the behavior of not being able to concentrate, being emotional and act on that emotions. But I did not feel like I shared that perspective with a lot of people. Therefore, I wanted to include society in this problematic statement. Why it was problematic? Because I have noticed that about 80% of my age environment are dealing with mental health issues, almost everyone has something. Think about autism; adhd; add; anxiety disorder; bipolar etc.. And besides the fact that they did not seem to experience problems in their daily life, they did seem to use the illnesses as an excuses for their behavior or progress in life.