What is a problem with categorizing mental illness?

The problem with categorizing mental illness, specifically the option selected, highlights the nuanced nature of psychological traits. Mental health conditions often do not fit neatly into distinct categories; rather, they exist along a continuum. Many psychological traits and disorders can be better understood as existing on a spectrum, where individuals may exhibit varying degrees of symptoms and characteristics. This perspective underscores the idea that mental health is not strictly binary (e.g., being either "mentally ill" or "not mentally ill") but instead reflects a range of experiences and symptoms that can overlap between different disorders.

Categorizing mental illness can lead to oversimplifications, overlooking the complexity of individual experiences, and may obscure the understanding of how symptoms can present in diverse ways across different people. This continuum model aligns with contemporary views on mental health, as it considers variability in symptom expression, and acknowledges that psychological disorders can manifest with different severity in different contexts.