Fallacy of BiPolar Diagnosis Rise in Kids

I was reading 'Sway' by Brafman (http://www.amazon.ca/Sway-Irresistible-Pull-Irrational-Behavior/dp/0385524382) and there was a chapter on Bi polar disorders.

The books deals with irrational behaviour and how even the most educated can be easily swayed by status quo or popularity.

In the case of bi-polar disorder the number of children diagnosed rose 40X (It was at least that, might have been more) in the past 20 years or so. However, correlating stats that should've increased if the diagnosis was correct did not increase. Teen suicides never increased (they in fact decreased), but drugs and programs continue to expand.

At what point do we acknowledge something is amiss? Yes, the way we diagnosis the disorder has changed, but just because a child is sad doesn't mean they have a psychological disorder. I pin this one on hypochondriacs and bad psychiatrists.

Explanation for Increases in BP in children?

I'm not a hypochondriac so I'm not one to advocate running out and getting kids tested for every seeming abnormal issue. It's startling to see how many kids these days are popping pills for maladies that didn't exist 40 years ago.

There has been a 400% increase in the diagnosis of bipolar disorder in young children and a 40 times increase between 1995 to 2003 alone according

What are your thoughts? Is there a rash of doctors too eager to doll out bi-polar diagnoses for kids?

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