Hi, I'm Jay, a classical musician based in Birmingham in the UK. I play the cello,

and in 2021 during the pandemic, I was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity

disorder or ADHD. I'd felt for some time that something wasn't quite right and I struggled to

get a diagnosis but But when I finally

did I began to research not just ADHD but also mental health more generally. I

wanted to understand how terms like ADHD had come about, their origins and history.

In the process, I came across a book called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM for short.

I haven't played this before and how long it take me to realize that I'm in ADHD

mode so you know everything is fast.

Written in America and followed worldwide, it's often referred to as the psychiatrist's Bible

and for the past 72 years has been used to define and explain mental disorders.

It began with just over 100 diagnosis and now there are nearly 300.

I'm J.M. and over the next hour this is the documentary, Labeling the World The Power of

DSM, from the BBC World Service.

You might not have heard of the DSM manual, but its influence on all our lives is huge.

I think DSM is part of our day-to-day work in Hong Kong.

Ever since DSM-3 became so popular from the very first day of publication in 1980,

and every subsequent DSM, a massive bestseller, selling many more copies than their work clinicians,

so being bought by patients as well.

It became a party game diagnosing yourself,

diagnosing other people.

But I think we use the DSM in Singapore

...