Many of the early proponents of genetic "theories" of "mental illnesses" were themselves eugenicists or even Nazis. One notorious example of this was Ernst Rudin, according to an exhibit at the U.S. Holocaust museum in 2005 called "Deadly Medicine", about how doctors and scientists colluded with Nazis.

Psychiatric labeling, including the "diagnosis" of "schizophrenia", has often been used as a tool of social and political repression. This has been proposed by dissident psychiatrist Thomas Szasz, "www dot szasz dot com". There have also been a few other dissident psychiatrists and psychologists who have stated similar ideas.

The categorization of behaviors as "mental illnesses" has been similarly subjective. The increase in the rate of "autism" could be related to the classification of some "autistic" behaviors as "Asperger's Syndrome". This has been categorized as having  "normal" language development, but the social withdrawl said to be "symptomatic" of "autism".