Screenwriter by Charles D'Ambrosio

Well, going from the best American short stories of the century to some of the most recent, I will expound upon the best short stories from the year 2004 working backward by year. Each story will be labeled according to the year it was published.

Screenwriter by Charles D'Ambrosio is the story about a man who is in the loony bin in Manhattan who befriends a girl known as the ballerina. She is into burning herself and he is a cutter.
"What's wrong with you?" she asked.
"I don't know," I said.
"You must have a diagnosis. Everyone has a diagnosis. You know your diagnosis," she said.
"Whatever - Bipolar II, Fruit of the Loom IV, it doesn't make a difference."

A great story about both the comical and dark side of diagnoses.