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Psychiatry's sick compulsion: turning weaknesses into diseases
LATimes.com ^ | 12/01/2006 | By Irwin Savodnik

Posted on 01/01/2006 11:38:52 AM PST by oxcart

IT'S JAN. 1. Past time to get your inoculation against seasonal affective disorder, or SAD — at least according to the American Psychiatric Assn. As Americans rush to return Christmas junk, bumping into each other in Macy's and Best Buy, the psychiatric association ponders its latest iteration of feeling bad for the holidays. And what is the association selling? Mental illness. With its panoply of major depression, dysthymic disorder, bipolar disorder and generalized anxiety disorder, the association is waving its Calvinist flag to remind everyone that amid all the celebration, all the festivities, all the exuberance, many people will "come down with" or "contract" or "develop" some variation of depressive illness.

The association specializes in turning ordinary human frailty into disease. In the last year, ads have been appearing in psychiatric journals about possible treatments for shyness, a "syndrome" not yet officially recognized as a disease. You can bet it will be in the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM-IV, published by the association. As it turns out, the association has been inventing mental illnesses for the last 50 years or so. The original diagnostic manual appeared in 1952 and contained 107 diagnoses and 132 pages, by my count. The second edition burst forth in 1968 with 180 diagnoses and 119 pages. In 1980, the association produced a 494-page tome with 226 conditions. Then, in 1994, the manual exploded to 886 pages and 365 conditions, representing a 340% increase in the number of diseases over 42 years.

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: apa; christmas; depression; disorders; dsmiv; mentalillness; moralabsolutes; psychiatry
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To: RobbyS

Now all the gays suffer from depression , prozac and the other SSRI's cause impotence.

They they are more depressed over their erectile dysfunction so they take viagra so their social schedules don't suffer.


41 posted on 01/01/2006 1:15:37 PM PST by TASMANIANRED (Democrats value the privacy of terrorists higher than the lives of Americans.)
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To: oxcart

Think of all of the families destroyed by False Memory Syndrome.


42 posted on 01/01/2006 1:15:42 PM PST by sportutegrl (People who say, "All I know is . . ." really mean, "All I want you to focus on is . . .")
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To: the Real fifi
Reread the Seven Deadly Sins--They are all symptoms of neurotic behavior.

The Capital Sins:

Pride Avarice Envy Wrath Lust Gluttony Sloth
43 posted on 01/01/2006 1:16:13 PM PST by joseph20
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To: joseph20
The Capital Sins:

Pride Avarice Envy Wrath Lust Gluttony Sloth


Hey, I'm doing pretty good.

Six out of seven ain't nothing to sneeze at.
44 posted on 01/01/2006 1:18:41 PM PST by Dr.Zoidberg (Whats with the Marquis of Queensbury Rules bullsh*t, we fight for our very survival! Fight Dirty!)
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To: oxcart
If the Left were cured of mental illness, they would cease to exist.
45 posted on 01/01/2006 1:40:37 PM PST by Berlin_Freeper (ETERNAL SHAME on the Treasonous and Immoral Democrats!)
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To: dalereed
Every one of then i've ever met socially was a nut case and short on intelgence.

I hear that many of them are able to spell English words quite well, however.

46 posted on 01/01/2006 2:02:48 PM PST by hinckley buzzard
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To: southernnorthcarolina

"Does giving an affliction a fancier name really improve anything?"

Sometimes it does. The more specific the diagnosis, the more specific the treatment. Unfortunately we are in the early stages of understanding, diagnosing, and treating mental illness. Diagnosis is the first step toward a scienitfic understanding and subsequent treatment alternatives.

Mental illness is a real disease, and contrary to popular opinion, should not be a political issue.


47 posted on 01/01/2006 2:13:30 PM PST by Bonafide (Everything is Simple When You Understand It!)
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To: oxcart
Let's toss ADD and ADHD into the mix.
48 posted on 01/01/2006 2:17:21 PM PST by upchuck (Article posts of just one or two sentences do not preserve the quality of FR. Lazy FReepers be gone!)
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To: oxcart
Er, "weaknesses . ." also used to be defined as SIN.

Everyone commits some each and every day but we never excused them as "illnesses or diseases" nor did we have "support groups" to "encourage" us to feel OK about it.

49 posted on 01/01/2006 2:21:25 PM PST by zerosix (Native Sunflower)
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To: oxcart

It's Katie-bar-the-door when tens of millions are diagnosed with Egregious General Anxiety Disorder Syndrome (EGADS!)

/sarcasm


50 posted on 01/01/2006 2:21:45 PM PST by PGalt
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To: scripter
Thanks for the link to the NARTH article. Nick Cummings and the others have been laboring mightily to preserve some vestige of the integrity which once marked this field.

Scientific psychology probably hit its high-water mark in the late sixties/early seventies with the promulgation of basic empirical principles. Many of these, which have been neglected and lost by the late-stage neurotics known as "therapists" of all persuasions, only a minority of them actual psychologists, allow for behavioral predictions and generalizations of significant mathematical accuracy.

Organizationally it is true that the APA's have been unethical and derelict in their missions. There are alternative organizations like the American Psychological Society which are dedicated to maintaining some standards of intellectual honesty but they are small and without much influence among the media.

51 posted on 01/01/2006 2:32:03 PM PST by hinckley buzzard
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To: proxy_user
So is schizophrenia. When the patients die and they dissect their brains, they find huge areas with obvious damage.

Yeah, the author might not understand that while he might have a point, the matter must be approached without dismissing the merits of modern psychiatry and mediceine out of hand. Let's CERTAINLY avoid a Tom Cruise/Scientology approach. In areas such as brian scanning and mapping, there is indeed empirical and quantifiable research advances going on; more tangible answers and diagnoses on the way.

After all, they used to burn schizophrenics at the stake as witches in some cases.

52 posted on 01/01/2006 2:37:18 PM PST by 101st-Eagle
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To: All

Psychiatrists are Medical Doctors with advanced study in diseases and abnormalities of the brain and behavior functioning / adaptation.

Psychologists are Ph.D. level behaviorists who are not MDs and cannot prescribe medication.

I don't know why people confuse the two.

In order to keep the profession "busy" they must have behaviors and maladies constantly being relied upon for a constant clientele. I mean, they have to have "some cures" to discharge...these are largely psychologists who have
people who are dysfunctional but "aware" and can lead almost normal lives.

Psychiatrists treat bi-polar, schizophrenia, and other dementias in more extreme disorders of the brain.

Psychiatrists are the ones who contribute and revise the DSM-IV(R) and its many variant predecessors.

NARTH is an extremely dangerous group of misinformed people who because of their determination regarding homosexuality and its "cures" have a large following of devotees.

Trouble is they are crackpots in their fields of study.

Be aware good people.... and do no harm


53 posted on 01/01/2006 2:52:11 PM PST by imintrouble
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To: RobbyS

Why do gays "tend to have money?"


54 posted on 01/01/2006 3:20:33 PM PST by rightwinggoth
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To: A CA Guy; dalereed
Back in the early 80s, I went to a big cocktail party of some friends of my fiance. These friends were psychiatrists or at the least psychologists, I don't remember, but working successful professionals.

The party was in a grand, beautiful house with a great view -- but it was filthy. I went into the bathroom to relieve a few beers, and there was NO WAY my little patoot was going to come within five inches of that disgusting seat. The whole place was like that -- grimy dirt and dust on every surface, fairly tidy but horrifically dirty and smelly, amidst plates set with chips and dip and beer and wine glasses, everybody dressed up and acting like this was a class act. It was very strange.

55 posted on 01/01/2006 3:23:18 PM PST by Finny (God continue to Bless President G.W. Bush with wisdom, popularity, safety and success.)
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To: oxcart

Psychiatry is a institution of the state and a branch of the justice system.


56 posted on 01/01/2006 3:24:52 PM PST by RightWhale (pas de lieu, Rhone que nous)
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To: Moonman62

One of the first orders of business for the cultural marxists was to infiltrate psychiatry and have homosexuality "normalized". Radical homosexuals are on the front line for the cultural marxists.


57 posted on 01/01/2006 3:42:22 PM PST by oneofmany (ACLU,DEMS,MSM - Fifth Column)
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To: oxcart
A lot of the disorders labeled Mental Illness are simply secondary conditions stemming from primary physical ailments often overlooked. General Anxiety Disorder is likely among the highest most misdiagnosed. If a person is triggered by fear {phobia's} then likely a traumatic experience has occurred of which a LCSW can treat.

But if a patient has G.A.D. and is non phobic and shrinks use conventional medications such as antidepressants to treat it they can make matters worse.

G.A.D. in a non phobic form likely comes from Vestibular {meaning Inner Ear} or Sensory Interpretation Disorders which are actually Neurological conditions. BTW this was discovered in the mid 1970's. The mental health profession as a whole rejects this connection. But a research Neurologists Harold Levinson MD author of a book called "Phobia Free" gives a great description of the disorder in that book. He discovered the link between anxiety disorders, dyslexia, ADD, ADHD, C.A.P.D. and even TMJ {a jaw disorder} to childhood allergies or chronic ear infections.

While the mental health profession rejects these findings, Vestibular Science research is proving it is indeed the case. Many persons have it to some degree. Some like myself have it to a point of disability. Anyone with a long medical history of sinus allergies or ear infections are more prone to the disorder. Stress does play a factor into it but only because it serves as a distraction to a sensory system that is limited in processing capabilities.

Here is a good idea as to what I am saying although the term General Anxiety Disorder is not used in the article. COGNITIVE ASPECTS OF VESTIBULAR DISORDERS

58 posted on 01/01/2006 3:44:11 PM PST by cva66snipe
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To: rightwinggoth

Just a matter of statistics.


59 posted on 01/01/2006 3:50:15 PM PST by RobbyS ( CHIRHO)
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To: mtbopfuyn
Of course it's PC. If it's labeled a disease, then no one must take responsibility for their behaviors.

Not only that, but if it's a disease, then there must be a cure, no matter how much it costs! And by declaring it a disease, insurance companies will have to pay for the treatment and cure, again, no matter the cost...

It must be nice to be able to gin up all the business you want... Sort of like how the government spends money. If they run out, they just print more!

The sad thing is that there really ARE mental diseases, and this sort of thing really dilutes the seriousness of them.

Mark

60 posted on 01/01/2006 3:56:57 PM PST by MarkL (When Kaylee says "No power in the `verse can stop me," it's cute. When River says it, it's scary!)
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