Alternative perspective on psychiatry's so-called mental disorders | PHILIP HICKEY, PH.D.
The central theme of this blog is that almost all the so-called mental illnesses listed in the APA’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual are nothing more than the ordinary everyday challenges of human existence. The psychiatric profession has “elevated” these problems to the status of disorders and illnesses to justify and legitimize their involvement in these… Continue Reading
Sorry I’ve been “off the air.” My wife, Nancy, fell and broke her thigh bone a couple of weeks ago. She is out of the hospital and recuperating well, but my days are filled with the minutiae of personal care and domestic management. Stay tuned. I still have lots to say concerning the spurious nature… Continue Reading
The central theme of this blog is that there are no mental illnesses. The concept of mental illness is a spurious invention of psychiatrists and other mental health professionals for the purpose of medicalizing normal human problems and selling drugs. The central tenet of the mental health system is that unusual, bizarre, and disturbing behaviors… Continue Reading
The central theme of this blog is that mental illness is a spurious and invalid concept, which is promoted and developed by the American Psychiatric Association to legitimize the use of mood-altering drugs. It is certainly true that people display various problems in their daily lives and particularly in their interpersonal relationships. The American Psychiatric… Continue Reading
Hallucinations In Schizophrenia Part 1, we noted that the APA lists hallucinations as one of the primary “symptoms” of schizophrenia. The APA defines an hallucination as follows: “A sensory perception that has the compelling sense of reality of a true perception but that occurs without external stimulation of the relevant sensory organ.” (DSM-IV-TR, p 823)… Continue Reading
Delusions, contd. In my last post I pointed out that schizophrenia as defined by DSM is a confusing collection of human problems with no evidence of a common etiology or indeed any valid justification for including them under a common heading. I discussed delusions and made the point that cognitive distortions of this kind are… Continue Reading
The APA defines schizophrenia by the presence of two or more of the following, each present for a significant portion of time during a one-month period: (1) delusions (2) hallucinations (3) disorganized speech (4) grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior (5) negative symptoms i.e. affective flattening, alogia or avolition Signs of the disturbance must have been… Continue Reading
The first diagnostic category in DSM-IV is mental retardation, which embraces those individuals at the lower end of the intelligence spectrum. Intelligence is defined by psychologists as the ability to solve problems, adapt creatively to changing circumstances, and generally manage one’s affairs successfully and functionally. No definition of intelligence can truly do justice to the… Continue Reading
According to the DSM, the essential feature of this mental disorder is “…the development of clinically significant emotional or behavioral symptoms in response to an identifiable psychosocial stressor or stressors.” The manual defines clinically significant as either: “marked distress that is in excess of what would be expected given the nature of the stressor” or… Continue Reading
This post was edited and updated on June 24, 2013, to address comments received from readers. I thank them for their input. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSM-IV’s criteria for a manic episode are given below: A. A distinct period of abnormally and persistently… Continue Reading
Post edited and updated March 9, 2013, to reflect additional thoughts as a result of interactions with the many people who left comments. I thank them for their input. DEPRESSION – AN ADAPTIVE MECHANISM Contrary to the APA’s assertion, depression is not an illness. In fact, depression is an adaptive mechanism which has served humanity… Continue Reading
This post was edited and updated on July 7, 2013 in the light of comments from readers. I am grateful for their input. ************* One of the anxiety disorders listed in DSM-IV is posttraumatic stress disorder. The criteria for this condition are listed below: A. The person has been exposed to a traumatic event in… Continue Reading
Fear is the normal human response to imminent danger. It is an adaptive response, in that it is helpful to survival, and it occurs in almost all animal species. When our cave-dwelling ancestors were attacked by mountain lions, they probably experienced acute fear. This fear gave them an extra burst of energy to flee the… Continue Reading
CONDUCT DISORDER The essential feature of Conduct Disorder, according to the APA, is a “repetitive and persistent pattern” of rule breaking or activity which violates other people’s basic rights. The manual identifies four broad categories of behavior under this heading: aggression; destruction of property; theft or deceitfulness; and serious violation of rules. DSM goes on… Continue Reading
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder is defined as “a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperimpulsivity that is more frequent and severe than is typically observed in individuals at a comparable level of development.” There is a requirement that the problem existed before age seven and that some of the problems are present in at least two settings…. Continue Reading
The notion of a professional group such as the APA sitting in their councils and committees inventing illnesses for themselves to treat seems so preposterous that a measure of disbelief on the part of the reader is understandable. In its historical context, however, the development is not so surprising. The original 1952 DSM was very… Continue Reading
Although psychiatrists are the primary and most influential players in the mental health business, they are not the only professionals involved. Most agencies also employ psychologists, social workers, and counselors, and it is important to recognize how the developments of recent decades have impacted their roles also. Psychologists are licensed professionals who have obtained a… Continue Reading
Psychiatrists are medical doctors who after graduation from medical school specialize in the treatment of mental disorders. In 1950 there were about 7000 psychiatrists in the United States. Most of these worked either in the state mental hospitals or in private practice, and in both settings treatment was conceptualized primarily on the lines of talking… Continue Reading
In December 1999, David Satcher, MD, then Surgeon General of the United States, reported that almost one fifth of the American population will experience a mental disorder in any given year, and that fully half of the population will have such a disorder at some time in their lives. [Mental Health: A Report of the… Continue Reading
