“America has reached a point where almost half its population is described as being in some way mentally ill, and nearly a quarter of its citizens – 67.5 million – have taken antidepressants.” The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (latest edition, DSM-IV) is “invoked chapter and verse in schools, prisons, courts, and by mental-health professionals around the world.” But how objective and reliable is its classification of disorders? (Christopher Lane, New York Sun, Mar. 26). More thoughts: Jane Genova.
“Are we really that ill?”
“America has reached a point where almost half its population is described as being in some way mentally ill, and nearly a quarter of its citizens – 67.5 million – have taken antidepressants.” The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (latest edition, DSM-IV) is “invoked chapter and verse in schools, prisons, courts, and by […]
7 Comments
As a landlord, I am seeing/hearing more and more tenants needing “companion animals” to quell their sudden “mental health” issues. When asked to submit proof as to why they are suddenly breaking the lease stipulations, the next letter always seems to come from some gov’t commission dealing with housing descrimination and demanding $100k for trampling on someone’s “rights”. I have read through the DSM4 and it’s humorously enlightening, with nearly every anxiety or stress category fully engulfing the entire population. After having spoken with many mental health professionals, the standards seem to get extremely murky with no set guidelines. This is truly a profession that needs to set realistic standards that are identifiable and finite.
No, we aren’t.
I’m not even sure if something “suffered” by a quarter of the population can be termed an illness or abnormality. But strong are the motivations for this trend: the money to be made by doctors and drug companies, the excuses to be had by people generally, the affirmation of the disabled-victim-entitlement-lawsuit culture generally. Everyone wants protected status as a cripple, mental or otherwise.
The only counter-forces to this are the need for a hardy people, and common sense. But those are weak counter-forces, indeed.
What percentage of the population “have taken” antibiotics? NSAIDs? Aspirin? Well over a quarter of the population, I suspect. Certainly, there are issues of over-prescription of those drugs, but somehow no one questions the underlying reality of infection or headache.
“no one questions the underlying reality of infection or headache.”
No, but the “underlying reality” of depression, anxiety, etc. are far more subjective than a throbbing pain or blood-test-measurable infection. Everyone gets a little depressed. Everyone gets a little anxious. It’s not call for a trip to the head shrinker or big doses of Prozac. But what is a doctor’s incentive to say a person doesn’t need those drugs, or more treatment? They almost always do. In my cases, every neck twist, back strain or elbow banger morphs into a case of life-long mental illness requiring weekly therapy, drugs, etc. It’s… well, insane. It’s like all the overprescribing of drugs for boys who act up in class. Every living boy is now apparently suffering from attention deficit disorder. This used to be called boyhood. Has it ever occurred to anyone that evolution calls for boys to be hyper? Or even, to stray a bit here, “erectile dysfunction” as needing treatment. I don’t doubt Viagra improves the quality of life for older men, but to describe the inability to get it up at age 70 as a “disease” is just crazy… that’s how the human body decays.
The literature is starting to say that we actually NEED some measure of anxiety and depression to be functional humans. Or, if there are mental health issues in our lives, maybe our LIVES need to change, instead of doping ourselves up.
Sorry to go on here, but I find it hard to believe that human beings existed for this many thousands of years without Prozac and managed to paint the Mona Lisa and build the Brooklyn Bridge. I have a vague idea of how the serotonin inhibitor business works, but I think that when messing with brain chemistry, we should be careful. And we’re not being careful at all. It’s full steam ahead on the drugs for everyone.
What was the drug given to every citizen in Brave New World? I forget the name, but I even catch a whiff of conspiracy. You know, big crazy society, things teetering a little, need to give the people a doper drug to keep them calm, happy worker bees for the system.
And haven’t these people heard of a stiff scotch and rye, on the rocks?
If you believe Mystery Diagnosis on Discovery Health then you’d notice how quickly medical doctors in the US are willing to ascribe mental disorders to conditions they are unable to diagnose. Laziness and/or plain incompetence could be contributors to this phenomenon.
The drug from “Brave New World” was called Soma.
If you believe “Mystery Diagnosis” represents the typical heath care experience, then… I don’t know how to help you.
For every “We can’t figure out the answer” situation, what do you suppose the ratio is between people who have a “5 people in the country” condition and those who really are exaggerating symptoms or seeing symptoms from other conditions(like being overweight)?
When you watch that program, you are seeing situations in which second-guessing the doctors pays off 100% of the time.
But most people come to understand that not everything on TV perfectly comports with real life.
Others… don’t.