3 ms·

I like the perspective that the DSM-* is a collection of behaviors that don't fit the current societal norms and is the attempt to correct people who don't/can'

• modoc 8y ago
  That's an... interesting.. take.. There's a slice of that which is probably accurate, or at least something we could have a legitimate discussion about. However there's a lot of very REAL mental illness that is extremely detrimental to the people suffering from it, and from those around them, that has nothing to do with societal norms (in the way you mean). I'd also point out that the DSM isn't just used by psychiatrists (who give medicine) but is used by courts, psychologists, therapists, etc... who are dealing with treatment and therapy outside of prescribing drugs...
• shubb 8y ago
  Some people who don't fit in are labeled for sure, but other people are definitely ill. A middle class teenager expected to focus on math and prepare for a desk job is inappropriately diagnosed with something, when they might have been a tallented athlete. A clever, responsible man with a comfortable life suddenly hears voices that tell him his lifelong friends are poisoning him, and is incapable of seeing that this is a delusion, so he kills them. The first doesn't preclude the other, and I don't think the second one is merely 'behaviors that don't fit the current societal norms'. Sometimes brains go wrong. If you don't believe me, take a bunch of acid.