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> It seems how we diagnose people is totally unconnected from any empirical data on if a culture more willing to diagnose people is making people healthier on a
by LarryMullins 4y ago
> It seems how we diagnose people is totally unconnected from any empirical data on if a culture more willing to diagnose people is making people healthier on a population-wide level.
Speaking of an absence of empirical data: People are being told by doctors that their brain has a "chemical imbalance" which medication can fix, despite those doctors not performing any chemical tests on the patient's brain at all. Supposed "chemical imbalances" for which the science of chemistry can produce no empirical data. My brother lost years of his life in a drug-induced haze before he questioned the wisdom of doctors, got off the psyche drugs, and saw a massive improvement in his outlook on life all around. Turns out he had real problems to address and the drugs were only helping him to ignore those problems instead of actually confronting them. He never needed drugs, he needed a mature mentor.
- faeriechangling 4y agoGenerally I think mental illness will remain in the dark ages so long as there is a divide between neurologists and psychiatrists, and so long as the ICD and DSM are the gold standard of diagnosis. Mental illness is mostly defined based on others perception of you, and is rarely defined based on any sort of psychological testing. There are a few which can be objectively tested for like Alzheimers but they're in the minority.