Hi Everybody,
The DSM- The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (‘DSM’) is the handbook for mental diseases, created by the American Psychiatric Association. This book is the official authority on mental health diagnoses in America, and informs psychiatrists on new disorders and the drugs used to combat them.
The American Medical Association and the Pharmaceutical industry has come under fire for years now for their focus on profit over patient care. The Psychiatric community has now evidently also come under fire for its attempts to do the same.
According to detractors, the decision to create so many new mental disorders is aimed at increasing the number of cases psychiatrists are able to diagnose, treat, and medicate, increasing profit levels dramatically. These new disorders are advertised directly to the public so that every little thing in life that does not go right can be viewed as a disease by the patient who now wants to be treated.
SOME OF THE NEW DISORDERS- According to the ever-growing guidelines, almost every little thing that goes wrong can now be considered a disorder requiring treatment.
“People are just as confused about the question, What is madness?” says Paul McHugh, a professor and former psychiatrist-in-chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital, who says the DSM-5 fails to distinguish between the underlying causes of the symptoms associated with its diagnoses. “This is a field guide to the birds.”
Some of the newer disorders include “Sexual aversion disorder” , “cannibis withdrawal disorder”, “caffeine withdrawal disorder” and “internet gaming disorder”.
BE ON THE LOOKOUT- Expect these and possibly more of the newer disorders to start being advertised on television, directly to the consumer. Expect the commercials to be emotional and very convincing. And expect more doctors to start diagnosing these conditions.
If you feel like you really have a problem with one of these disorders, no problem. Otherwise, strong psychiatric medication usage because you are addicted to internet gaming may not be a great idea.
Hope this helps,
Dr Matt and Dr Robin
mattandrobin@yahoo.com (email)
This week’s bit of Useless Information: A prison in Brazil allows inmates to pedal on exercise bikes to generate power for lights in a nearby town in exchange for reduced sentences.
This email is courtesy of Matthew Barnes, D.C. and Robin Barnes, D.C. Neither this nor any of our emails are intended to be medical advice and should not be taken as such. They are opinion and are for informational purposes only. None of the nutrients discussed here are meant to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease.