Psychiatry as Pseudo-Science

I have a blog on StumbleUpon.com It is real easy to get to, just go to: jazzway.stumbleupon.com I have had it for a year or so and it is mostly about political and social activism. However, one of the things that I did over at SU was start a group on mental illness. It has about 75 members now.

Yesterday, I dropped in on the group to see what was happening. Someone had posted a link to a site where they talked about Psychiatry as a Pseudo-Science. Now, I had heard about this before and sort of pooh-poohed it. I mean, really now. There are so many "studies" out there and the "science" exists that tells us what mental illness is - right? So, at the time, I ignored the information. Yesterday, I went and read...


Here is the URL... http://www.cchr.org/index.cfm/7352

I have to admit that I am more than a little, not shocked by the information, as I am on the verge of angry that I have spent so many years in and out of the "mental health system."

On the one hand, there is something very different about the way I respond to everyday situatiuons compared to the way other people respond to them. In the The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), this is called Borderline Personality Disorder. From the Nation Institute for Mental Health:

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness characterized by pervasive instability in moods, interpersonal relationships, self-image, and behavior. This instability often disrupts family and work life, long-term planning, and the individual's sense of self-identity. Originally thought to be at the "borderline" of psychosis, people with BPD suffer from a disorder of emotion regulation. While less well known than schizophrenia or bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness), BPD is more common, affecting 2 percent of adults, mostly young women. There is a high rate of self-injury without suicide intent, as well as a significant rate of suicide attempts and completed suicide in severe cases. Patients often need extensive mental health services, and account for 20 percent of psychiatric hospitalizations. Yet, with help, many improve over time and are eventually able to lead productive lives.

Symptoms

While a person with depression or bipolar disorder typically endures the same mood for weeks, a person with BPD may experience intense bouts of anger, depression, and anxiety that may last only hours, or at most a day. These may be associated with episodes of impulsive aggression, self-injury, and drug or alcohol abuse. Distortions in cognition and sense of self can lead to frequent changes in long-term goals, career plans, jobs, friendships, gender identity, and values. Sometimes people with BPD view themselves as fundamentally bad, or unworthy. They may feel unfairly misunderstood or mistreated, bored, empty, and have little idea who they are. Such symptoms are most acute when people with BPD feel isolated and lacking in social support, and may result in frantic efforts to avoid being alone.

People with BPD often have highly unstable patterns of social relationships. While they can develop intense but stormy attachments, their attitudes towards family, friends, and loved ones may suddenly shift from idealization (great admiration and love) to devaluation (intense anger and dislike). Thus, they may form an immediate attachment and idealize the other person, but when a slight separation or conflict occurs, they switch unexpectedly to the other extreme and angrily accuse the other person of not caring for them at all. Even with family members, individuals with BPD are highly sensitive to rejection, reacting with anger and distress to such mild separations as a vacation, a business trip, or a sudden change in plans. These fears of abandonment seem to be related to difficulties feeling emotionally connected to important persons when they are physically absent, leaving the individual with BPD feeling lost and perhaps worthless. Suicide threats and attempts may occur along with anger at perceived abandonment and disappointments.

People with BPD exhibit other impulsive behaviors, such as excessive spending, binge eating and risky sex. BPD often occurs together with other psychiatric problems, particularly bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, and other personality disorders.


So, here is this not so nice, not so neat definition of a lifestyle dysfunction - what do I do with that?