We need to be more accepting that disorders aren?t weird at all.
We should stretch the limits of what?s accepted behavior writes columnist Aleid Truijens. ?But how, the merits are too big?.
20 years ago, the initial idea was great. A manual that served as a blueprint in the psychiatric field so every therapist had the same understanding and diagnostics tool for whatever disorder they labeled someone with. DSM IV was a leap forward, since it also addressed causes rather than just effects and symptoms.
The ones responsible for this book were na?ve though. Psychiatrist Allen Frances (70), who was in charge when DSM IV got established is on a crusade to warn about the catastrophic fallout of his good intentions.
?Someone had to do something? he says in an interview with Ranne Hovius for Psychologie Magazine. The diagnostics tools he and his colleagues describe in DSM IV, especially for ADHD and Aspergers led to millions of new (medicated) patients. Which results in an increase of disabled people unfit for work. The amount of people with ADHD tripled, the amount of those with Asperger?s syndrome increased twenty-fold?. People got convinced they were sick and unable to work or get educated. Marked for life.
Asperger?s
What you have or what you might have depended for a big part on the diligence and need to classify of the ones working on the book at the time. It?s autismweek this week, where we ask for sympathy for those on the spectrum. But part of the group, the ones with Asperger?s syndrome, loses their label. Asperger's disappears as a separate diagnosis in DSM V that is due May. Then it qualifies as an ?autism spectrum disorder? and is quantifiable in gradations of severity.
The manual isn?t only used by psychiatrists but also therapists, coaches, teachers, and even judges in court. The DSM-labels become a benchmark for insurance companies as well as a necessity for special needs support or education. Without a diagnosis there?s no referral, no therapy, no financial compensation and no medication. The pharmaceutical industry, Frances says ?abused DSM IV to convince people they were sick.? Especially children. If you got them hooked on meds once, you?ll keep them around for a lifetime. Frances thinks that for about 30 percent of the people with ADHD a formal diagnosis actually has some use.
Higher Threshold
He sounds like remorseful; ?The threshold for ADHD should?ve been much higher. And we should?ve put out a disclaimer to warn against diagnosing every single problem as a condition of sorts?.
?The time is nigh that everyone has some kind of disorder? Frances thinks. He doesn?t expect a lot of good to come from the DSM V either. The line between disorders and everyday problems is even more blurred now. People, like him, that tend to eat a lot once a week, tend to be labeled with ?binge eating disorder? in the new book. Children that have severe temper tantrums, and let?s be honest, which child doesn?t have those every once in a while; will be labeled with ?temper dysregulation disorder?. Teachers will complain their job is even harder since they have even more kids with a disorder to tend to.
Pills
Probably they?ll create medication for new disorders as well. The need for mental healthcare will increase. The scary thing however is that the people who really suffer from disorders will not be treated accordingly. Severe depression, schizophrenia and psychosis are all under care of these same healthcare companies and even for those the end is in sight already cause there?s a large demand they can?t meet. It?s like telling people with cancer ?sorry, we can?t help you, we already had a lot of people with the flu in today, try again tomorrow?.
Saving Normal is a new book Allen Frances wrote in which he warns the world about the problems the DSM book brings. Let?s stretch the boundaries of what?snormal a bit. But how? The merits are too big. A lot of disability benefits have been paid for based on a label. And we can?t expect these coaching agencies to take a step back, it?s their livelihood and they would like to see satisfied customers.We can hope that, like Frances predicts, more and more therapists in the future will not use the DSM and will judge at their own capacity.
The biggest cutback of diagnosis should be possible in education. The acceptance that some things aren?t that overly weird would be a start. Some kids are hyperactive, some zone out a lot, some are loners and some are aggressive, that?s just how some children are. If you?re having trouble with a child in class it shouldn?t mean he has a disorder and should be put on meds. Saving normal; A good theme to educate the current teachers about.
Source (translated by yours truly)
