Anxiety/Depression/Mental Illness Support

[King_Charles]

I'd be waryu of the DSM. I've been to some very dark places myself, heck my mother's spent most of her life in and out of psych hospitals. But the DSM an incredibly flawed system, that seeks to mechanisticly catagorise, and frankly, dehumanise human behaviour. It may be a useful tool for doctors in some scenarios, but beyond that such notions as Shell mentioned of the "OCD spectrum" or "Depression Spectrum", may have some use for clinical research but are very kafkaesque in their application to individuals. The DSM V is only maknig this problem worse by including such diagnosies as "Hypersexual Disorder" and "Binge Eating".

Of course over here we have the ICD, which isn't quite as bad, but sufferes from some of the same problems.

Good article: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and...ction.html

[Annik]

I'd be waryu of the DSM. I've been to some very dark places myself, heck my mother's spent most of her life in and out of psych hospitals. But the DSM an incredibly flawed system, that seeks to mechanisticly catagorise, and frankly, dehumanise human behaviour. It may be a useful tool for doctors in some scenarios, but beyond that such notions as Shell mentioned of the "OCD spectrum" or "Depression Spectrum", may have some use for clinical research but are very kafkaesque in their application to individuals. The DSM V is only maknig this problem worse by including such diagnosies as "Hypersexual Disorder" and "Binge Eating".

Of course over here we have the ICD, which isn't quite as bad, but sufferes from some of the same problems.

Good article: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and...ction.html

Don't worry, as I said before, it's getting an update. I'd consult the APA for more up-to-date information of disorders, diagnoses and treatments.

[King_Charles]

Also hate to be bigging up my own country over America, but hey it is the Jubilee, and The British Psychological Society are a lot more on the ball than their American counterpart, In my humble opinion: "

The Society is concerned that clients and the general public are negatively affected by the continued and continuous medicalisation of
their natural and normal responses to their experiences; responses which undoubtedly have distressing consequences which demand
helping responses, but which do not reflect illnesses so much as normal individual variation....
The putative diagnoses presented in DSM-V are clearly based largely on social norms, with 'symptoms' that all rely on subjective
judgements, with little confirmatory physical 'signs' or evidence of biological causation. The criteria are not value-free, but rather reflect
current normative social expectations. Many researchers have pointed out that psychiatric diagnoses are plagued by problems of
reliability, validity, prognostic value, and co-morbidity.

"

http://apps.bps.org.uk/_publicationfiles...sponse.pdf

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I know... my argument is that the update is just pushing things further in the wrong direction....

[Angrboda]

First, a Wikipedia entry on the DSM is not going to help a person understand how the DSM is actually used, both from a theoretic standpoint and that of practical clinical usage. Failing a good in-depth understanding of the goals and uses of diagnostic criteria, the novice frequently falls into error and misapprehension. Unfortunately, I've tread this ground elsewhere before, and am not feeling like retreading it here today.

Shell B is missing one whole side of diagnosis. Yes, subjective distress is a factor, but so is overall functioning (Axis V in the multi-axial model for those following along at home). A simple example would be my psychotic "delusions" which persuade me that the most important thing for me to do is kill myself. I don't slight any difficulties you suffer from AS, but over 20 involuntary hospitalizations and the loss of nine fingers as a result of a suicide attempt is, in most people's book, severely dysfunctional, whether or not my psychosis is personally distressing.

I'm rambling, so I'll simply finish by pointing out that you, RD, are providing a classic example of .

[Faith No More]

Speaking of which, I stayed up all night this last night with no desire to sleep. Is this a bounce from the irritable and frustrated depression? Only the gods might know, and they ain't talking.

When I was severely depressed, my brain developed a sort of self-defense mechanism where if I had a day where I felt particularly well, it would not relax to allow me to go to sleep. Waking up from sleep tended to be a crap shoot which ended more often than not with me feeling really depressed, so to prevent that, my brain refused to shut down when I was well. It allowed me to maximize my time of feeling well, but also drained me of energy. At that point, however, as long as I felt well mentally, I could handle any problems such as lack of sleep.

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I've been recently reading a new book I picked up called 'Rethinking Depression' by Eric Maisel Ph.D. It's mostly an existential approach to dealing with your emotions, but he spends the fiirst fifty pages making a case for depression not being a mental illness but a human condition. It was interesting, but not quite convincing. I suggest people see if they can find a free verson on the internet and read the first 50 pages. He makes a good case, and I'd like to hear what others think of this.

[Shell B]

Loss of function is distress.

[Creed of Heresy]

@Annik: I know how you feel on the issue of not being able to sleep due to anxiety. Mine exhibits itself in a form of distress and frustration. Whenever I NEED to sleep, not just sleep because I am tired but genuinely NEED to sleep because I have work or whatever the next day, I genuinely cannot. My entire body seems to feel as if I'm plugged into a wall outlet, and my mind will not stop racing. I become more and more distressed over the fact that I am not sleeping and that I am going to be more and more of a wreck the next day, until eventually I start beating my pillows in frustration. At that point there is nothing I can do. If I'm not stoned or drunk, I'm fucked. Getting drunk is rarely a viable option; the hangover negates any restful feeling I might get the next day.

[Annik]

That's why I opted for weed. A good friend of mine smoked me out just because I mentioned I needed to sleep.

[Creed of Heresy]

That's why I opted for weed. A good friend of mine smoked me out just because I mentioned I needed to sleep.

In the coming months, if this job keeps up, I'm going to be really baked. A lot.

[Annik]

That's why I opted for weed. A good friend of mine smoked me out just because I mentioned I needed to sleep.

In the coming months, if this job keeps up, I'm going to be really baked. A lot.

I'm really glad my job has picked up! I have plenty for green and it keeps me distracted. I was trying to find a replacement job before they upped my hours, but being in a new work environment where I know no one kind of scares me.