Grief, Tantrums and a Bad Memory Could Equal ‘Crazy’ Soon
When the new DSM-5 manual is released, some common—and normal—emotions may be labeled mental disorders. That would likely mean many more people taking medication too.
Want to Ensure There’s Not Another Adam Lanza? Look at the ‘Lost Boys’ Around You
Following the shootings in Newtown and other recent mass shootings, the White House issued the following announcement: “The Administration is proposing steps to identify mental health issues early and help individuals get the treatment they need before these dangerous situations develop.” But as a clinical psychologist, I have to ask whether earlier mental health treatment […]
Imperialist Psychiatrists, Psychopathic Corporatists—But I Repeat Myself
Journalist/humorist Jon Ronson’s TED talk “Strange Answers To The Psychopath Test” addresses the DSM, diseasing normality, faking mental illness, and the psychopathy of former CEO “Chainsaw” Al Dunlap. The Huffington Post, for their TED Weekends section, asked me for a reaction to Ronson’s talk—but then refused to print my blog because, a Huffington Post staffer […]
Imperialist Psychiatrists, Psychopathic Corporatists—But I Repeat Myself
Mark Twain famously said, “Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.” My immediate reaction to Jon Ronson’s TED talk ? Imperialist psychiatrists, psychopathic corporatists—but I too repeat myself. Ronson reminds us that the media’s poster boy for psychopathic corporatists in the 1990s was “Chainsaw” Al […]
The Systemic Crushing of Young Nonconformists and Anti-Authoritarians
“To be a hero,” says Philip Zimbardo in his talk The Psychology of Evil, “you have to learn to be a deviant, because you’re always going against the conformity of the group.” That’s true, and I think Zimbardo would agree that the heroism required to battle for liberty and justice in the face of tyranny […]
The Systemic Crushing of Young Nonconformists and Anti-Authoritarians
“To be a hero,” says Philip Zimbardo in his talk The Psychology of Evil, “you have to learn to be a deviant, because you’re always going against the conformity of the group.” That’s true, and I think Zimbardo would agree that the heroism required to battle for liberty and justice in the face of tyranny […]
With Thom Hartmann on the DSM-5 and Big Pharma
Even Some Establishment Psychiatrists Embarrassed by New DSM-5 Mental Illnesses—Is It Time to Abolish the Psychiatric Diagnostic Bible?
After the American Psychiatric Association (APA) approved the latest version of its diagnostic bible, the DSM-5, psychiatrist Allen Frances, the former chair of the DSM-4 taskforce and currently professor emeritus at Duke, announced, “This is the saddest moment in my 45-year career of practicing, studying and teaching psychiatry” (“A Tense Compromise on Defining Disorders”). The […]
Why the Newest Psychiatric Diagnostic Bible Will Be a Boon for Big Pharma
After the American Psychiatric Association (APA) approved the latest version of its diagnostic bible, the DSM-5, psychiatrist Allen Frances, the former chair of the DSM-4 taskforce and currently professor emeritus at Duke, announced, “This is the saddest moment in my 45-year career of practicing, studying and teaching psychiatry” (“A Tense Compromise on Defining Disorders”). The […]
What Happened After a Nation Methodically Murdered Its Schizophrenics? Rethinking Mental Illness and Its Heritability
If a nation murdered and sterilized an estimated 73% to 100% of its diagnosed schizophrenics, yet a generation later that nation had a higher rate of incidence of new cases of schizophrenia than did surrounding nations, shouldn’t we have questions about the claim by the mental health establishment that schizophrenia is highly heritable? Moreover, since […]