Welcome to From Insults to Respect. The two dominant manuals for “diagnosing mental disorders” are the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and the International Classification of Diseases. (ICD). Their overarching concept is mental disorders. Synonyms are psychopathology, and mental illness. To access mental health services, most people are required to accept being labelled as having a mental illness. Not everyone respects this…
Welcome to From Insults to Respect. Perhaps some of you who have joined us here today have begun to notice that many in the media have begun to replace using the words “mentally ill,” “mental disorder,” or “psychopathology,” with words like, “a person with a mental health concern,” “mental health issue,” “mental health challenge,” or “mental health problem.” This change is viewed by some as more…
Welcome to From Insults to Respect. Last week, I presented a post titled, “Mental Illness as Distress, Abnormality, and Dysfunction.” There, I explained that it is actually normal in our society to have periods during which we become concerned that we are too distressed, or too dissatisfied with our level of functioning. The pharmaceutical companies, I noted, promote that these concerns are mental disorders and…
An Update On The Most Recent Published Discussions
Welcome to From Insults to Respect. From time to time I have written about the growing lack of respect for the current manner in which people seeking to obtain mental health services are treated. Particularly upsetting to many is the requirement that they be labeled as having a mental disorder. This labeling process relies on descriptions provided in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders–Fifth edition…
With some regularity, former President Trump has been accused of being mentally ill. Here at From Insults to Respect, we’re going today to take a discerning look at this. We’ll begin with some pieces that appeared in the media when he was president, and then see if we can move ahead to make our own informed personal decision. The Washington Post Article In a Washington Post…
At 39-years of age, Ron had been a respected employee in a department store for nearly ten years. If he had made it to ten full years, he would have qualified for some extra benefits. Upper management chose to replace him with someone new a week before the ten years were up. Discovering that landing a new job was leading to one rejection after another, Ron…
In an article titled “The Roots of Mental Illness,” the author, Kirsten Weir, tells us about Eric Kandel, MD, who believes that the experiences that doctors refer to as mental illnesses are brain diseases. Dr. Kandel defends his belief with the following statement: “All mental processes are brain processes, and therefore all disorders of mental functioning are biological diseases. The brain is the organ of the…
Today, I want to consider if the American Psychological Association’s participation in the mental disorder labelling practices promoted by the the American Psychiatric Association is due to something other than science and promoting human welfare? The American Psychological Association’s Emphasis on Science and Human Welfare First of all, I should note that I am a member of the American Psychological Association, and have been so…
In 1961 psychiatrist Thomas Szasz published an article in the American Psychologist titled, “The Myth of Mental Illness.” There he proposed that the set of experiences, behaviors, and thoughts viewed as “mental illness” are more aptly construed as “problems in living.” The following year, Dr Szasz published a best selling book by the same name. Some loved it while others writhed in anger. One reviewer, for example,…
This blog seeks to empower its readers, many of whom are directly involved in the mental health arena or will become so in the future. Others are, or will become, involved indirectly because of someone they care about. Thus, it makes sense to spend some time learning how to effectively engage with mental health service providers. One way to achieve this is to be aware…
