We’ve all heard about the definition of mental illness. What is it, and how can we determine what we are suffering from? It is a complex question with no easy answer. There is a lot of bullshit in psychiatry, and that’s a problem. There is a need for a better definition of the problem, and the answer lies in better data and scientific evidence.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM, was originally a way for doctors to classify and describe what people suffer from. It was developed by a group of committees based on expert consensus. Those who work in the mental health field have the power to change the definitions and categorize patients. Psychiatry is a huge business, and the DSM is a perfect example of the money behind it.
The basis of psychiatry is based on the mistaken paradigm that mental illness is caused by a biological abnormality. If there’s nothing biological about a mental disorder, then using biological “treatments” makes no sense. The main problem is not biological, and psychiatry has yet to prove this. Trying to identify a biological cause for mental illness is like trying to find a bad TV show.
One study used an experiment to measure willingness to bullshit. It asked participants to rate their knowledge of ten concepts on a 5-point scale, six of which were real and four were fake. Those who were willing to use this strategy were considered to be more likely to bullshit than those who were not. So is psychiatry bullshit? You decide. And your answers should be based on evidence.
