The APA defines schizophrenia by the presence of two or more of the following, each present for a significant portion of time during a one-month period: (1) delusions (2) hallucinations (3) disorganized speech (4) grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior (5) negative symptoms i.e. affective flattening, alogia or avolition Signs of the disturbance must have been… Continue Reading
Mental Retardation: A Stigmatizing Label
The first diagnostic category in DSM-IV is mental retardation, which embraces those individuals at the lower end of the intelligence spectrum. Intelligence is defined by psychologists as the ability to solve problems, adapt creatively to changing circumstances, and generally manage one’s affairs successfully and functionally. No definition of intelligence can truly do justice to the… Continue Reading
Adjustment Disorder: Everyone can have a mental illness
According to the DSM, the essential feature of this mental disorder is “…the development of clinically significant emotional or behavioral symptoms in response to an identifiable psychosocial stressor or stressors.” The manual defines clinically significant as either: “marked distress that is in excess of what would be expected given the nature of the stressor” or… Continue Reading
Bipolar Disorder Is Not An Illness
This post was edited and updated on June 24, 2013, to address comments received from readers. I thank them for their input. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DSM-IV’s criteria for a manic episode are given below: A. A distinct period of abnormally and persistently… Continue Reading