A Behavioral Approach to Mental Disorders

The central theme of this blog is that there are no mental illnesses. The concept of mental illness is a spurious invention of psychiatrists and other mental health professionals for the purpose of medicalizing normal human problems and selling drugs. The central tenet of the mental health system is that unusual, bizarre, and disturbing behaviors are caused by mental disorders (or illnesses). But their definition of a mental disorder is: a serious behavioral problem. So problem behavior is caused by problem behavior. This is the facile logic behind the widespread peddling of drugs in which psychiatry and the mental health system engage. ...

The central theme of this blog is that mental illness is a spurious and invalid concept, which is promoted and developed by the American Psychiatric Association to legitimize the use of mood-altering drugs. It is certainly true that people display various problems in their daily lives and particularly in their interpersonal relationships. The American Psychiatric Association claims that all such problems are caused by mental illness and their list of these so-called illnesses is so long that virtually anybody can be embraced within their coils. ...

Hallucinations In Schizophrenia Part 1, we noted that the APA lists hallucinations as one of the primary “symptoms” of schizophrenia. The APA defines an hallucination as follows: “A sensory perception that has the compelling sense of reality of a true perception but that occurs without external stimulation of the relevant sensory organ.” (DSM-IV-TR, p 823) In other words: seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, or feeling something that isn’t really there. Typically the individual who has been “diagnosed” with schizophrenia reports that he hears voices that accuse him of some wrong or exhort him to some action, and sometimes threaten him with punishment or retribution. A number of points need to be made. ...

Delusions, contd. In my last post I pointed out that schizophrenia as defined by DSM is a confusing collection of human problems with no evidence of a common etiology or indeed any valid justification for including them under a common heading. I discussed delusions and made the point that cognitive distortions of this kind are a normal response to failure. When the experience of failure is profound and pervasive, the delusional speech tends to be commensurately extreme. Delusions are not symptomatic of an underlying illness, but rather are a normal human reaction to severe stress or profound failure, particularly in the late teens/early adulthood phase of life. This is the time of life in which our general coping skills are subjected to their first serious tests, and when people experience profound failure at this time, there is a risk that they will drift towards delusional speech. Onset of delusional speech is typically later for women than men, and probably corresponds with the process of giving birth and caring for small children. The potential for strong feelings of failure is high at this point of life also. ...

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 present for at least six months and there must be significant deficits in one or more areas of functioning such as work, interpersonal relations or self-care. ...

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 complexity of the matter, but various standardized tests exist, and within certain philosophical and practical limitations, they all provide reasonably accurate estimates of an individual’s general intellectual ability, as well as identifying areas of particular strength and weakness. ...

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 “significant impairment in social or occupational functioning.” DSM provides a number of examples of the kinds of stressors that might precipitate a diagnosis of Adjustment Disorder. These include: ...

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 elevated, expansive, or irritable mood, lasting at least 1 week (or any duration if hospitalization is necessary). ...

Post edited and updated March 9, 2013, to reflect additional thoughts as a result of interactions with the many people who left comments. I thank them for their input. DEPRESSION – AN ADAPTIVE MECHANISM Contrary to the APA’s assertion, depression is not an illness. In fact, depression is an adaptive mechanism which has served humanity well for millions of years. When things are going well in our lives, we feel good. This good feeling is nature’s way of telling us to keep doing what we’re doing. When our lives are not going well, we feel down or depressed. This is nature’s way of telling us to make some changes. ...

This post was edited and updated on July 7, 2013 in the light of comments from readers. I am grateful for their input. One of the anxiety disorders listed in DSM-IV is posttraumatic stress disorder. The criteria for this condition are listed below: A. The person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which both of the following were present: (1) the person experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others (2) the person's response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror. Note: in children, this may be expressed instead by disorganized or agitated behavior ...