[still_crazy]

Every society has madness. Sometimes its celebrated, other times punished. In the USA, it seems that individual experiences of madness--both the acute problems and the life in the patient role, more or less--vary wildly.

What if the whole thing is just that the mind breaks? And the DSM isn't spotting actual "diseases," just ways in which the mind breaks?

I'm thinking now that madness is very real, but I don't know about mental illness. The mind breaks, that's fairly obvious. Diagnosis doesn't even seem to matter. The bipolar people are on antipsychotics, the schizophrenic people are on mood stabilizers. Why even bother with the DSM speak?

What if its just about getting space? 21st century culture is so fast and furious and cut throat. Maybe a label is the only way left to get a touch of compassion, maybe even mercy, definitely some space in which to make mistakes and build a life?

[wiretwister]

Originally Posted by still_crazy

What if the whole thing is just that the mind breaks? And the DSM isn't spotting actual "diseases," just ways in which the mind breaks?

they talk about chemical imbalances and such ... but know one even has a definitive answer why meds even work or how ... or how the mind "breaks" ... is it a disease or just a bunch of related symptoms ... are pdoc's even doctors or just drug dealers with a lic ... IDK

[leejosepho]

If we had a pot of stew with a sour taste or maybe it was too spicy or it simply had no flavor at all, would we have a broken stew or a stew with a chemical imbalance...or...or what? I used to read the PDR (Physicians' Desk Reference, a compilation of manufacturers' prescribing information on prescription drugs) whenever something was prescribed for me -- Thorazine was my first -- and it always bothered me that the mechanism of action was almost never known. Things turned out well when a chemist trying to invent a strong aerospace adhesive accidentally discovered Post-It notes, but throwing more spices at a pot of stew to see what happens when it hits the palate is just not something I want done with my brain. Today I do take a med that does make a huge difference for me in the depression department, and it is like icing on the cake to know exactly why the med works and that my brain never did need to be mushed.

[Wander]

This sounds true to me. In my recent episode my mind clearly broke, very suddenly and terrifyingly too. When I asked my pdoc what was my clinical diagnosis he said that what was happening to me was beyond any simple diagnosis. He would agree my mind had snapped causing chaos and madness. He will have to list a diagnosis but it comforts me that he sees what is happening to me as more than a DSM listing but a major psychological and mental event. As Thom Yorke put it, 'Phew, for a minute there, I lost myself'.