[Shazerac]

The labeling of every single human struggle and emotion as a "disorder" is starting to get ridiculous, in my opinion. Does anyone else find this frustrating?

I had to laugh at myself this morning. I had a hangnail and I chewed at it and ended up chewing on it until it made my finger bleed. Do I know have "hangnail aversion disorder"? Did I self harm? Oh wait, maybe I have OCD. Did I "disassociate" Ah I was too "depressed" to get off my *** and get the nail clipper?. Nah I just did a stupid thing and chewed on a hangnail.

Have a problem? Here take this magic pill and will fix you right up.

Im not saying that there are not people who are legitimately suffering and need meds to help them. I'm not rabidly anti med. And they have saved my life in a pinch. I'm questioning the need to stay on them for years or even forever. What i am saying is that i think we as a society are vastly over medicated and over labeled.

[still_crazy]

ugh. so much going on with what you're discussing. I don't like how now everybody is encouraged to hand all aspects of our lives over to "experts," especially doctors. Experts tell parents how to raise their kids, experts tell couples how to stay together, experts tell us what's "really going on" and what pills we are to take, for how long, etc.

I'm tired of it, personally. Part of it is profit, medicalizing problems and then selling pills. Part of it...I dunno...I think now, families split up a lot, communities have largely disintegrated, people...would rather listen to a "mental health expert" than a minister, rabbi, priest, or even...a friend. Oh, wait..."friend." I"m blessed to have a real, genuine friend now. Did you know that something like 25% of people in America don't even have 1 real, genuine friend they can sit down with and have a real conversation with? This in the age of Facebook, when seemingly everyone has dozens of "friends" keeping tabs on them.

I don't think its going to get much better. Not to sound too Marxist, but I think part of it is that we're a hyper-indvidualistic culture and now the economy has tanked. We are taught to think of this world as a bunch of individuals, and ignore social factors. Now, lots of people are unemployed, underemployed, disillusioned, stuck at demanding jobs w/ stagnant wages, and...predictably, Mental Health, Inc. has more and more labels for everybody, along with pills and shock and talk and...and...and...

[UpDownAround]

I sometimes think they do go a little overboard in diagnosing every aspect of your MH as a separate disorder. I do think my substance use disorder is really part of the bipolar disorder but dropping it as a condition would seem too much like saying it isn't a problem so if I am ever stabilized (seems less likely every year that passes) I can start drinking again. Hyperacusis seems physical to me but the audiologist is pretty certain it is not. Again, one of the possible causes (according to the DSM) is bipolar disorder. I was socially awkward and sometimes said inappropriate things well before my first major depressive event; now the term is "on the spectrum". Back then I was just weird. Before you know it, they will be diagnosing people as neurotypical and treating them for it...

[Shazerac]

Even Insurance companies are jumping on the band wagon and telling how to live our lives and take Meds. recently an insurance company Nurse called me and asked why I'm not taking blood pressure medicine. I explained that I lost weight, my blood pressure went down, and with permission from my doctor I don't take meds for it anymore. She was skeptical. It was annoying.

Then i got a letter in the mail saying that according to pharmacy records I'm not taking enough asthma medicine. Same thing, I've lost weigh, changed my diet to control allergies and just don't need as much medicine for this.

There seems to be this free flowing opinion that "once on a med, always on the med" This is really chapping my grits

[Wild Coyote]

Much of what we experience is "just life." So much is diagnosed if "medical people" witness it or are told about "it." I agree, it's overdone, both diagnosing and, sometimes, meds, too.

My own specialists (M.D.s) are quite sarcastic about the many medication ads now on television. Even they think it's overdone.

Interesting thread.
Thanks for sharing.


WC

[UpDownAround]

I often wonder how much of my social awkwardness is a "cascading failure". Early on in elementary school a couple of behavioral quirks made me something of an outcast and being an outcast may have shaped my psyche more than the quirks did. I see my t in about an hour; I should bring up that question.

[Woolly Bugger]

I, for one, am glad for the medical profession and all of the diagnoses they specify and the medications that they prescribe. I think they prescribe medications because they work. In addition to lithium, etc., I am taking a medication for high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Thank goodness those are available to me, as my life would be shortened without them. I also see a doctor twice a year for a condition that I have. He will probably end up saving my life. The more we understand disorders and disabilities, the more specific they become.

[bukowski06]

I work in the area of "disorders" and it is usually better to use umbrella terms, where you can indicate a range or a level of severity. I think it gives you a better understanding of a disorder and what it indicates. I agree that labels are not helpful if they aren't used to provide meaningful information.

[Sunflower123]

I agree that everything doesn't need to be labeled. I've seen some people with 4-5 different diagnoses. It's really confusing. I do find some labels helpful. If you were to tell me you were diagnosed with depression vs. anxiety vs. schizophrenia vs. aspergers, I would better understand you and understand some of the challenges you may be facing.

I myself take many medications. Unfortunately for right now they are all necessary or I nosedive. I feel more open to medication...hoping those pharmaceutical companies keep producing...maybe someday one pill will help me lead a depression free life versus so many. Again, having said that you can barely keep up with everything out there.

Good thread.

[Shazerac]

I just want clarify that I'm not against doctors and medications...in general. When i have some kind of medical crisis and need to go to the ER, I'm damned glad they are there to help me.

The last time i got so depressed that I was having SI. (Without a plan) I was glad for the pdoc and the meds to help me.

What I do object to is the special snowflake way of labeling every little crisis of the human condition as a "disorder" and throwing meds at it first instead of trying other options first.

[UpDownAround]

If the snowflake fits...

We are all a little, or a lot, different. I never SH or have SI even when I am deep in the abyss. My survival instinct is too strong. At the other end, the worst I have gotten in 40 years is to be convinced I am immortal but know that no one will believe me and it needs to be a secret (maybe once a year). And sometimes I can see auras (quite often), which is really weird because I don't believe in them. But no matter where I am on the roller coaster, I have some thinking that is disturbing; impulses to destroy/vandalize things (I don't ever succumb, but they don't go away), sexual fantasies that would be okay with a willing partner (but that is not most people and I will leave it at that) and I can't ever seem to get past my social awkwardness even if I can think through how I should change. Also saying inappropriate things is not restricted to hypomania; that just makes it much worse. When untreated, I spend *much* more time depressed than hypomanic, like maybe 10:1.

Probably more than you wanted to know, but my point is that saying "type 2 bipolar" doesn't come close to saying all that. OTOH, I don't think there is a string of letters you can add that says it either, except maybe for the social awkwardness.

EDIT to add - I forgot about the issues of attention deficit (which is why I take straterra) and substance abuse (which is why I don't take a stimulant). And my hyperacusis, which has its own entry in the DSM...

[ArcheM]

When I tried to educate myself in neuroscience a few years ago, DSM-V was pretty much universally controversial because of putting stuff into many discrete categories instead of trying to place things onto a few spectra... Such as, suppose, a spectrum of how social a person might be, or how much attention they have. And, of course, many medications are widely recognized to be overprescribed.

I think these sentiments just need some time to get from the academia into the business.

[Shazerac]

Originally Posted by UpDownAround

If the snowflake fits...

We are all a little, or a lot, different. I never SH or have SI even when I am deep in the abyss. My survival instinct is too strong. At the other end, the worst I have gotten in 40 years is to be convinced I am immortal but know that no one will believe me and it needs to be a secret (maybe once a year). And sometimes I can see auras (quite often), which is really weird because I don't believe in them. But no matter where I am on the roller coaster, I have some thinking that is disturbing; impulses to destroy/vandalize things (I don't ever succumb, but they don't go away), sexual fantasies that would be okay with a willing partner (but that is not most people and I will leave it at that) and I can't ever seem to get past my social awkwardness even if I can think through how I should change. Also saying inappropriate things is not restricted to hypomania; that just makes it much worse. When untreated, I spend *much* more time depressed than hypomanic, like maybe 10:1.

Probably more than you wanted to know, but my point is that saying "type 2 bipolar" doesn't come close to saying all that. OTOH, I don't think there is a string of letters you can add that says it either, except maybe for the social awkwardness.

EDIT to add - I forgot about the issues of attention deficit (which is why I take straterra) and substance abuse (which is why I don't take a stimulant). And my hyperacusis, which has its own entry in the DSM...

LOL If the snow flake fits ... that's funny. And thank you for sharing some things about your thoughts.

Perhaps I should clarify some more. I do think we are all unique snowflakes. My Objection is turning every single random thought into a pathology, labeling it, and then prescribing a drug for it.

My neighbor has this hideous, obnoxious tree that she lets grow down to obstruct the sidewalk in front of her house. I have fantasies of taking a chain saw to it and cutting it down. Am actually going to do that? No. Do I need to be on Thorazine now? No. Am I going to turn into the Texas chain saw massacre lady. Nope.

[UpDownAround]

A lady with a chain saw. That is not one of my sexual fantasies.

Yeah, I do get what you mean. The happy medium is hard to figure out. Mostly these labels are just for people to get a general idea WTH they are dealing with or who they are getting involved with. They need some agreed upon terms/conventions. I do identify more with my bipolar disorder than the attention deficit; I never post in that forum. And while I am maybe "on the spectrum" because I blurt and have trouble with social taboos, that doesn't feel like it is the root cause.

If someone has random thoughts of cutting down a tree but it doesn't interfere with their lives, yes, it would be very silly to receive a diagnosis. I doubt many doctors are stupid enough to give one in such cases. If someone has a problem that interferes with their life, causing them and their families distress, diagnosis can be helpful and useful. No distress, no problem.....but distress indicates a problem. Is it you who have been over diagnosed or are you making judgements towards people you know who you believe are being diagnosed for silly things? I would not personally minimize another persons struggle, nor am I a doctor with the ability and expertise to decide if a person has one. I do believe that medications might be over-prescribed but that is due to the fast paced society we live in. People need quick fixes to get back on the hamster wheel of life. In a perfect world we could put people in spas, with zero stress and lots of understanding and caring people around to nurture a person back to health. Sadly, this would not work and would be abused. Some people need meds for life but not everyone does and there seems to be many in the medical field who subscribe to the "forever for all" theory. I don't agree with it but I also don't have the answers on how to fix the issues permanently either. I guess I can see your points, agree in theory a bit and disagree in practice a lot. I see no solutions but I can clearly see the problems. Such is life I guess.

[Shazerac]

Originally Posted by ElsaMars

If someone has random thoughts of cutting down a tree but it doesn't interfere with their lives, yes, it would be very silly to receive a diagnosis. I doubt many doctors are stupid enough to give one in such cases. If someone has a problem that interferes with their life, causing them and their families distress, diagnosis can be helpful and useful. No distress, no problem.....but distress indicates a problem. Is it you who have been over diagnosed or are you making judgements towards people you know who you believe are being diagnosed for silly things? I would not personally minimize another persons struggle, nor am I a doctor with the ability and expertise to decide if a person has one. I do believe that medications might be over-prescribed but that is due to the fast paced society we live in. People need quick fixes to get back on the hamster wheel of life. In a perfect world we could put people in spas, with zero stress and lots of understanding and caring people around to nurture a person back to health. Sadly, this would not work and would be abused. Some people need meds for life but not everyone does and there seems to be many in the medical field who subscribe to the "forever for all" theory. I don't agree with it but I also don't have the answers on how to fix the issues permanently either. I guess I can see your points, agree in theory a bit and disagree in practice a lot. I see no solutions but I can clearly see the problems. Such is life I guess.

I don't think I'm minimizing someone else's pain. I also am not passing judgement on others. I have said, repeatedly, that I am NOT anti drug. Nor have I said anything to imply that there is something wrong with people who take psych meds. I take psych meds myself! I have been suicidal many times in my life, including one attempt when I was a teenager. I have been in hospital for depression. I've lost jobs for being manic.

My frustration is with the whole Psych SYSTEM. Not the people caught up in it.

I'm feeling king of dumped on now because I spoke my mind But I'll keep on blabbing and perhaps even offending people, because that's just who I am.

I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say and asking. I was asking for clarification to understand where your idea that everything is being labeled a pathology is coming from. I'm sorry you feel dumped on, it was not my intention. I was just stating how I feel and see things which is what you were doing. I'm going to try not to take your reaction too personally and I hope you can do the same with my post. If not, I'm sorry my honesty upset you.

[emgreen]

I agree with your assessment that it sometimes seems every little behavioral quirk someone has must be labeled & medicated. I don't mean to be rude, however, when I observe that despite your aversion to having "labels sewed on you," you identify your diagnosis & the meds you're on as part of your signature. I've followed your posts & generally agree with much of what you write, but am just wondering why you choose to label yourself? Peace.