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I was discussing this with a friend who is a psychiatrist a couple of months ago. What happened to all the classical Mr. Toads? He acknowledged that in his long-time practice he is seeing more of the depressed/anxious type Bipolar patients and less of the top-of-the-world, cheerful ones. Or at least that the unpleasant episodes are more frequent than the ones the patient interprets as pleasurable. In fact he said it was one of the topics at a recent conference he attended (at which he ate two chocolate mousse desserts in one sitting, by the way. LOL)
Since retirement I've been out of the mental health loop for a while but I've tended to see a pattern in popular diagnoses. I don't know if it's a reflection of social issues or an effort to include more people in funded assistance. It's probably both.
I think as society changes the DSM will continue to need upgrading.
If you think depression is just not "feeling like" doing something, or that people with depression are shirking, then you haven't experienced a severe episode of major depressive disorder. I'm pleased that you haven't suffered with it, but I do wish you'd work on your empathy, or at least allow for the possibility that you're not knowledgeable enough here to understand others' experiences, let alone pass judgement like this.
The issue is whether or not someone accepts that behavior.
I can't speak for everyone's experience, but coming out of that state for me was a matter of being ****ing fed up with it because I was disgusted by it. Something inside finally clicked, and I saw it for what it was.
Can we purposefully lead someone to that tipping point? Maybe - and we should at least try. Yet the fact remains, ultimately, that if you want out you have to do it yourself. Depression is an exercise of learned helplessness, and so that lesson is particularly hard.
I was discussing this with a friend who is a psychiatrist a couple of months ago. What happened to all the classical Mr. Toads? He acknowledged that in his long-time practice he is seeing more of the depressed/anxious type Bipolar patients and less of the top-of-the-world, cheerful ones. Or at least that the unpleasant episodes are more frequent than the ones the patient interprets as pleasurable. In fact he said it was one of the topics at a recent conference he attended (at which he ate two chocolate mousse desserts in one sitting, by the way. LOL)
Since retirement I've been out of the mental health loop for a while but I've tended to see a pattern in popular diagnoses. I don't know if it's a reflection of social issues or an effort to include more people in funded assistance. It's probably both.
I think as society changes the DSM will continue to need upgrading.
The thing about the DSM is that like the bible, it is written by "men" (mostly, literally men). They sit in rooms and decide what is a disorder and what is a serious mental illness. I won't list the obvious changes that have been made (such as homosexuality) over the years. It is a social construction.
So these guys "make up" these disorders, and then other guys (mostly), diagnose "patients" (a marginalizing, pathologizing word for a human being) and the "patients" take these diagnoses as literal "truths."
To me, the entire process is a failure of education. I am old enough to have experienced education when critical thinking was valued and encouraged. In subsequent "teach-to-the-test" years, kids had "facts" poured into their heads and were not allowed to argue or present opposing points-of-view - the purpose was to create as many lemmings as possible who would work without argument in corporate America (and/or) not argue with politicians who were busy controlling everything while the lemmings worked and then relaxed in front of their TVs.)
The issue is whether or not someone accepts that behavior.
I can't speak for everyone's experience, but coming out of that state for me was a matter of being ****ing fed up with it because I was disgusted by it. Something inside finally clicked, and I saw it for what it was.
Can we purposefully lead someone to that tipping point? Maybe - and we should at least try. Yet the fact remains, ultimately, that if you want out you have to do it yourself. Depression is an exercise of learned helplessness, and so that lesson is particularly hard.
I think visibility is greater, but also I think we are not evolved to live in the society we currently live in. We are wired for a more pastoral way of life. We have way more structure, get way less exercise and eat a ton more sugar than we ever would have done 1,000 years ago. We worry about things that our ancestors never even thought of.
They were too busy running from saber-toothed tigers.
The thing about the DSM is that like the bible, it is written by "men" (mostly, literally men). They sit in rooms and decide what is a disorder and what is a serious mental illness. I won't list the obvious changes that have been made (such as homosexuality) over the years. It is a social construction.
So these guys "make up" these disorders, and then other guys (mostly), diagnose "patients" (a marginalizing, pathologizing word for a human being) and the "patients" take these diagnoses as literal "truths."
To me, the entire process is a failure of education. I am old enough to have experienced education when critical thinking was valued and encouraged. In subsequent "teach-to-the-test" years, kids had "facts" poured into their heads and were not allowed to argue or present opposing points-of-view - the purpose was to create as many lemmings as possible who would work without argument in corporate America (and/or) not argue with politicians who were busy controlling everything while the lemmings worked and then relaxed in front of their TVs.)
Quote:
educate (v.)
mid-15c., educaten, "bring up (children), to train," from Latin educatus, past participle of educare "bring up, rear, educate" (source also of Italian educare, Spanish educar, French éduquer), which is a frequentative of or otherwise related to educere "bring out, lead forth," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + ducere "to lead," from PIE root *deuk- "to lead." Meaning "provide schooling" is first attested 1580s. Related: Educated; educating.
The modern school system is not (e)ducation, but (in)doctrination.
It's always boggled me; textbooks laud the pioneering work of those that were ostracized during their time, and yet so many "educated" adults espouse the same close-minded attitude that they laugh at when it's found in a history book. The majority of people seek the stamp of approval from their chosen authority before they will respect a concept which they are not familiar.
“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” -Aristotle, Metaphysics
The issue is whether or not someone accepts that behavior.
I can't speak for everyone's experience, but coming out of that state for me was a matter of being ****ing fed up with it because I was disgusted by it. Something inside finally clicked, and I saw it for what it was.
Can we purposefully lead someone to that tipping point? Maybe - and we should at least try. Yet the fact remains, ultimately, that if you want out you have to do it yourself. Depression is an exercise of learned helplessness, and so that lesson is particularly hard.
I'll argue about depression being learned helplessness (it's so much more than that), but you have a good question about tipping points.
My dad had an awful temper and took it out on our family. I also had an terrible temper and took it out on my dog until I realized what I was doing. That was a watershed moment for me. It was obvious that one of us had to change. The dog wasn't going to change (he wasn't the problem anyway), so it was up to me and I did.
In all those years, though, my dad never had such a tipping point and since then I've always wondered why some people were able to reach through themselves and turn themselves around and why some weren't. Even having done it, I can't explain it.
We see this in people who are alcoholics, drug addicts, physical abusers, and others. Why do some people change and why don't others?
I think we also have to take into consideration how few people can actually get (affordable) mental help if they want it, let alone if they need it.
The modern school system is not (e)ducation, but (in)doctrination.
It's always boggled me; textbooks laud the pioneering work of those that were ostracized during their time, and yet so many "educated" adults espouse the same close-minded attitude that they laugh at when it's found in a history book. The majority of people seek the stamp of approval from their chosen authority before they will respect a concept which they are not familiar.
“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” -Aristotle, Metaphysics
Totally agree, and it's sad, because truly having a plethora of fascinating information is fun - the opposite is true of being made to sit for six-plus-hours, while someone who thinks they are superior to you, gives you the "state approved" (think about that) "facts" that they deem important for you to know (or to distract you from what you would really like to know).
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