Shattering The Paradigm

http://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/breakingbipolar/2011/09/mental-illness-means-physical-pain-too/

Calling these symptoms "mental" is ultimately damaging the patient's health and is down right idiotic.These concepts have sneaked their way into society's collective consciousness, ideas that bypass the scientific method and instead use circular logic or simple authoritarian mandate (it is so because I (a reputatable person or instituion) says so). They reduce and sometimes forbid detailed physical examination and investigation into reasons behind a patients devastating symptoms.

I don't have a great deal to say right now, but I'd appreciate feedback on challenging this damaging irresponsible concept.

For a start, folk do not get depression without knowing about it.
Clinical depression is the very bottom pit of hell.
I think she must be referring to "feeling a wee bit unhappy".

Hi PhoenixDown, I agree with you. I have written a series of blogs on this here on PR and am writing a book. This kind of nonsense goes back to ancient Egypt I think, definitely ancient Greece, and was the basis of "medical" thinking during the inquisition. Something wrong with you? Find the witch! You have been cursed. Or you are possessed. Somebody needs to be tortured to confess.

It was Charcot who codified the definition of hysteria. His student Freud did much of the rest. During this period the neurological disease neurasthenia was redefined again and again, broadening the definition until it became a wastebasket diagnosis. Around WW2 the diagnostic criteria of neurasthenia was abandoned. though even pre-WW1 it was dying. At that time psychiatrists finally created new diagnostic categories and transfered most patients from the broad neurasthenia category to whatever they thought they had under the new criteria.

We are seeing the same phenomenia with functional somatic syndromes. DSM-V may broaden definitions to rediculous levels.

The is growing evidence that most of primary depression is an autoimmune disease, or more likely a family of such diseases. So there will be real body targets of some of those antibodies. Physical pain? You bet.

Bye, Alex

Quite agree with all said here - must have met the height of their arrogance, irresponsibility and very dangerous "treatment" - collapsed in A & E and three junior Docs "we have a new idea, we think it's all in your mind" and produced a psychiatrist. (presumably to talk me out it). Note Docs in on the act too.