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Psychiatry's Noose

" Give them enough rope and they will hang themselves."

Following from Sykes
http://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?entries/the-witch-the-python-the-siren-and-the-bunny.1149/

1. ME is not a valid disease category, there are no objective tests that prove you have it.

2. Depression is not a valid disease category, there are no objective tests that prove you have it.

For that last you could substitute almost any psychiatric diagnosis found in the DSM.
Click to expand...


BOTH statements are fallacies. However if you believe the first its irrational and hypocritical to not believe the second. By extension, adding them all up, you would have to conclude the DSM (and ICD equivalents) or almost any psychiatric disorder are not valid disease categories.

Or you can simply admit the fallacy.

There are other arguments about the invalidity of CFS or ME diagnoses. However when you look at most psych diagnoses the picture is likely to be no better. At least ME has objective tests that reliably show pathophysiology, even if they are not yet considered diagnostic, such as NK cell function and the 2 day CPET, or for a subset the Tilt Table Test. While some pathophysiology is known for some psych disorders, its a real hodgepodge.

This blog came to me as I was waking up this morning, right after a dream in which I was exploring the USA as a tourist, on foot. The only gear I was carrying was a swag: http://www.australiandictionary.net/swag
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alex3619
PS Someone else implied that carrying that no other gear might mean no clothes. No. No bushman or adventurer would be without clothes, and appropriate clothes, but clothes are not something you have to carry a lot of. In the old days bushmen in Australia might carry a very few things, like a blanket, a canvas sheet to wrap around this, and maybe a small pot to cook things in, and a knife. Some string, flour, lard (this was the old days) or butter, and something to make fire with ... what more do you need? You eat what you find. They also used to wear wide brimmed hats, but I am not a hat person.
 
whodathunkit
What a great dream! IME dreams that clear and simple are usually significant. A few I've had have been startlingly prophetic, chronicling situations or events that happened the very next day. They've taught me to pay attention when it happens like that.

Possible interpretation: you're definitely going it alone, and must rely on your own resources to get you where you need to go. Maybe that means be your own advocate and go your own way regardless of what the experts say. Which yo u do anyway, so no news there.

But maybe the USA is where you will find what you need...? Or perhaps the treatment options here are something you need to explore in more depth?

Have you tried to impose a meaning on this dream yet, or is that a bit too Freudian for you? ;)
 
alex3619
Anything Freudian is too Freudian for me, but here is my interpretation anyway. ;-)

FIrst, I have these dreams where I go to meet other PWMEs but I can never find them. I think this more about my frustration with isolation. This is typically the US, but sometimes the UK.

Second, I get lost a lot in dreams. I know where I want to go, but there is no clear path to get there. That relates to ME - we want to get well, we have options, but they never seem to lead to the destination.

Third, far more simple, I am waiting for a game to come out, Fallout 4, which is a post apocalypse game and part of that game is to do a tiny bit to restore civilization. Its set in Boston, and mostly the protagonist will be on foot. With minimal gear. Lost in a world he/she does not really relate to.

Personally I think its a blend of all three reasons.

PS I was also trialing gabapentin, which I will be testing again starting today, and its known to produce intense dreams as a side effect.
 
Beyond
Hmm waiting for Fallout uh... Great minds think alike Alex. Regarding psychobabblers. and their selfdeluded troops... give em hell with verbal ammunition! After all, truth is on our side, is a matter of time their fake constructions start to crumble.

Gabapentin sucked for me, I mean for sleep. Pregabalin was kinda cool (truly deeper sleep sometimes) but ended giving me bad anxiety. That pesky GABA has mysterious ways.
 
JaimeS
I think they'd have a rough time admitting that there is no objective test for depression in the first place. I think that they consider their tests to be objective.

You overestimate your audience. ;)
 
alex3619
DSM IV actually had a disclaimer. I am not sure about DSM V. Its well known in psychiatry there are no tests. Yet they like to pretend they know what they are talking about. They like to pretend authority. Psychiatry is hard, its complex, it overlaps or is part of other disciplines like neurology and metabolic or pathogenic disease. They fear that if they admit they are wrong they will lose authority. I think otherwise. I think they are currently losing authority because they wont admit they can be wrong.
 

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