15 new ways to be called ‘crazy’

Unfortunately, binge-eating disorder is only one of 15 new ways to be labeled as mentally ill. We discovered that when the DSM-5, the latest manual of psychiatric disorders, was released by the American Psychiatric Association.

And every one of those disorders is a potential gold mine to Big Pharma. Because they’re where the really big bucks can be made in new drugs.

Some of these official new “diseases” that might afflict you or someone you know include:

• “Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder,” a term used to label and medicate kids from 6 to 18 who have temper tantrums and act moody. (I’m very lucky my mother didn’t have this when I was growing up. Guilty as charged!)
• “Minor Neurocognitive Disorder,” which was once called “forgetfulness.” Now it’s considered a condition serious enough to fill you with anxiety every time you misplace your keys or glasses.
• “Hoarding Disorder.” Okay, we’ve all seen the TV shows and shaken our heads in disbelief how people can live with mounds of “stuff” covering every square inch of their homes. But this new mental illness can strike if you simply have “difficulty discarding or parting with items, regardless of their actual value.” So much for Aunt May’s carefully knitted socks she keeps sending you.

Now I’m not a psychiatrist, but I think they missed a few problems. Mental illnesses that could certainly be cured by just the right drug.

How about “Autoimmaculate Disease” — an obsession with washing your car on weekends and removing all those empty coffee cups? Or “Walkaholics” – those kooky people who believe walking is good for them and seem to do it every single day. Or “Mowing Mania,” which seems to afflict many people living in the suburbs?

But the craziest thing of all is yet to come.

It’s said that the next edition of the DSM will address a problem called “Internet Disorder.”

I can already hear the drug ads for that one. And I bet most will be running online!

Source:

“Psychiatrists approve vast changes to diagnosis manual” Sharon Jayson, USA Today, usatoday.com