DSM-5 to be released

A Slate article says:

Beware the DSM-5, the soon-to-be-released fifth edition of the “psychiatric bible,” the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. The odds will probably be greater than 50 percent, according to the new manual, that you’ll have a mental disorder in your lifetime. ...

Another way that the increased prevalence of mental illness occurs is by lowering the threshold of what it takes to be diagnosed with a given disorder. For instance, DSM-5 will change in the criteria for “generalized anxiety disorder,” a disorder that involves excessive and persistent worrying. Whereas the criteria in DSM-IV required three out of six symptoms of worrying, only one symptom is needed in DSM-5. Similarly, whereas in DSM-IV the symptoms must have persisted for at least six months, in DSM-5 the duration has been reduced to three months. So if you are excessively worried for three months about your finances or your health or that of a family member (to the point where you can’t control the worries), you would be considered to have a disorder, whereas in the past you would not have.

The UK Daily Mail reports:

People who hoard, pick their skin, binge eat or throw temper tantrums will soon be classed as having a serious mental illness.

The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), to be released on May 22, includes an extended list of psychological behaviors.

But the decision to categorize seemingly benign habits as full-fledged disorders has divided opinion, and many believe it just extends the 'reach of psychiatry further into daily life.'
Temper tantrum

Behavioral patterns: Temper tantrums should be classed as a mental illness, according to the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

Advocates say it will lead to more accessible treatment and greater understanding of the conditions, but others argue it will add to America's growing prescription drug abuse problem.

Gary Greenberg, author of The Book of Woe: The DSM and the Unmaking of Psychiatry, writes in The New Yorker: 'Every revision of the DSM causes controversy; that’s what happens when experts argue in public about the nature of human suffering.

'But never has the process provoked warfare so brutal, with attacks coming from within the profession as well from psychiatry’s usual opponents.'

Some critics have suggested that the new guidelines will make mental illness more common. For instance, according to the DSM-5 those who eat to excess 12 times in three months will be a candidate for binge eating disorder.

The Daily Beast jokingly writes: '[This] makes us think twice about the last time we devoured a pizza pie (last week) or ate three doughnuts in one sitting (this morning).'

And prominent names in the psychiatric profession have highlighted the serious consequences of the revisions.
Nation of hoarders: An estimated 4 million people in the U.S. are believed to suffer from the disorder

Nation of hoarders: An estimated 4 million people in the U.S. are believed to suffer from the disorder

Duke University psychiatrist Allen J. Frances, who was tasked with putting together the fourth edition of the DSM published in 1994, but did not work on the updated handbook, expressed concern over the changes.

'A new diagnosis can be more dangerous than a new drug,' he told The Daily Beast.

He said the new diagnosis of 'disruptive mood dysregulation disorder'(DMDD) - a term used to describe children's temper tantrums combined with mood swings - is one of the most worrying entries.

And clinical social worker Joe Wegmann said it was based on 'no credible research' and would trigger an 'zealous binge' of over-diagnosis.

The increase in diagnoses is mainly a scam to benefit shrinks and the drug industry. I post it here because sometimes the labels are used to deny parental rights in family court.