Question:
Psychiatrists have a charming hobby of dreaming up mental illnesses, then while
still dreaming, creating an official-sounding name for the newly created
"illness" that legitimizes it. PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is one of
the cutest. According psychiatric literature, PTSD is "a natural emotional
reaction to a deeply shocking and disturbing experience. It's a normal reaction
to an abnormal situation. When you figure that one out, let me know.
Their definition goes on. It's a masterpiece.
1. The person experienced or witnessed or was confronted with an event or events
that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the
physical integrity of self or others;
2. The person's response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror.
...So according to that definition, I guess about everybody I know who's been to
any of several other scary movies, probably has PTSD - right?
Answer:
PTSD is widely recognized in the non-psychiatric medical
community because of the very tangible and visible physical
effects that often accompany very severe cases. Physicians'
experiences in WWI and WWII (non-psychiatric as well as
psychiatric) proved overwhelmingly the existence of this
phenomenon half a century ago (when you're deluded leader was
just beginning his descent into madness), and Korea and
Vietnam were icing on the cake.
That's funny. Freezoners like Sarge Gerbode use precisely the PTSD
angle to validate auditing. He uses it as one of the most illustrative
manifestation of the effect of engrams, and the psychological
treatment (reviving the incident) is the closest to the Dianetic
procedure one can find. Seems strange that scienos try to deny its
existence.
What you *omitted* from the diagnostic criteria for PTSD, is what
leaves your post looking half plausible. Give the whole diagnostic
criteria and your post gets trashed. The key information you omitted
relates to assessing severity and duration.
Get the actual European or US description of this and any other DSM
described illness from www.mentalhealth.com
As for PMT becoming listed as a disorder - with some people PMT is
sufficiently severe to be distressing and disruptive. I therefore see
no reason why it shouldn't be listed in the DSM manuals as a disorder,
with a suggested standard treatment. And with PMT especially, since
it is affected by hormones and biochemistry, it is logically
remediable via hormones and biochemistry. The bleat goes out that
this is a boost for the drugs industry. I say "So what!", if the
patient gets classified as suffering PMT, then they must be suffering
sufficiently severely to earn that classification and justify
obtaining medical help.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manuals represent psychiatry's attempt
to standardize both diagnosis and treatment of various disorders.
Note well that information from these manuals is also useful to the
*patient* as means to halt abuses and obtain needed appropriate
treatment. The DSM manuals are thus a way to pull psychiatry out of
the authoritarian dark ages.
I am myself currently under care of a psychiatrist, and am actively
pulling him and the care system to implement the DSM-IV outlined
treatments for my diagnosed difficulties, and I recognize how those
treatments can help, and am much reassured. With other clients of
the mental health system, I ask what is their single or differential
multiple diagnosis/diagnoses, look up the DSM-IV description and
recommended treatments, then check with those people whether the
suggested help could be useful to them, whether they are getting that
help, and if not, explore how they can get that help. Doing this
treads on nobody's toes and is beneficial.
In the UK the problem for mental health clients is mainly neglect / no
treatment and the use of harmful cheap medications when better but
more expensive medicines are available. People come to me asking
about such-and-such medication, asking whether it might be causing
their nausea, convulsions, bodily twitching or whatever. I look up
the drug on the Internet and essentially answer their question, giving
them information that they can take to their doc or p.doc . My
information-providing is very much appreciated.
