Wednesday, February 10, 2010

DSM-5: Childhood Bipolar Disorder, Stigma & Inappropriate Treatment.

Good News for 2013? Perhaps!!!






“It is probably too late as so many doctors and psychiatrists are brought up on empirical diagnosis that sheds little light on the sufferings of the individual. The more powerful the diagnosis is, the easier it is to ignore the person as an individual and not to take into account his life history that may have a strong bearing on his treatment.
          In physical medicine we all understand that pain is a symptom and not in itself a diagnosis. When we move on to stroke or heart attack, it may be more problematic. Even in these cases, most clinicians will still be looking at or for the underlying cause or causes and will not rest until that is identified.  Hopefully it may have important bearing on the treatment. Underlying hypertension or diabetes, for example, will have to be treated.”

Chapter 33: The Peril of Diagnosis


The New York Times Reported:
Revising Book on Disorders of the Mind


By BENEDICT CAREY
Published: February 10, 2010
Far fewer children would get a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. “Binge eating disorder” and “hypersexuality” might become part of the everyday language. And the way many mental disorders are diagnosed and treated would be sharply revised.

These are a few of the changes proposed on Tuesday by doctors charged with revising psychiatry’s encyclopedia of mental disorders, the guidebook that largely determines where society draws the line between normal and not normal, between eccentricity and illness, between self-indulgence and self-destruction — and, by extension, when and how patients should be treated.

The eagerly awaited revisions — to be published, if adopted, in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, due in 2013 — would be the first in a decade.

For months they have been the subject of intense speculation and lobbying by advocacy groups, and some proposed changes have already been widely discussed — including folding the diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome into a broader category, autism spectrum disorder.

But others, including a proposed alternative for bipolar disorder in many children, were unveiled on Tuesday. Experts said the recommendations, posted online at DSM5.org for public comment, could bring rapid change in several areas.

“Anything you put in that book, any little change you make, has huge implications not only for psychiatry but for pharmaceutical marketing, research, for the legal system, for who’s considered to be normal or not, for who’s considered disabled,” said Dr. Michael First, a professor of psychiatry at Columbia University who edited the fourth edition of the manual but is not involved in the fifth.

“And it has huge implications for stigma,” Dr. First continued, “because the more disorders you put in, the more people get labels, and the higher the risk that some get inappropriate treatment.

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2 comments:

bipolar disorder said...

Bipolar disorder is separated into various types. There are many symptoms of bipolar disorder. The symptoms include extreme, sadness, change in appetite, anxiety, guilt, fatigue, irritation, etc. People suffering from bipolar disorder change their mood drastically. People suffering from this disorder should consult a health professional immediately.

Anonymous said...

great blog!