
Lately I have been delving into Scientology material out of curiosity of what drives these people, and while I disagree with the ideology as a whole I did think they have an interesting perspective on psychiatry. I had never questioned before whether pschiatry is a legitimate kind of science before, but now I am actually starting to wonder.
I think they have a point when they say psychiatry is at best a shady business, if not an entire system of mind control and lies to the general public. After all, what exactly makes for a ''normal'' person? Wouldn't everyone be some kind of ''crazy'' if we put them through all the tests people who get admitted to mental hospitals get put through?
Besides, people who get themselves tested for a psychiatric disorder already are subject to confirmation bias. They think something is wrong with them, and they come in telling people they are not 'normal'. The job of the Psychiatrist is to define what kind of abnormal they are. And there is plenty of room for that in the DSM 5.
Some examples taken from here : http://www.wayneramsay.com/diagnosis.htm
Well, I am an early bird. Apparently that's a disorder now.
Etc. I got myself an extra disorder there. And so on. The rest can be found in the article.
Of course, we have all seen the origins of psychiatry. Mental asylums where people would be locked away from society for the rest of their lives in often dire or worse conditions than prisoners, sometimes shackled to the wall or electroshocked. These barbaric practices are presumably over, but this is where psychiatry came from. And to this day, being diagnosed as mentally ill is incredibly damaging for your future perspectives and often done at a very early age too.
More and more children seem to be diagnosed very early in life with serious conditions that might threaten their chances at a normal existence way before anybody can be sure about their developement.
What do you think, is psychiatry a legitimate science or another system to control the masses?
I think they have a point when they say psychiatry is at best a shady business, if not an entire system of mind control and lies to the general public. After all, what exactly makes for a ''normal'' person? Wouldn't everyone be some kind of ''crazy'' if we put them through all the tests people who get admitted to mental hospitals get put through?
Psychiatric "diagnosis" can result in a person who seems normal to the average person, and who is law-abiding, spending his or her whole life imprisoned in a mental institution rather than living in freedom. Psychiatric "diagnosis" can defeat the proper functioning of the system of justice, examples being a person being found not guilty by reason of insanity and avoiding punishment for a serious crime, or a good parent losing custody of his or her child.
Besides, people who get themselves tested for a psychiatric disorder already are subject to confirmation bias. They think something is wrong with them, and they come in telling people they are not 'normal'. The job of the Psychiatrist is to define what kind of abnormal they are. And there is plenty of room for that in the DSM 5.
Some examples taken from here : http://www.wayneramsay.com/diagnosis.htm
Going to bed late and sleeping late is a "Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorder...Delayed Sleep Phase Type" in both DSM-IV-TR (2000, p. 622) and DSM-5 (2013, pp. 390-391), but what if you're an early riser? Might that also be a "disorder"? Yes, in this case the diagnosis (actually description) is "Circadian Rhythm Sleep-Wake Disorder ... Advanced Sleep-Wake Type" (DSM-5, p. 393; in DSM-IV-TR, p. 624, it is one of the "Unspecified Type" Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorders). DSM-5 says "Advanced sleep phase type is characterized by sleep-wake times that are several hours earlier than desired or conventional times" and that "Individuals with advanced sleep phase type are 'morning types'" (p. 393). According to psychiatry's current "diagnostic" standards, if you don't sleep and wake up at "conventional times" you have a mental disorder.
Well, I am an early bird. Apparently that's a disorder now.

Do you or have you ever suspected your spouse or intimate partner of infidelity? In that case you have or had "Obsessional jealousy", a subtype of "Other Specified Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorder" defined as "nondelusional preoccupation with a partner's perceived infidelity" (pp. 263-264). No, that's not a misprint: This particular disorder is defined as "nondelusional", but it is still a mental disorder in DSM-5, as if a person should not care very much about a spouse's or intimate partner's infidelity.
Do you often like to get yourself a midnight snack? In that case you have "Night eating syndrome" defined as "Recurrent episodes of night eating, as manifested by eating after awakening from sleep or by excessive food consumption after the evening meal" (DSM-5, p. 354).
Etc. I got myself an extra disorder there. And so on. The rest can be found in the article.
Of course, we have all seen the origins of psychiatry. Mental asylums where people would be locked away from society for the rest of their lives in often dire or worse conditions than prisoners, sometimes shackled to the wall or electroshocked. These barbaric practices are presumably over, but this is where psychiatry came from. And to this day, being diagnosed as mentally ill is incredibly damaging for your future perspectives and often done at a very early age too.
More and more children seem to be diagnosed very early in life with serious conditions that might threaten their chances at a normal existence way before anybody can be sure about their developement.
What do you think, is psychiatry a legitimate science or another system to control the masses?
The only way out is in