the marketing of madness

[mixolyd]

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[loveoforganic]

The DSM may be less than ideal, but is far from unscientific. The book does not cite sources, but the original literature backing it is compiled in several source books. The claim of being able to diagnose anyone with something probably doesn't take into account "in addition to x of the above symptoms, clinically significant impairment must occur in xyz." In regards to medicalization of mental illness, the DSM doesn't really delve into etiology or treatment, but the conflict of interest presented by the pharm rep prescriber interaction is fairly well known and has some obvious issues. It's also a very rare psychiatrist (in my experience) who thinks the only valid treatment for a disorder is pharmaceuticals.

 

[roubs]

The DSM is completely unscientific in its approach and 95% of the population would be mentally ill if diagnosed according to it.

[Citation Needed]..I could go on like this but one gets the idea.

that is they are biological "chemical imbalances" even though there is no scientific proof of this.

There is no scientific proof of anything, there is however some scientific evidence for chemical imbalance theories of mental illness. As for drugs not being effective, there is scientific evidence that they are effective for several disorders. Flaws in this evidence should continue to be explored.

If the points are true, then the unspoken point is this. Is a for-profit motive appropriate when it comes to human health and well-being?

There is a profit motive for any good or service that can be sold. I don't see this going away anytime soon. Even in countries with universal, government paid for health care there still exist for-profit drug companies which have both a) made helpful drugs, b) reaped huge profits from them and c) engaged in questionable business practices. These companies should be regulated monitored, but I don't see how stripping the profit motive would bring about an ideal outcome.

To me the broad unsupported strokes painted in this post, if they reflect the content of the documentary, hint at the primary motives of the producers being less than objective critique.