Doug Henwood wrote:
>
> On Jan 10, 2010, at 8:53 AM, Carrol Cox wrote:
>
> > And what is the evidence that Yanks are any
> > more apt to go "crazy" [sic] than in habitants of
> > othere nations?
>
> According to the OECD, the U.S. has the highest lifetime incidence of
> mental illness in the First World:
It is quite possible that that is accurate. Fuzziness, of course, enters into the diagnosis of "mental illness." They keep proliferating! Part, perhaps most, of that proliferation stems from better diagnosis and greater willingness of those 'in trouble' to seek psychiatric help. But there's probably some basis for the quasi-conspiracists who claim it's all a plot by the drug companies. Many diagnoses are by general physicians, and they do tend to depend on ads put out by the drug companies.
Even 25 years ago physicians were very reluctant to make or acknowledge a daignosis of migraine. That was probably a variation of the serious slowness of doctors to take mental pain or various peronality disorders seriously, as well as extreme reluctance (by no means gone today) of people to _want_ a mental-illness label. I had students who wanted treatment but whose parents' response was "No child of mine is crazy!" That factor would suggest the incidence of mental illness is STILL under- rather than over-diagnoesed.
******
I sometimes think I'd rather crow And be a rooster than to roost And be a crow. But I don't know.
A rooster he can roost also, Which doesn't seem fair when crows can't crow. Which may help some. But I don't know.
Crows should be glad of one thing, though; Nobody thinks of eating crow, While roosters they are good enough For anyone unless they're tough.
There are lots of tough old roosters, though. And anyway a crow can't crow, So maybe roosters stand more show. It looks that way. But I don't know.
*****
On the word "crazy." It's never bothered me ormost of the members of the local Deprrssive support group. But it really (and seriously) hurts some people, who can be hurt even by a friend using the term facetiously. I've learned to be cautions inusing it at support-group meetings.
Carrol