Is Free Thinking A Mental Illness?
Bill Smith, Editor: When I received the following quote from a reader [thank you Sandi], she had my attention:
Most of us have noted the growing rhetoric (attacks) by the Democratic leaders of Congress, the White House, their staff members, and their supporters. They have mocked, ridiculed, and increased their attacks on American citizens who express their public concern and opposition to growth of government, waste by government, rising national debt and attacks on personal freedoms and liberties. But the problem of elitism is not limited to the democrats but crosses party lines as evidenced by the controlling nature of Rockefeller Republicans and RINOs.
Those who have read Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" and Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray's "The Bell Curve" would have noted the warnings about elites who seek to institute control over others whom they believe to be inferior. While Ayn Rand's novel was both popular in its day and today with freedom loving people, the "The Bell Curve" came under fire as many failed to read the entire book or focused only on research data and asserted claims that the book was racist. Most readers missed the author's warning about the dangers of elitism of the intelligentsia seeking to create a "custodial state" over the rest of society. But I digress.
The below article warns all freedom loving Americans who are speaking out in defense of individual rights and freedoms. There will be a high price to pay if America does not return to the path intended by the creators of the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution and its Bill of Rights. That price may even include:
Is Free Thinking A Mental Illness?
by Andrew: Is nonconformity and freethinking a mental illness? According to the newest addition of the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), it certainly is. The manual identifies a new mental illness called “oppositional defiant disorder” or ODD. Defined as an “ongoing pattern of disobedient, hostile and defiant behavior,” symptoms include questioning authority, negativity, defiance, argumentativeness, and being easily annoyed.
The DSM-IV is the manual used by psychiatrists to diagnose mental illnesses and, with each new edition, there are scores of new mental illnesses. Are we becoming sicker? Is it getting harder to be mentally healthy? Authors of the DSM-IV say that it’s because they’re better able to identify these illnesses today. Critics charge that it’s because they have too much time on their hands.
New mental illnesses identified by the DSM-IV include arrogance, narcissism, above-average creativity, cynicism, and antisocial behavior. In the past, these were called “personality traits,” but now they’re diseases.
And there are treatments available.
All of this is a symptom of our over-diagnosing and overmedicating culture. In the last 50 years, the DSM-IV has gone from 130 to 357 mental illnesses. A majority of these illnesses afflict children. Although the manual is an important diagnostic tool for the psychiatric industry, it has also been responsible for social changes. The rise in ADD, bipolar disorder, and depression in children has been largely because of the manual’s identifying certain behaviors as symptoms. A Washington Post article observed that, if Mozart were born today, he would be diagnosed with ADD and “medicated into barren normality.”
According to the DSM-IV, the diagnosis guidelines for identifying oppositional defiant disorder are for children, but adults can just as easily suffer from the disease. This should give any freethinking American reason for worry.
The Soviet Union used new “mental illnesses” for political repression. People who didn’t accept the beliefs of the Communist Party developed a new type of schizophrenia. They suffered from the delusion of believing communism was wrong. They were isolated, forcefully medicated, and put through repressive “therapy” to bring them back to sanity.
When the last edition of the DSM-IV was published, identifying the symptoms of various mental illnesses in children, there was a jump in the diagnosis and medication of children. Some states have laws that allow protective agencies to forcibly medicate, and even make it a punishable crime to withhold medication. This paints a chilling picture for those of us who are nonconformists.
Although the authors of the manual claim no ulterior motives but simply better diagnostic practices, the labeling of freethinking and nonconformity as mental illnesses has a lot of potential for abuse. It can easily become a weapon in the arsenal of a repressive state.
Tags: big brother, politics, freethinking, nonconformity, mental illness, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, oppositional defiant disorder, ODD, repressive state To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
"The Soviet Union used new “mental illnesses” for political repression. People who didn’t accept the beliefs of the Communist Party developed a new type of schizophrenia. They suffered from the delusion of believing communism was wrong. They were isolated, forcefully medicated, and put through repressive “therapy” to bring them back to sanity."I checked out the source for the quote and found a website (Off The Grid News) that was not on my radar. The following article should create an awareness of a potential threat on another front not usually considered. The article should be of interest to all outspoken conservative political activists, TEA Party members, and leaders of organizations taking on the messages of the establishment. We have already noted in today's political environment of rising secular progressive elitism that they believe that what is yours (rights, freedom, property, wealth, etc.) needs to be redistributed according to their determination. While not wishing to add to the list of fears, the following article reveals that the door may be open to classifying as deviates those who are liberty loving constitutional conservatives.
Most of us have noted the growing rhetoric (attacks) by the Democratic leaders of Congress, the White House, their staff members, and their supporters. They have mocked, ridiculed, and increased their attacks on American citizens who express their public concern and opposition to growth of government, waste by government, rising national debt and attacks on personal freedoms and liberties. But the problem of elitism is not limited to the democrats but crosses party lines as evidenced by the controlling nature of Rockefeller Republicans and RINOs.
Those who have read Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" and Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray's "The Bell Curve" would have noted the warnings about elites who seek to institute control over others whom they believe to be inferior. While Ayn Rand's novel was both popular in its day and today with freedom loving people, the "The Bell Curve" came under fire as many failed to read the entire book or focused only on research data and asserted claims that the book was racist. Most readers missed the author's warning about the dangers of elitism of the intelligentsia seeking to create a "custodial state" over the rest of society. But I digress.
The below article warns all freedom loving Americans who are speaking out in defense of individual rights and freedoms. There will be a high price to pay if America does not return to the path intended by the creators of the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution and its Bill of Rights. That price may even include:
"[T]he labeling of freethinking and nonconformity as mental illnesses has a lot of potential for abuse. It can easily become a weapon in the arsenal of a repressive state."
The DSM-IV is the manual used by psychiatrists to diagnose mental illnesses and, with each new edition, there are scores of new mental illnesses. Are we becoming sicker? Is it getting harder to be mentally healthy? Authors of the DSM-IV say that it’s because they’re better able to identify these illnesses today. Critics charge that it’s because they have too much time on their hands.
New mental illnesses identified by the DSM-IV include arrogance, narcissism, above-average creativity, cynicism, and antisocial behavior. In the past, these were called “personality traits,” but now they’re diseases.
And there are treatments available.
All of this is a symptom of our over-diagnosing and overmedicating culture. In the last 50 years, the DSM-IV has gone from 130 to 357 mental illnesses. A majority of these illnesses afflict children. Although the manual is an important diagnostic tool for the psychiatric industry, it has also been responsible for social changes. The rise in ADD, bipolar disorder, and depression in children has been largely because of the manual’s identifying certain behaviors as symptoms. A Washington Post article observed that, if Mozart were born today, he would be diagnosed with ADD and “medicated into barren normality.”
According to the DSM-IV, the diagnosis guidelines for identifying oppositional defiant disorder are for children, but adults can just as easily suffer from the disease. This should give any freethinking American reason for worry.
The Soviet Union used new “mental illnesses” for political repression. People who didn’t accept the beliefs of the Communist Party developed a new type of schizophrenia. They suffered from the delusion of believing communism was wrong. They were isolated, forcefully medicated, and put through repressive “therapy” to bring them back to sanity.
When the last edition of the DSM-IV was published, identifying the symptoms of various mental illnesses in children, there was a jump in the diagnosis and medication of children. Some states have laws that allow protective agencies to forcibly medicate, and even make it a punishable crime to withhold medication. This paints a chilling picture for those of us who are nonconformists.
Although the authors of the manual claim no ulterior motives but simply better diagnostic practices, the labeling of freethinking and nonconformity as mental illnesses has a lot of potential for abuse. It can easily become a weapon in the arsenal of a repressive state.
Tags: big brother, politics, freethinking, nonconformity, mental illness, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, oppositional defiant disorder, ODD, repressive state To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Posted by Bill Smith at 7:25 PM - Post Link
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