On the concept of mental health diagnosis w/ Tim
Counselling psychologist Tim (he/him) is back to chat with Freyia (she/her) about the concept and necessity of diagnostic labels in a mental health context.
Labels imply a fixed identity, is this really a truthful description of the human mental state?
Who gets to define these labels and how have these frameworks changed over time?
Would we need diagnoses in a world where we believed the experiences of people? Where negotiation was central to relationships, especially those involving power differences and caretaking?
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Content Warnings:
Discussion of stressful and traumatic interactions with mental health services.
There is questioning of if disclosure methods (such as Sunflower Lanyards) are the best solution for solving the mistreatment of those in distress in public places, as well as questioning of if borderline personality disorder and autism may be over/misdiagnosed in traumatised AFAB folks.
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References:
Social Constructs - Philosophy Tube
Note:
I personally don’t believe that the experience of what is labelled illness is social constructed, but the way it is viewed, conceptualised and therefore the way people are treated as a result is. I also believe that these factors can then further effect the original experience labelled as illness.
Being of a higher weight, labelled by Jain and Sigh as o*****y (this is a highly stigmatising term), is not in actual fact always a predictor of disease, and is not always “caused” by the foods we eat. Being of a higher weight is a normal bodily variation, and can occur in people experiencing illness or not. Also, even when it is as a result of having to move less because of experiencing illness - therefore a symptom - why does that give us free range to speak of it with disdain?
Social Construction of Illness - Dhruv Jain and Kartik Singh
Note: Point 1 as above
Mental Illness As A Social Construct - Nancy Joseph
https://artsci.washington.edu/news/2010-07/mental-illness-social-construct
Note: The handbook Tim mentions that speaks of diagnosis as a deductive process
Oxford Handbook of Clinical Diagnosis (3 edn) - Huw Llewelyn, Hock Aun Ang, Keir Lewis, Anees Al-Abdullah
https://academic.oup.com/book/31795
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Women at the Margins: A Critique of the Diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder - Clare Shaw and Gillian Proctor
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0959-353505057620
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4 Things Everybody Gets Wrong About Attachment Styles - Andrea Glik
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Crazy Ex Girlfriend
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt4094300/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
Rebecca Bunch character from Crazy Ex Girlfriend
https://cxg.fandom.com/wiki/Rebecca_Bunch
Josh Is Irrelevant episode of Crazy Ex Girlfriend discussed in the episode
https://cxg.fandom.com/wiki/Josh_is_Irrelevant.
A Diagnosis - ft Rachel Bloom - “Crazy Ex Girlfriend” - racheldoesstuff song discussed in the episode
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White Bears - The Paradox Of Mental Supression - Meghan Meyer
https://brainblogger.com/2009/12/09/white-bears-the-paradox-of-mental-suppression
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Rachel Bloom
Website: https://racheldoesstuff.com
Instagram: @racheldoesstuff
YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/user/racheldoesstuff
I Want To Be Where The Normal People Are - Rachel Bloom
Book: https://racheldoesstuff.com/book
Audiobook: https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781478995869-i-want-to-be-where-the-normal-people-are
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What Is Interoception? - Embodied Philosophy
Proprioception - Physiopedia
https://www.physio-pedia.com/Proprioception
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Phenomenology: WTF? Time and Phenomenology Explained! - Tom Nicholas
Merleau-Ponty, The Phenomenology of Perception - Overthink Podcast
Phenomenology Of Psychiatric Disorders - Laurence Kirmayer IPP#03 - Psicologia Fenomenologica
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Person-Centred Counselling - A Brief Introduction - Chris The Counsellor
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What Is The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower - Hidden Disabilities
https://hiddendisabilitiesstore.com
"Not all disabilities are visible" printed on the seat of london underground train, England UK - Alamy
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Social Model Of Disability - Shape Arts
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Polyvagal Theory: A Ladder of Nervous States - Khiron Clinics
https://khironclinics.com/blog/polyvagal-theory-a-ladder-of-nervous-states
Polyvagal Theory And Depression As A Survival Tool - The Minded Institute
https://themindedinstitute.com/polyvagal-theory-and-depression-as-a-survival-tool
Polyvagal Theory and Anxiety: Befriend Your Nervous System - Erika Straub
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Living With Antisocial Personality Disorder (A Disregard of Right and Wrong) - Special Books by Special Kids
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The Autism Spectrum: Explained - Yo Samdy Sam
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What Is the DSM-IV Multi-Axial System? - Nancy Schimelpfening
https://www.verywellmind.com/five-axes-of-the-dsm-iv-multi-axial-system-1067053
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Personality disorder: No longer a diagnosis of exclusion - Policy implementation guidance for the development of services for people with personality disorder - National Institute for Mental Health in England
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Diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder Is Often Flawed - Scott O Lilienfeld and Hal Arkowitz
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-truth-about-borderline/
Sexual Minorities Over-Diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder - Chia Po Cheng
https://www.madinamerica.com/2020/10/sexual-minorities-diagnosed-borderline-personality-disorder
Why is C-PTSD Misdiagnosed as BPD? - Dr Betsy Usher
https://www.drbetsyusher.com/blog/why-is-c-ptsd-misdiagnosed-as-bpd
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Overlapping Symptoms Of Autism and Complex Trauma: Interview with Paul Micallef - Crappy Childhood Fairy
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=l51r0MKbxTc
Autism, Trauma and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) - What’s The Overlap? - Autism From The Inside
9 Reasons Why Autism and CPTSD Look So Similar - Jackie Schuld
https://medium.com/@jackieschuld/9-reasons-why-autism-and-cptsd-look-so-similar-d5778e9edb4b
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Why Exactly do Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Patients have Anxiety Disorders? - Patient Worthy
Anxiety and Hypermobility - Dr Jessica Eccles - The Ehlers-Danlos Society
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Jessica Eccles - Hypermobility and Neurodiversity - Brighton and Sussex Medical School
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Thousands of autistic girls and women 'going undiagnosed' due to gender bias - Hannah Devlin
Exclusion of females in autism research: Empirical evidence for a “leaky” recruitment-to-research pipeline - Anila M. D'Mello, Isabelle R. Frosch, Cindy E. Li, Annie L. Cardinaux, John D.E. Gabrieli
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aur.2795
Is a Diagnostic Test to Blame for Why We Know So Little about Autism in Girls? - Ingrid Wicklegren
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Social Engagement - A Pathway To Relaxation - Jennifer Wright
Polyvagal Theory and How It Relates to Social Cues - Jodi Clarke
https://www.verywellmind.com/polyvagal-theory-4588049
Stephen Porges PHD, The Polyvagal Theory: From Social Engagement to Collapse and Dissociation
Polyvagal Theory - Misophonia International
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Francisco de Goya Etchings
https://www.thehistoryofart.org/francisco-de-goya/etchings
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Note: For those interested in diving deeper into this topic, Tim also recommends the following books:
The Myth of Mental Illness by T Szasz
Drop the Disorder! Challenging the culture of psychiatric diagnosis by J Watson
Sedated: How modern capitalism created our mental health crisis by J Davies
A straight talking introduction to psychiatric diagnosis by I Johnstone
Postpsychiatry: Mental health in a postmodern world by P Bracken & P Thomas
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Note: Tim also recommends this Special Rapporteur by the United Nations Human Rights. This report stresses the evidence based view that an over reliance on a biomedical essentialist framework for understanding mental distress is and has been causing harm, and that this should change.
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health - Human Rights Council
https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G20/094/45/PDF/G2009445.pdf?OpenElement
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Credits:
H O S T
Freyia Lilian
G U E S T
Tim Moore
Research Gate Profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Tim-Moore-6
D I S T R I B U T I O N P A R T N E R
Strong365
Website: https://strong365.org
M E N T O R S H I P
Chantel Garret (she/her)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chantelgarrett
Mili Mehta (she/her)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mili-mehta-85811510
M U S I C
Foxhunt (he/him)
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/foxhunt-official
S O U N D
Will Ainsworth (he/him)
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If you are concerned about your mental health, Folie À Deux always recommends turning to trusted members of your community first.
In the words of Drs Amelia and Emily Nagoski:
“The cure for burnout isn’t self care, it’s all of us caring for each other.”
Access allowing, spending your time and resources finding a supportive professional you gel with can be invaluable to your journey.
If you are in crisis and you don’t know where to turn, Strong 365 hosts their own free 24 hour peer led online mental health chat which can be found here:
https://www.7cups.com/p/strong365/?wla=strong365
A thorough list of mental health helplines for a range of countries can be found here:
https://www.helpguide.org/find-help.htm
The world is better with you in it.
