October 19, 2009
How many shrinks does it take to change a diagnosis?:
With debates still raging over the new version of the psychiatrists' diagnostic manual, the DSM-V, a selection of radical new diagnoses have been submitted which may give the committee pause for thought.
They have been carefully reviewed by Matthew Hutson over at Psychology Today and we include a couple so you can see how this paradigm shift in medical thinking may affect future practice:
Napoleon Complex
Antecedents: Being short, male; having a French accent.
Symptoms: Power-seeking. Attempting to compensate for small stature through aggression, tall hats.
Notes: Despite widespread misconception, Napoleon Bonaparte of France was of average height for his time. He was actually compensating for almost imperceivably asymmetrical nostrils.
Neapolitan Complex (also known as Tripolar Disorder)Antecedents: Being Italian; nearly drowning in a vat of frozen dairy dessert.
Symptoms: Having a light side, a dark side, and a sickeningly rosy side. Wanting to be everything to everyone. Chronic brain freeze.
There's plenty more in the full piece but on a more serious note, a short article in Psychiatric News reflects on one psychiatrist's attempt to communicate with the DSM-V committee while finding that actually, much of it has already been decided.
Link to humorous diagnostic suggestions at Psychology Today.
Link to Psychiatric Times piece on 'the DSM process'.
