DSM is Everywhere!
The DSM handbook has been useful for psychologists in identifying patients with mental disorders. However, something it has not been used for is diagnosing our environment.
Human beings are not the only ones that should be classified as having a mental disorder. Believe it or not, we have been surrounded by those with a mental disorder.
Lets first dive into the fictional world, at one of the most beloved stories ever told: Winnie the Pooh. Surprisingly most of his friends represent some part of the DSM.
Christopher Robin: Schizophrenia: Has hallucinations and delusions; talks to fictional characters he believes are real.
Winnie the Pooh: Bulimia Nervosa (non-purging type): Winnie the Pooh is always on the lookout for more honey, and he usually wakes up to empty jars of honey. In other words he binge eats.
Piglet: Generalized Anxiety disorder: Piglet is constantly worrying about everything, is always anxious and is never calm.
Eeyore: Dysthymic Disorder: Eeyore is never happy, always complaining about losing his tail and his house falling apart.
Tigger: ADHD (hyperactivity and impulsivity): Cannot sit still for more than a couple of seconds, ‘always on the go’. Talks very quickly without even pausing for a breath.
A real life example would be to look at corporations as psychopaths. You could check off all of the symptoms for the DSM-IV:
- Deceitfulness
- Unconcern for feeling
- Cannot experience guilt
- Reckless disregard for others
- Failure to conform to social norms
- Incapacity to remain enduring relationships
- You go to Wal-Mart to buy a Liz Clairborn cosmetic product, you arrive at the cash to pay, and that one product totals 179.00$. To the naked eye it seems reasonable due to the fact that it is a name brand, and therefore the quality must be better. However, what we are not told is that the workers who are making these products are paid 0.74$/hour!
- Monsanto developed a new drug which they fed to their cows which was a very exciting discovery. During the process of being approved by the FDA, they failed to mention that this new drug lead to cancer.
- Director of Roger and Me, Michael Moore offers the CEO of Nike a plane ticket to Indonesia to visit his factory, the CEO declines and says that he has never been.
These three very brief examples highlights that businesses have been deceitful by being dishonest to their clients. They do not reveal what the consumers should be aware of before buying their products.
They show absolutely no empathy for their clients or even their employees. The term sweatshops is one that CEOs pretend to be unaware of, even though they know that their employees are working in hazardous conditions.
They are selfish, as they prioritize profits over everything else.
What’s worse is that they do not care at all, and therefore are not guilty of their infractions.
In all of these examples a psychologist could send these corporations to an asylum as a psychopath, on the basis that they fear for the lives of the consumers and workers.
In conclusion, the DSM is all around us, and if we look hard enough, we may be able to see it in many more domains of our lives.
Bibliography
Archbar, M. (Producer). & Archbar, M. (Director). (2003). The corporation [Documentary]. Canada: Big Picture Media Corporation.
CDC. (2016). ADHD: Symptoms and diagnosis. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Nedimović, A. (2012). Psychology disorder myth busting with Winnie the pooh. [Weblog] Retrieved from https://getpsychedradio.wordpress.com-/2012/10/12/psychology-disorder-myth-busting-with-winnie-the-pooh/
Shea, S.E., Gordon, K., Hawkins, A., Kawchuck, J., & Smith, D. (2000). Pathology in the hundred acre wood: A neurodevelopmental perspective on A.A. Milne. CMAJ, 163(12), 1557–1559.
Stanzler, Q. (Producer). & Moore, M. (Director). (1989). Roger and me [Documentary]. USA: Warner Bros.
