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The Loss of Sadness

How Psychiatry Transformed Normal Sorrow Into Depressive Disorder

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  • 312 Seiten
  • 11 Lesestunden

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Depression is now the most commonly treated mental disorder, with claims that one in ten Americans experience it annually and 25% at some point in their lives. This has led to increased antidepressant use, widespread screening, and early diagnosis efforts based on a few symptoms to prevent severe conditions. In their work, Allan V. Horwitz and Jerome C. Wakefield argue that while depressive disorder is real and can be debilitating, the perceived epidemic reflects a reclassification of normal sadness as an abnormal experience. The DSM-III, published in 1980, shifted the diagnosis of depression to symptom-based criteria—such as depressed mood, loss of appetite, and fatigue lasting at least two weeks. The authors contend this approach is flawed as it overlooks the context of symptoms. They emphasize the need to differentiate between internal dysfunction and normal sadness due to external factors. The current DSM system complicates this distinction, leading to potential misdiagnoses, where typical emotional responses to distressing events, like job loss or relationship endings, could be incorrectly labeled as depressive disorder. This misinterpretation contributes to the perceived epidemic of major depression today.

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The Loss of Sadness, Allan Horwitz, Jerome C. Wakefield

Sprache
Erscheinungsdatum
2007
Einband
(Hardcover)
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Titel
The Loss of Sadness
Untertitel
How Psychiatry Transformed Normal Sorrow Into Depressive Disorder
Sprache
Englisch
Erscheinungsdatum
2007
Einband
Hardcover
Seitenzahl
312
ISBN10
0195313046
ISBN13
9780195313048
Reihe
Beschreibung
Depression is now the most commonly treated mental disorder, with claims that one in ten Americans experience it annually and 25% at some point in their lives. This has led to increased antidepressant use, widespread screening, and early diagnosis efforts based on a few symptoms to prevent severe conditions. In their work, Allan V. Horwitz and Jerome C. Wakefield argue that while depressive disorder is real and can be debilitating, the perceived epidemic reflects a reclassification of normal sadness as an abnormal experience. The DSM-III, published in 1980, shifted the diagnosis of depression to symptom-based criteria—such as depressed mood, loss of appetite, and fatigue lasting at least two weeks. The authors contend this approach is flawed as it overlooks the context of symptoms. They emphasize the need to differentiate between internal dysfunction and normal sadness due to external factors. The current DSM system complicates this distinction, leading to potential misdiagnoses, where typical emotional responses to distressing events, like job loss or relationship endings, could be incorrectly labeled as depressive disorder. This misinterpretation contributes to the perceived epidemic of major depression today.