Talk:Mental disorder

Reference

I found a web site which may truly be a clue to understanding mental illness. In genereal, it is a very interesting read: [1] —Preceding unsigned comment added by Donkeykongah (talk • contribs) 09:11, 21 June 2008 (UTC)

Hi! It may be interesting to need, but it can not be used as a reliable reference... Lova Falk talk 08:06, 6 June 2010 (UTC)

Summarizing sub articles

The largest priority item right now is probably getting all of the sub articles summarized on this page, and moving most content to the sub article. Eversince, is it alright if I get to work on those articles you created? Chupper 02:06, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

Sorry I've been away from W since I suggested waiting for more development of the article to get a better idea about this. I think I only created one of those subarticles btw and that wouldn't mean you needed to ask me specifically anyway of course. I'd just suggest that Wikipedia:Article size#Splitting an article and other pages say significant moves of content should be mentioned in advance so other editors can comment e.g. about which sections need cutting and by how much? What are you thinking roughly? One thing I'd like to suggest is that the causes section could benefit from a little bit more summary coverage than it now has, though it certainly did need a lot of filtering down? EverSince 10:47, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

Having said that, maybe can just agree that the subarticle-ing and summarizing needs to be done and can just see how it goes...maybe leaving two or three paragraphs and key sources for each section. EverSince 13:13, 16 July 2007 (UTC)

Sorry about the delay EverSince. Whenever I've written articles, with sub articles, I've often written a summary of the sub article in the appropriate section relating to the main article (Like DuSable Park in the Chicago Spire article). And keep in mind there are two different things at work here - what I've done, and what I'm hoping the article will become. What I'm hoping these sections become is probably right down the line of what you want, Eversince. While Wikipedia:Article size#Splitting an article states that its ok to leave a short summary in the section, I was hoping for something 2-3-4 paragraphs in length. As an example the "Classification schemes" section seems to be on target (maybe a little on the longer side) of what I would expect for a section with a sub article.

The main concern I have is are we adequately summarizing these sub articles. I would see the first priority to be at least getting the sub articles to a Start or B quality class (not that we need to wait for an assessment, I just mean estimates). Next I would think the summaries should be written or reformatted for this article.

Bottom line - we do, IMO, need more summary coverage on sections like "Causes" - a lot more in fact. I would think we could get right to work on this. Again, I really think my main concern is keeping the summary section relevant to the sub article - just so they aren't two totally different things. Chupper 13:29, 16 July 2007 (UTC)

I see what you mean, sounds good. And will have to update the intro to reflect changes to the main body too, after that I guess. I'll personally start doing more again soon. EverSince 15:52, 16 July 2007 (UTC)

I merged the definition & classification stuff while summarizing it, to cut down on the number of subsections - don't know if that seems to work or not. I'm thinking the Prevalence stuff is long & detailed enough to go to a subarticle, so I'll do that shortly (could come under Epidemiology I suppose but that seems a lot less user-friendly). EverSince 15:22, 25 July 2007 (UTC)

Unless the issue of article naming needs to be revisited first... the prevalence studies describe themselves as being about mental disorder, rather than using the term mental illness, so it would seem strange to use the latter for the article name. EverSince 08:43, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

Mental disorder vs Mental illness

Some of the reasons that have cropped up suggesting this article and its subarticles might be better using the term "Mental disorder" rather than "Mental illness":

Although Mental illness may be the more common phrase in general usage, the ICD and DSM only use the term Mental disorder. The World Health Organization PDF reports that

"Most international clinical documents avoid use of the term “mental illness”, preferring to use the term “mental disorder” instead...The ICD-10 states that ‘the term “disorder” is used so as to avoid the even greater problems inherent in the use of terms such as “disease” and “illness”."

Scientific research, for example the international prevalence studies, also tends to use the term mental disorder. There seems to be more disagreement or vagueness about what conditions the term Mental illness refers to. In addition, the phrase Mental disorder appears to represent more of a neutral point of view, for example WordNet:

"Mental Disorder - (psychiatry) a psychological disorder of thought or emotion; a more neutral term than mental illness".

The WHO reports that: "A number of consumer organizations oppose use of the terms “mental illness” and “mental patient” on the grounds that these support the dominance of the medical model." I would say some also very much embrace the illness terms though, i.e. organizations committed to a biomedical understanding.

I don't know if anyone disagrees, or has other points. I gather there needs to be some sense of consensus before an admin would undertake a name change. EverSince 13:31, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

Sorry about the delay in response. For the reasons which you have clearly mentioned above, I also agree it, and all of its supporting pages be moved using "Mental disorder" as the title. I'll see if I can't get an admin to move the page or delete the redirect. We can move it at that time. Chupper 23:39, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

The page has been moved. Chupper 23:52, 19 August 2007 (UTC)

EverSince, you make a great point. The legal system (in Canada, anyway) uses the term "disorder," not "illness." This seems accurate because whether or not it turns out to be a disease, it will still be a disorder. 208.181.100.67

20:35, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

I noticed that Psychological Disorder directs to Mental Disorder or Mental Illness. I find that in psychology textbooks ussaully refer to the same subject as Psychological Disorder, where as Psychiatric Textbooks will refer to it as Mental Disorder or Mental Illness. Instead of a redirect; should there not be a disimbiguation?--Recovery Psychology (talk) 04:51, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

Mental Aberration would be more accurate for the most common mental problems as most are value deviations or excessive weighting of values from what society deems constructive to society and personal survival. There is probably call for more than one term as really there are different issues which really should NOT be the subject of one type of doctorate degree. Frankly the field still is not clear on the separation of organic brain structure diseases, pure biochemistry issues, and the experiential value development abberatio. Mental Disorder implies chaos or deviation from a natural organic order...neither of which is dominate in classification of symptoms. Mental Illness again implies a natural organic standard as well as the idea that the proper external means can easily fix problems as soon as someone discovers the vaccine, surgery, or anti-problem pill...which more and more looks like a tale of limited application. 65.26.139.168 (talk) 09:50, 22 January 2010 (UTC)

I have downloaded the article for the first reference, "Rethinking mental illness", and I believe that it has been mis-cited. The article explains mental disorder in terms of "genetic experience", meaning epigenetic DNA modification (such as imprinting, etc.) as a source of gene silencing. The citation makes it seem like it is referring to actual experiences, which, given the quality of the mental vs. physiological debate for mental illness, is misleading. 69.172.92.173 (talk) 18:38, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

Citations definitely needed

"Mental disorders have been found to be common, with over a third of people in most countries reporting sufficient criteria at some point in their life."

This is a very important point, but no citations are given to back it up. If anyone knows of any, please add. 84.9.75.24 (talk) 17:35, 17 November 2007 (UTC)

Also:

"guideline criterion listed in the ICD, DSM and other manuals are widely accepted by mental health professionals" is contentious given the list of mental health professionals provided in the embedded link, and so this requires either a citation or removal. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.189.108.119 (talk) 12:17, 26 November 2007 (UTC)

Introductory sentence couldn't be much worse

I know how I would rewrite it, but I hate to walk into an a new article and not start out on the talk page. Below, I copy the awkward, misleading/meaningless sentence. Why don't some of you guys look up some the definition at the Mayo Clinic (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mental-illness/HQ01079) or some other professional authoritative source Spotted Owl (talk) 10:32, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

• quoted sentence*

Mental disorder or mental illness are terms used to refer a psychological 
or physiological pattern that occurs in an individual and is usually associated 
with distress or disability that is not expected as part of normal development 
or culture.

That phrasing pretty much reflects the DSM intro, minus a load more convolutions and caveats. I agree it's awkwardly abstract but it's admitted that there's no single agreed definition that adequately covers all the different issues lumped together under these terms. That Mayo Clinic paragraph falls on another problematic term, "condition", in its attempt. I think the sentence should be edited in the usual Wiki way to make it as user-friendly yet theory-neutral as possible. EverSince (talk) 02:19, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Subtopic on 'Other' under Treatments

There are a wide variety of therapies in the past and present not currently mentioned here, from insulin shock and wet wraps as widely used in the past. Also, in at least one country, a reasonably successful result is found in centers where the afflicted person, accompanied for the stay by a family member, has not drug treatment, no psychotherapy or procedures. What is provided is a calm soothing environment, away from the home environment, with pleasant surroundings and encouragement to garden and be productively engaged.

This comes exceptionally close to the expensive private hospitals offered for many decades prior to the development of the much cheaper medications. They provided the patient a place of calm away from any triggering and aggravating, causative factors found in the home environment. Emphasis was on good nutrition, peaceful surroundings, structure of the day (keeping patients up out of bed and engaged), and supportive nurses and a chance to visit regularly with therapists.

I do wish I had the full citation on that last, but it has been some years since I encountered it. It was either in India or one of the countries to the east of India. The healing centers were provided as a service by the monks of some order. If I recall correctly, the length of the average stay did not exceed two months. Nurses were not needed as any care-taking, dressing, grooming, et al, was provided by the family member.

I think it would be valuable, too, to deal with the US de-institutional movement in the early 70's and how it led to most of this nation's homeless being mentally ill, on no medications, receiving no therapy, and unable to even get on disability and thus gain housing or food stamps - tho I realize this may already be the subject of another article. Please be sure to link that article to this sub-topic. Spotted Owl (talk) 11:01, 10 February 2008 (UTC)

I think most of the above good points about the mental health merry-go-round, including de-inst in the West, are now covered/linked in the history section and its related full article. The WNUSP guide I just cited below[2] talks about healing centers in a region of India that might be what you're referring to - "Health and Healing in Western Maharashatra: The role of traditional healing centers in mental health service delivery" which seems to be documented on this website[3][4] There's also various peer-run non-medical consumer/survivor healing/recovery centers in various countries around the world of course. I agree it would be good to mention this aspect under other as you say. Bearing in mind that Western psychiatry isn't necessarily "the" and everything else "other"...the reports above point out that it's not always clear which is the preferred/mainstream. This paper on Urban Tanzania[5] includes these statements in its discussion:

In contrast to traditional healers, staff in primary care clinics are often found to show little concern or respect for their patients. ... There is little time, particularly in primary health clinics, to explore the possible psychological basis of these complaints, or to investigate the wider family and social context of the disorder. Traditional healers may be better placed in this respect; it would certainly be interesting to know more of their approach to these cases in terms of their formulation, their management and the treated outcome. Naturalistic prospective studies are indicated. These may suggest opportunities for productive alliances between Western and traditional medicine (Green, 1988). With the support of the formal health system, indigenous practitioners might become important agents in organising efforts to improve the mental health of the community. Better understanding of the prevailing indigenous models and idioms of expression for common mental disorder should aid diagnosis and treatment. Traditional healers may have much to offer, and could usefully participate in joint training programmes in medical schools and with primary health care workers. ... Tanzanian biomedical practitioners tend to view this communication as a one-way street, aiming only to train poorly educated traditional healers and recruit their support in the pursuit of public health goals. True collaboration will occur when each is ready and willing to learn from the best of the others’ practices.

It seems that the article could also do with a paragraph on culture, as it points out that it's considered part of defining what counts as a disorder but doesn't really elaborate on it. EverSince (talk) 00:10, 31 August 2008 (UTC)

Neutrality: Inclusion of the view that mental illness does not exist

It is important that somewhere in this article it is pointed out that some parties maintain that there is no such thing as "mental illness", and that there cannot be any such thing as a "mental illness". —Preceding unsigned comment added by Nickyfann (talk • contribs) 16:14, 10 April 2008 (UTC)

//I completely agree. Every single person on earth has a brain with different composition and operation from another, just some people more than others. I guess it's part of society's hypocrisy "be yourself, but not too much" kind of thing.

Different, and your independant...too different, and you have a mental disorder. Some fucked-up shit. //

There used to be a whole section on this. Perhaps we should take a look in the edit history and consider re-adding it? Amillion (talk) 03:01, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

Ah, I see that the article still contains the following statement: "An antipsychiatry movement fundamentally challenges mainstream psychiatric theory and practice, including the reality or utility of psychiatric diagnoses of mental illnesses." Perhaps we just need to elaborate a bit on that?

I'd also like to add that mental illness is not just a matter of being "too different." In addition to being deviant from one's culture, it also must cause significant distress and dysfunction. In other words, it must actually be interfering with your ability to live the kind of life you want to live. Amillion (talk) 03:04, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

The notion the mental illness does not exist is not a mainstream idea. It is neither majority or minority opinion and would probably fall under the classification of fringe theory. WP:FRINGE. As such, it should be treated that way.--scuro (talk) 10:23, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

Yes, but it is not just the belief of isolated individuals. It is in fact a movement, and as I recall it has organizations, advocates, websites, etc. According to the Wikipedia policy on fringe theories, I believe it should be given a bit more coverage than a single sentence. It is not accepted by the scientific community, and we should state that, but as it says in the fringe theory policy page, "...ideas should not be excluded from the encyclopedia simply because they are widely held to be wrong.". Amillion (talk) 03:14, 23 April 2008 (UTC) and also on other timelines

Agreed, have a conversation with any individual who has the symptoms of severe depression, bipolar disorder or Schizophrenia and you will have no doubt that mental illness exists. —Preceding unsigned comment added by TallDudePaul (talk • contribs) 19:46, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

The following was written: "...have a conversation with any individual who has the symptoms of severe depression, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia and you will have no doubt that mental illness exists." But a conversation with someone could never possibly prove the existence of an illness, surely? Only biological evidence could prove the existence of an illness. Also how would you tell if the person you were talking to was not merely dejected by a recent bereavment, and not suffering from "depression"/severe unhappiness? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Nickyfann (talk • contribs) 19:19, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

With all fringe theory attribution is important...who states what. More important are secondary sources that cover the topic. I have no doubt there are a multitude of websites that deny the existence of mental illness nor do I doubt that there are movements and even religions that deny it's existence. Still, is this a mainstream idea? Do any experts in the field believe this idea? Are there any government institutions in the world that believe this idea? does the media cover this viewpoint? If the answer is no to all of the questions, then I believe we have a fringe theory. If no secondary sources cover this viewpoint then one really has to question why it needs to be in the article no matter how much bandwidth a multitude of websites take up on the internet.--scuro (talk) 23:03, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

The fact that something is a fringe theory is not a reason to exclude it from this encyclopedia. Read WP:FRINGE. Amillion (talk) 06:58, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

Your "fringe" ideas are integrated into college classes. Emesee (talk) 01:33, 11 July 2008 (UTC)

As for whether or not there are enough third-party sources to prove notability, the antipsychiatry article was tagged for that very reason in 2007, but after a brief look at the reference section it does appear that they have several now. I should be especially easy to find third-party sources discussing the antipsychiatric beliefs of religious groups like Scientology, because they've gotten a lot of press. Amillion (talk) 07:13, 2 May 2008 (UTC)

I think this issue is important and needs to be covered well (from all significant points of view). I would however say that although the particular phrase "mental illness doesn't exist" is associated with antipsychiatry (or with the Szasz-type approach at least) the general issue doesn't have to be. For example, compare to: "Furthermore, many of our psychiatric syndromes may not exist in nature as highly discrete entities easily separable from subsyndromal conditions"[6] from a leading psychiatric geneticist. Some of these technical issues are hinted at in classification, diagnosis, professsions and fields etc, as well as being mentioned in the movements section (which needs expanding somewhat anyway, as does the professions and fields section - I think they could be merged). EverSince (talk) 13:13, 23 June 2008 (UTC)

I agree. This article does not seem entirely neutral. Emesee (talk) 01:29, 11 July 2008 (UTC)

I started this thread. Thanks for the comments. It is affirmed by authorities in this area that there is no such thing as "mental illness." Another point is: why is there at present a prominent picture of a brain next to the article when that would imply that it is dealing with biological brain disease? So-called "mental illness" is about behaviour not biological brain disease. A picture of a brain ought logically to appear next to an article entitled "brain disease", not necessarily next to an article about supposed "mental illness". —Preceding unsigned comment added by Nickyfann (talk • contribs) 15:43, 4 August 2008 (UTC) Nickyfann (talk) 13:47, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

I was wondering about that myself--from my perspective mental illness are in fact primarily biological disorders, but the total situation does involve social and philosophical issues, and the image of a brain seems not really appropriate. Any suggestions? DGG (talk) 11:37, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

So-called "mental illnesses" - if they existed, and I don't think they do - should of course involve the brain. But this must be proven. For example, someone who has a "delusion" may simply be mistaken which doesn't necessarily involve a brain lesion, unless you can prove that. The attempt to say outright that they are all "brain diseases" without evidence for this is, amongst other things, propaganda for social control. As for an image, well for a start strictly speaking the brain is part of "the brain and central nervous system" and shouldn't necessarily be seen in isolation. Also there is a big distinction between the upper cortex and the lower "reptilian" brain. So an image for mental illness? Well the mind is perhaps just a concept. Why not a person with a thought bubble coming out thinking something? Or better still no article at all except as the history of a collective delusion? Nickyfann (talk) 16:50, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

There are thousands upon thousands of peer reviewed papers identifying neurobiological abnormalities associated with specific mental disorders. In addition, treatments for mental disorders, whether psychotherapy or medication, have neurobiological effects. Perhaps go to your local library use an academic search system? Even though there are these abnormalities, I can still recognize the belief that the construct of a "mental disorder" isn't real. I also recognize, as you have stated before Nickyfann, that there are lots of people who share this view. Perhaps more information could be included in the article, but this view is in the minority, so an appropriate length should be determined. Chupper (talk) 20:15, 8 August 2008 (UTC)

One thing that I would say is that changing the name of "mental illness" to "mental disorder" - as this article seems to have done - is a step in the right direction if you ask me. A disorder is not the same as an illness. "Illness" implies biological lesion of some kind or metaphorical illness. Disorder implies neither.Nickyfann (talk) 18:49, 15 August 2008 (UTC)

The idea that mental illness does not exist is at best pseudoscience and belongs with the theory that the world is flat. I personally have previously never even heard of such a theory and Wikipedia is not the place for POV or original research.
WriterHound (talk) 00:52, 16 August 2008 (UTC)

Agree with it or not (and personally I think it can be misleading, but then so can the phrase mental illness), many reliable sources cover the view and its notable if marginalized proponents (e.g. the encylopedia entry cited in the classification article here, and other works[7][8][9]) as well as many of the same issues addressed in current mainstream debate without that particular phrasing, e.g talking of medicalization or essentialism. Foundational criticism is naturally more apparent in sociology/social work and sometimes clinical psychology than in psychiatry, but also exists in the latter. Some challenges are specific to the term "illness" while others apply equally to the term "disorder"; some rest on disputes over the neuroscientific evidence, others only on its interpretation and labeling. The above sources are a kind of ivory tower perspective; many consumers/survivors who have been at the hard end of severe illness-label-based forced "treatment", objectification, prejudice and exclusion, including notable human rights organizations officially involved in US, EU, WHO and UN consultations[10] and protests[[11]] often deplore the term mental illness and conceptualize the difficulties and disabilities in different ways. The wider disability rights movement has no problem with a social rather than medical model. It's worth noting that legal professionals often criticize psychiatric diagnosis too, including for causing misleading, obfuscating and prejudicial assumptions by appearing to embody a traditional medical model of illness when in fact illness-like attributes prove to be limited.[12]

WriterHound: The fact that you are ignorant of an important part of the history of psychiatry in the 1960s and 1970s does not make you correct. It has been several months since this discussion and still no progress has been made on this issue. Regardless of whether you personally agree with the theories of Szasz, Laing, and the like, it is important to recognize that they have played an important part in the history of psychiatry in the latter half the 20th century. To the people who say that anti-psychiatry is a fringe theory: Read the fringe theory policy, it does not exclude fringe theories, and explicitly states "A fringe theory can be considered notable if it has been referenced extensively, and in a serious manner, in at least one major publication, or by a notable group or individual that is independent of the theory." The work of many in this field certainly can be described in this way. Also, some of you have said that the majority of the scientific community agrees with the existence of mental illness. This is a patently absurd and unverifiable claim. While it may be true that the majority of active psychiatrists believe in the existence of mental illness (and I posit that of course this is the case, as there is no beneficial reason for anyone who does not believe in the existence of mental illness to go into the field of psychiatry today) this is hardly enough to consider the entire scientific community as being on board as well. Thus I request that a section about the non-belief in mental illness be added as well, or at least seek consensus so that I could add it myself, if need be (although that is not what I want, I am not an expert in the field). Metsfanmax (talk) 06:43, 31 May 2009 (UTC)

your sources are excellent - add it in as per WP:BOLD Earlypsychosis (talk) 21:06, 31 May 2009 (UTC)

Stigma as a barrier to mental illness treatment

A large proportion of individuals who suffer from the symptoms of a mental illness will avoid seeking treatment for their symptoms because of the social stigma[[13]] associated with having a mental illness. The US Surgeon General acknowledged this in 1999:

Powerful and pervasive, stigma prevents people from acknowledging their own mental health problems, much less disclosing them to others.

As a result people feel the need to keep their mental illness a secret, and will deny the symptoms that they are experiencing. Two thirds of the people who would benefit from treatment for a mental illness do not receive treatment. As with many physical illnesses, the prognoses of a mental illness can worsen the longer that a mental illness remains untreated. The added anxiety of fearing a mental illness diagnoses can also be detrimental to an individual's mental health, this effect can greatly exacerbate an anxiety disorder or mood disorder. Efforts are being undertaken worldwide to eliminate the stigma of mental illness . --19:43, 1 May 2008 (UTC)TallDudePaul (talk)

Two important related matters missing. Prescription drugs, and physical illness.

Thank you for the opportunity of submitting two suggestions for expanding and improving this topic.

My research (not original) shows that there are two related areas that are currently not in this topic.

This deals with the 'causes' or 'potential causes' of mental illness.

1. A physical illness that impacts the brain. Ie a high fever, an infection, that creates toxins that impact the brain.

2. Prescription drugs, or street drugs. The over the counter cold medication, PPA was taken off the shelves 'recently' however the following can be found.

• PPA Side effects.

"A scientific study[1] found an increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke in women who used phenylpropanolamine, although it is not clear which isomer is to blame. A study at the Yale University School of Medicine in 1999 had produced similar results.[1] Reports of cases of hemorrhagic strokes in PPA users had been circulating since the 1970s.

A report from the Dept. of Psychiatry, F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland in Pharmacopsychiatry[2] states:

We have reviewed 37 cases (published in North America and Europe since 1960) that received diagnoses of acute mania, paranoid schizophrenia, and organic psychosis and that were attributed to PPA product ingestion. Of the 27 North American case reports, more reactions followed the ingestion of combination products than preparations containing PPA alone; more occurred after ingestion of over-the-counter products than those obtained by prescription or on-the-street; and more of the cases followed ingestion of recommended doses than overdoses.

Failure to recognize PPA as an etiological agent in the onset of symptoms usually led to a diagnosis of schizophrenia or mania, lengthy hospitalization, and treatment with substantial doses of neuroleptics or lithium. "

The communication of these two causes would go along way to aleviate the 'stigma' surrounding 'mental illness'. The obvious lack of communicating this information begs the question why ?

--Caesar J. B. Squitti  : Son of Maryann Rosso and Arthur Natale Squitti 04:12, 30 June 2008 (UTC)

Related orphaned article

Drift Hypothesis Emesee (talk) 15:13, 11 July 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, for now I put it into the Causes of mental disorder. EverSince (talk) 10:08, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Infobox

Why does the article on mental disorder itself have an infobox? [14] Clark89 (talk) 17:48, 17 October 2008 (UTC)

2009 NAS report on preventing mental disorders

Free full-text available for reports like this. II | (t - c) 23:33, 13 February 2009 (UTC)

Whoo this is amazing. :( —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.233.132.67 (talk) 00:45, 17 February 2009 (UTC)

Mention Holistic/Alternative treatments for Mental Disease?

WEonder if in article Mental Disorder or Illness(which is it by the way?)Could a mention be made of Alternative Holistic treatments for the conditions? i.e Trans Magnetic Stimulation useing magnetic impulses to treatd O.C.D., Hypnosis, (a long time "treatment' for brain function problems)even Faith healing!Thanks! JANUSROMA (talk) 18:44, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Article intro is is about IED, not mental disorders in general!

Somehow the intro to this article has been changed from an intro to mental disorder to an intro about Intermittent explosive disorder (IED)?! Google's listing for the article, and its cached copy, has the following on-topic intro which I assume should be restored:

A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioural pattern that occurs in an individual and is thought to cause distress or disability that is not expected as part of normal development or culture. The recognition and understanding of mental health conditions has changed over time and across cultures, and there are still variations in the definition, assessment, and classification of mental disorders, although standard guideline criteria are widely accepted. Over a third of people in most countries report meeting criteria for the major categories at some point in their life. The causes are often explained in terms of a diathesis-stress model and biopsychosocial model. Services are based in psychiatric hospitals or in the community, and mental health professionals diagnose individuals by various methods, often relying on observation and questioning in interview. Psychotherapy and psychiatric medication are two major treatment options as are social interventions, peer support and self-help. In some cases there may be involuntary detention and involuntary treatment where legislation allows. Stigma and discrimination add to the suffering associated with the disorders, and various social movements campaign for change.

Superskydog (talk) 21:20, 11 February 2010 (UTC)

(I have now restored the above text, so ignore this post). —Preceding unsigned comment added by Superskydog (talk • contribs) 21:39, 11 February 2010 (UTC)

That was the anonymous editor who changed the lede a few hours before you spotted it.[15] Nice catch and thanks! (Ronz has restored a version with proper wiki-links) Franamax (talk) 23:26, 11 February 2010 (UTC)

Userbox

This user supports the fight against mental illness.

This userbox has just been created. Please help show your support by considering posting this on your User/User Talk pages. To post this on your User/User talk page, just enter {{Template:User mental illness}} on either page. Thank you. :) Ink Falls 06:36, 6 June 2010 (UTC)

what does the fight against mental illness mean ? Earlypsychosis (talk) 07:51, 6 June 2010 (UTC)

Same thing as the fight against breast cancer and the fight against violence of course. :P You may not be aware but there is always a battle going on to combat mental illness, measures are being taken everywhere to combat it. For example, the #1 most likely profession to commit suicide is doctors, so at Med schools across the U.S. they have begun free counseling services, and to support people going there they have made taking these services anonymous so that people aren't afraid of it ending up on their record and making them less employable(a big deal to doctors). Also, on college campuses there are usually counseling services, and just earlier this year I signed a petition to keep funding going to them. There is always a fight to set up counseling services, keep costs affordable, help out the mentally ill homeless, and do all sorts of stuff to combat mental illness, and this userbox helps make the mentally ill feel more welcomed and accepted here at Wikipedia by showing your support for their struggle. The fact is that there is a real fight going on to combat mental illness, and this user box allows you to show your support for those fighting it. Ink Falls 18:16, 6 June 2010 (UTC)

Moved from article to here

This good faith edit was recently inserted but needs work and discussion before re-inserting.

My name is Rotem abarbanell weiss!!Psychotherapy and psychiatric medication are two major treatment options as are social interventions, peer support and self-help. In some cases there may be involuntary detention and involuntary treatment where legislation allows. Stigma and discrimination add to the suffering associated with the disorders, and have led to various social movements campaign for change. Most recently, the field of Global Mental Health has emerged, which has been defined as 'the area of study, research and practice that places a priority on improving mental health and achieving equity in mental health for all people worldwide'.

Anthony (talk) 10:18, 6 June 2010 (UTC)

..or culture

The lede sentence currently reads:

"A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern associated with distress or disability that occurs in an individual and is not a part of normal development or culture."

In general, its good form to prefix the lede concept with the context, of the form:

In psychology, a mental disorder is...

It is recommended here, as the term is a concept from what is obviously psychology. But that conceptualization draws attention to an idiosyncrasy with the added "or culture" term at the end, which is not particularly within the domain of psychology, and as cultures vary and encompass broadly different norms, is in fact too broad and general a term to reference here in this way. That said, culture is relevant here, as certain concepts of "disorder" derive from what appear to be cultural conventions. But perhaps "sociology" is the actual term that's relevant here, and in that context the main context for this term may be best referenced as:

In psychology and sociology, a mental disorder is a..."

Which allows for terms like "psycho-social disorder" which 1) localize the concept of disorders to social and sociological ones, and 2) (at the same time) generalizes the concept of a "disorder" beyond its objective psychological definition into sociology (~object abstraction). This conceptualization thus can accomodate references such as the above to "culture." Note also that behaviourism is an outdated concept, and referencing a term like "behavioral pattern" in this way at least needs qualification and linking.-Stevertigo (w | t | e) 17:21, 13 June 2010 (UTC)

Actually, of course "is not a part of [...] culture" is within the domain of psychology. Assessment of mental disorders should always take culture into account. No psychologist would diagnose a Swedish teenager with Obsessive–compulsive disorder because she just has to check messages on her mail and cell phone every half hour - just to name an example.
I would recommend starting the lead with:

In psychology and psychiatry, a mental disorder is...

Furthermore, I don't know if sociology has its own definition of a mental disorder... Lova Falk talk 17:59, 13 June 2010 (UTC)

Well that's interesting, but what you are saying is that the term has properties fundamental to its definition which are localized to the local culture. A field of actual science would adhere to and uphold universal concepts and principles. A field that substantially variates its diagnoses according to different ethno-cultural contexts is not a science.

Psychology is largely geared toward therapy, and as such it is largely a healing art. If that is the explained context, then its natural to include variated cultural factors and aspects as relevant to a diagnosis. Without that conceptualization, psychology and psychiatry put on the airs of an actual science, and the question becomes 'where and how exactly can variated cultural factors be incorporated into a science?' Lova wrote: "I don't know if sociology has its own definition of a mental disorder..." It would appear to deal with sociological pathologies, which at the individual level have psychological definitions. Hence sociology is relevant here if only for its generalizations. -Stevertigo (w | t | e) 04:31, 17 June 2010 (UTC)

Why is the history of the term the lede?

There is a set order for articles and history is way down on the list. Should the article not start with the intro paragraph?--scuro (talk) 16:20, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Redirecting from "Transsexual" to "Mental Disorder"

I seArched for "Transsexual" and was directed to this page. Someone do something please. This is a disgrace. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.136.107.3 (talk) 23:37, 8 May 2011 (UTC)

FYI Redirect was vandalized. Redirect was reverted to Transsexualism. Vandalizer was blocked. Jim1138 (talk) 08:23, 21 May 2011 (UTC)

A search for "Transvestite" redirects here, but I think Transvestism would be a better page to redirect to. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.125.97.236 (talk) 18:46, 8 July 2011 (UTC)

Redirect was vandalized. Reverted. Thanks Jim1138 (talk) 01:43, 9 July 2011 (UTC)

"Transsexual" still redirected here as of noon on Jul 15 2001. I think I changed it, but if anyone wants to watch the redirect... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.24.32.127 (talk) 16:12, 15 July 2011 (UTC)

Transsexual redirect was vandalized again on 14 July 2011. You can check the history [Transsexual History] to see when Transsexual was modified. It might be nice to have a bot notify a user list when a change or addition of this nature occurs. Jim1138 (talk) 02:10, 16 July 2011 (UTC)

I have gone ahead and requested for page protection here.AerobicFox (talk) 02:21, 16 July 2011 (UTC)

Page has now been indefinitely protected from anonymous IP edits.AerobicFox (talk) 07:12, 16 July 2011 (UTC)

Please explain why we are protecting this page. Does protecting this page prevent editors from redirecting other pages to it or is there some other problem that protection is attempting to address? Jojalozzo 14:52, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

We generally semiprotect pages that receive a lot of IP vandalism. Since this is a redirect and will not foreseeable require future editing there is no downside to locking it to prevent vandalism. Oh, and yes the protection prevents redirecting the page to other pages.AerobicFox (talk) 18:02, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

Thanks. My question related to the topic of this section which is vandalism of other pages by redirecting them here. I was checking my assumption that protecting this page is useless for such problems. Jojalozzo 18:07, 30 August 2011 (UTC)

"Child sexual abuse alone plays a significant role in the causation of a significant percentage of all mental disorders in adult females"

Child sexual abuse alone plays a significant role in the causation of a significant percentage of all mental disorders in adult females, most notable examples being eating disorders and borderline personality disorder.

This statement is making a *very* strong claim that seems highly suspect to me (it is makes it using rather weaselly phrasing); particularly the part about "...all mental disorders in adult females." It should be removed if it can't be backed up.

Sleepmonths (talk) 04:42, 16 June 2011 (UTC)

Removed. [16] --Anthonyhcole (talk) 05:09, 16 June 2011 (UTC)

Resource

From Talk:Epigenetics ...

Epigenetics Offers New Clues to Mental Illness "Experience may contribute to mental illness in a surprising way: by causing "epigenetic" changes—ones that turn genes on or off without altering the genes themselves" Scientific American November 30, 2011 by Eric J. Nestler; excerpt ...

Studies in mice demonstrate a role for long-lasting epigenetic modifications in such disorders as addiction and depression. Epigenetic changes can also affect maternal behaviors in ways that reproduce the same behaviors in their offspring, even though the changes are not passed down through the germline.

99.35.12.139 (talk) 07:01, 30 November 2011 (UTC)