As a divorced single woman pet owner, dog and cats, I could certainly use a man, in fact some of my best friends are men. As a feminist, I think that some of the changes in the roles of men and women in society have been good, and yet, as a society we seem to have done a poor job of acknowledging the emotional stress and psychological harm that the shifting roles and positions of both men and women take on individuals. Could some of the purported "epidemic" of mental illness be related to changes in the roles of men and women and society's failure to acknowledge these changes?

Just throwing this out, but what if there is no such thing as a "good" diagnosis? What if every diagnosis is "bad" and everytime we're diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder it's a "misdiagnosis" because really it's just stress responses and life that we're "diagnosing"? There is no test to confirm a psychiatric disorder. I think we really need to move away from thinking of "inappropriate" responses to stress as something that needs diagnosing. We need to understand each individual's particular story and why they have arrived at that point and then try to address their specific needs and change the way they tell themselves their own story. I realize this is idealistic but pooling everyone into some generic pool is certainly not working either and serves no good purpose. It's about as accurate and consistent as sun signs.

"There is a reply in Dawdy's comment section of that post that really bothers me, because it sounds so sad. I would seriously like to hear from men about what is driving the force of depression, and apparent loss of hope or place in society. I must be old-fashioned in thought because I think men have a place, and I don't think women have stopped needing men. I know I haven't."--stephany

I was referencing the comment quote that Philip highlighted, because I think it was a very good comment myself.

My comment is from a post of mine, about men and depression. Though my blog is temporarily closed to public viewing, I hope to see a good discussion here, and I hope men give their opinions as well.

TAC will not ever admit that a psychiatrist could make a mistake. Psychiatrists are like G-ds to TAC. Have you seen their latest? When Dr. Torrey Talks, People Listen? Gosh, that's lame. People listen to Paris Hilton too, does that mean she's wise and all-knowing or does it mean some people are stupid? You decide :).

Not to be critical of Reader #1's sentiments at all, but just to clarify that some of the wackos associated with TAC consider anosognosia not as a synonym for lack of insight, but rather as a kind of actual brain damage, of which 'lack of insight' is just a symptom. I don't doubt that some new atypical will soon be marketed as "targeting the deficits in higher level neurocognitive processes responsible for blah blah blah..."

I completely agree with Sara. Psychiatric labels are not helpful or productive. I've been labeled as bipolar, borderline, and a bunch of other stuff. I have been in the psych ward 30+ times. Once I received those labels, I really hit a new low, mentally. It was only once I decided to shed those labels that I truly started to get better. Now, I absolutely reject the labels I received, and in return, I have HOPE back in my life. I'm off all meds (I was on huge amounts of them for 7 years), and I've never been happier in my life. In 9 months of therapy, I've regained my life, and I'm about to go to my final (for now anyway) therapy appointment tomorrow. I want to scream from the rooftops DON'T PATHOLOGIZE ME!!!

In response to Allison, we'd be better off listening to Paris than to Torrey;). In response to Ruth, yes, once you are accused of being bipolar or schizophrenic, the only two ailments which arise from the brain damage you were born with that causes either bipolar disorder or schizophrenia but also causes anosognosia, challenging the diagnosis is absolute and total proof that it is valid. This "science" comes from TAC with no actual science to back it up. Sorry for preaching to the choir.

I've commented before on what I now believe was my own misdiagnosis. The short story is that I was brutally rejected by my family when I came out as a lesbian at age 19. In retrospect, I think I had a pretty reasonable reaction to complete loss of my only support system, but that reaction was labeled "bipolar disorder" and I was heavily drugged for 9 years.

After vast amounts of really hard work, I am now completely off of meds, reconciled with my family, married to a supportive partner and we are parenting our wonderful toddler together. That said, damage from my diagnosis and years of medication remains, particularly as a "pre-existing condition" that makes it difficult to get health and life insurance.

"Homosexuality" may no longer be included in the DSM, but if we are so quick to label reactions to the very real social rejection and pain associated with coming out as "biological mental illness," we haven't come very far.

Thanks for everybody's input. Surprise, surprise, I never heard back from TAC. If there's one thing that psychiatrists don't like, it's outspoken patients. ("Disinhibited" is a word that comes up in medical records -- it basically means "unladylike.")

Re: misdiagnosis, after all these years I'm still fascinated by the Rosenhan experiment in the early 1970s. I just finished reading Lauren Slater's "Opening Skinner's Box" which got me thinking about it some more.

I have indeed suffered from depression from time to time but I see it as a spiritual, not medical, matter. In trying to treat my depression, doctors have used the usual arsenal: drugs, isolation cells, electroshock. As a result, I go manic. Is this truly bipolar disorder? There should be a new category for treatment-induced psychiatric illness. We could call it iatrogenic bipolar. Gosh, I feel another letter to TAC coming on.

One last point, yes, Torrey does consider "lack of insight" to be brain damage. Like much of his pontification, this is pure speculation on his part, however. The only indicator for the brain damage is ... wait for it ... lack of insight.

You know how if someone wants to scare you, they send you a bullet in the mail? Perhaps we should all just email TAC a link to the photos of Philip's cats.

ha Ruth, I can see the TAC blog headline now: "Mental health journalist lives on the edge as a cat owner"-Shame on Furious Seasons for endangering public lives promoting cat ownership, not with just one cat but two!"

Miss being considered sane, sucking up insanity by the elephant trunk load. Does the first sentence make me crazy. To the Dr.
with a degree in mental illness I want to scream "ignorant Scientology hating bigot."I also love poetry and theatrics its part of my character but if you did'nt know me you might misinterpret. The Dr assigned to my case did.
To the officers who came to my house armed with tazer drawn. You quoted the mental health act and forced me from my home. Since when does crying over you kids being kidnapped by Government children's aid illicit the loss of my civil liberties. So what if I laughed loudly at the irony of life. The shrink at the hospital found me sane enough not to admit overnight.(or perhaps he was scared because I called my scientology friends for help from the citizens commission on human rights) To bad the next day at a conference for community involvement I had to face the shame of everything publicly and privately. Later I lost a scholarship from the resulting chaos. The worm on the hook look at my life, would show you that trying to battle for a sane perspective, makes me appear even more insane to those fighting to keep my kids from me. Just like a worm on a fish hook the more you wriggle the better your chances are of being eaten. If you get thrown into the system look out. To bad worms don't have eyes... I didnt see it coming. All this resulted from trying to leave an abusive relationship. To bad I now have Dialectic Borderline Personality Disorder. This lets everyone including the abusing Dr, my ex, the Ministry For Children and Families look...... shiny, while their lies and suppression go untempered by justice. I live in Canada but don't be fooled. The only freedom here is for the Canadian Goose who is a protected species despite its overpopulation.

I have always wanted a compendium of novena prayers. Thank you for sharing all these prayers with us. It brings joy and happiness to everyone. I know, I do feel that way.