Go Ask Alice

“One pill makes you larger and one pill makes you small and the ones that mother gives you don’t do anything at all.” -Jefferson Airplane

My best friend is a psychiatrist. Some of the most effective professionals in our networks are therapists, counselors and psychologists. Nevertheless, as highlighted in a recent Wall Street Journal article entitled  “How Psychiatry Went Crazy”, more scrutiny is needed regarding The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The DSM is often called the “Bible” of psychiatric diagnosis. Essentially, the DSM is the magic code that opens the medical/pharmaceutical cash register.

So what’s the problem?  Starting in 1952, the first DSM edition was a small pamphlet with only 11 categories of disorders. Volume 5 is now almost 1000 pages with 400 disorders, including the following:

• Caffeine intoxication

• Caffeine-induced sleep disorder

I am not making light of or downplaying the seriousness of treating patients/claimants with complex mental health issues. I’m just trying to make the point that when normal, everyday anxiety, bad habits and mood swings are elevated to the level of serious disorders, you can bet Big Pharma will ride to the rescue. I wonder who ends up paying their costs?

Call Us. We can do better.

William Faris, JD
Chief Executive Officer
502-495-5040
william.faris@omca.biz
www.omca.biz