Once the existence of “I” is realized as not being the result of thoughts generated by the mind of a separate self, but as Consciousness in the present, the observation (acceptation) of the thoughts may bring insight into the physical feelings of the body mind organism. Once the suffering of the game of thoughts is overcome, only then is the human mind capable of observing the physical pain within the body mind organism. The suffering seeker in the search for peace has already taken a path that leads away from the destination. The thought of authority may prolong the journey!
Psychology claims the right of “authority” in resolving the suffering of the individual mind based on the assumption: “If many people say it is so, then it must be true”
If “I feel that my thoughts are bad”, but “I feel that I am a good person” is there really a cure? The authority of Psychology and Psychiatry presents us with theoretical answers to theoretical illnesses. Maybe the issue is the question? Is feeling bad not just part of existence? If this was the question a person asked, would we really have need for the long list of psychotropic medications. How would a person know what is feeling good without the experience of feeling bad?
Many so called mental illnesses fail to recognize the physical symptoms of the sufferer and are merely explained as an accompanying symptom not related to the mental illness. The fact that “the authority” is not able to identify the links between the physical feelings and the emotions arising from thoughts, demonstrates how the mind of authority can ignore the available answers. The mind of authority (as with the mind of individual self) appears to disregard the answer of “unknown”, even when the results are better than anticipated (examples of this can be found in “The illegal cure“). Or is it just an extension of “the game of thought“?
The following is an extract of a wonderfully presented article on the “Myth of Mental Illness” written by Paul Lutus. Why not entertain the mind and possibly recognize how thoughts are influenced by the authority of Psychology by reading Is Psychology a Science?.
One might think the dismal history of psychology and the recent revolution in psychoactive drugs might cause more than a few psychologists to wonder whether their field means anything at all. But the absence of a scientific foundation for psychology means that, like religion, it can prevail in the face of overwhelming evidence that it has no fixed, testable content.
This seems an appropriate time (and context) to comment on psychology’s “bible”: the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and its companion, the International Classifications of Diseases, Mental Disorders Section (hereafter jointly referred to as DSM). Now in its fourth edition, this volume is very revealing because of its significance to the practice of psychology and psychiatry and because of what it claims are valid mental illnesses.
Over the history of the DSM and as a result of valiant efforts, this “bible” of clinical psychology has come to define more and more conditions as evidence of mental illness. As an example, in the current edition, the following conditions are defined as mental illnesses:
- Stuttering
- Spelling Disorder
- Written Expression Disorder
- Mathematics Disorder
- Caffeine Intoxication/Withdrawal
- Nicotine use/Withdrawal
- Sibling Rivalry Disorder
- Phase of Life Problem
Putting aside for the moment the nebulous “phase of life problem,” excuse me? – “Sibling rivalry” is now a mental illness? Yes, according to the current DSM/ICD. And few are as strict about spelling as I am, but even I am not ready to brand as mentally ill those who (frequently) cannot accurately choose from among “site,” “cite” and “sight” when they write to comment on my Web pages. As to “mathematics disorder” being a mental illness, sorry, that just doesn’t add up.
[Extract] Paul Lutus – “The Myth of Mental Illness”
Published by the American Psychiatric Association, the DSM-IV-TR provides a common language and standard criteria for the classification of mental disorders. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Psychiatrist and author, Allen J. Frances (Ex-Chairman of the DSM IV task force), believes that mental illnesses are being over-diagnosed. In his lecture, Diagnostic Inflation: Does Everyone Have a Mental Illness?
Related articles
- How Talk Therapy Sold Out (madinamerica.com)
- In the Age of Anxiety, are we all mentally ill? (vancouversun.com)
- Reviving the Myth of Mental Illness – by Steve Morgan (beyondmeds.com)
The Ultimate I 