Yasin Choudry, M.D.

Why the DSM Cannot See Them Yasin Choudry MD 5 populations mainstream psychiatry misses In the previous essay in this series, I argued that mainstream psychiatry is not a broken system but an incomplete one. Built around a specific set of biological assumptions, tested on a narrow population, and calibrated to a particular picture of what mental illness looks like and where it comes from, it serves some people well and misses others in ways that compound over years and decade

The tools of mainstream psychiatry have saved lives. Lithium has prevented suicides. Clozapine has given people with treatment-resistant schizophrenia decades of functioning they would not otherwise have had. Antipsychotic medications, for all the controversy now surrounding them, have made it possible for people with severe psychotic illness to live outside institutions, to maintain relationships, to hold jobs. These are not small achievements. They are the product of decade

Child abuse and neglect are risk factors for both psychiatric and personality disorders Little is known about the developmental course of psychopathology among those exposed to childhood maltreatment Individuals who experienced childhood neglect and then later developed mental illness often show partial remission later in adulthood Individuals who experienced abuse, especially sexual and physical abuse often show up as antisocial and impulsive behavior in adulthood Bibliogra

Summary: The number of older adults taking at least three psychiatric drugs has doubled over the past decade, a recent U.S. study suggests, while the mental health crisis in the U.S. worsens. The number of annual doctor visits for patients 65 and over who take at least three psychiatric drugs surged from 1.5 million in 2004 to 3.68 million in 2013. This is not among patients with diagnoses like depression, anxiety, or insomnia, but rather in patients with no mental health dia