15.13 CHANGING MINDS

  1. You catch a television interview with a celebrity who describes his difficult childhood, living with a mother who suffered from major depression. “Sometimes my mother stayed in her bed for days, not even getting up to eat,” he says. “At the time, the family hushed it up. My parents were immigrants, and they came from a culture where it was considered shameful to have mental problems. You’re supposed to have enough strength of will to overcome your problems, without help from anyone else. So my mother never got treatment.” How might the idea of a medical model of psychiatric disorders have helped the celebrity’s mother and her family in the decision whether to seek treatment?

  2. You are studying for your upcoming psychology exam when your roommate breezes in, saying: “I was just at the gym and I ran into Sue. She’s totally schizophrenic: nice one minute, mean the next.” You cannot resist the opportunity to set the record straight. What psychiatric disorder is your roommate (incorrectly) attributing to Sue? How is this different from schizophrenia?

  3. A friend of yours has a family member who is experiencing severe mental problems, including delusions and loss of motivation. “We went to one psychiatrist,” she says, “and got a diagnosis of schizophrenia. We went for a second opinion, and the other doctor said it was probably bipolar disorder. They’re both good doctors, and they’re both using the same DSM—how can they come up with different diagnoses?”

  4. After reading the chapter, one of your classmates turns to you with a sigh of relief. “I finally figured it out. I have a deadbeat brother, who always gets himself into trouble and then blames other people for his problems. Even when he gets a ticket for speeding, he never thinks it’s his fault—the police were picking on him, or his passengers were urging him to go too fast. I always thought he was just a loser, but now I realize he has a personality disorder!” Do you agree with your classmate’s diagnosis of his brother? How would you caution your classmate about the dangers of self-diagnosis, or diagnosis of friends and family?