Seaneen’s Top Six Worst Psychiatric Labels

The fact is that mental health is a severely underfunded, unrecognised public concern. Crisis centres across the country (which are lifesaving and staffed with trained psychiatric doctors, nurses and social workers) are being axed by Hewitt’s budgeting while cutbacks on respite homes and staff leave people without relief and without a point of contact.

Misunderstanding and ignorance in the general population is par for the course. Most people don’t read the more “sensitive” press, and even those that do, even inside the mental health workforce, still harbour the opinion that mental illness is the fault of the patient. (See Mental Nurse for evidence of this). Something happened in their life that they didn’t cope with well enough, they took too many drugs and now look at them.

By the far the most “it’s your fault” labels are those of the Personality Disorders. Just look at the words- personality disorder. It suggests that you are disordered and, your personality being something shaped by years of experience and ideals, you are ultimately a faulty person.

There is scant public education regarding mental illness so here are my Top six Worst Psychiatrist Labels. The top six labels by which you’ll receive a swift and unflattering judgement from the good honourable members of the Great British Public. Of course, not everybody thinks this way; so I am talking about the lowest common denominator whose exposure to mental health debate is “Loony commits murder” in the Sun. I’m not including genetic conditions or behavioural disorders.

6: Dissociative identity disorder. The classic “schizo” mind- that of split personalities. This is what a lot of people think schizophrenia is, due to the delusions of voices that schizophrenics suffer from. Dissociative identity disorder is actually a person who has two or more distinct and different personalities. Many people with DID suffer from other illnesses such as depression and anxiety, however, the prevailing attitude in the community of DID sufferers is that they are not ill and don’t want treatment. They see their split personalities as a part of themselves. It’s another one of those illnesses that is heavily disputed. A lot of people think of it as a reaction to extreme stress and question its existence.

5: Gender Identity Disorder. A useful diagnostic term that usually leads the way to gender reassignment, still, the implication that the feelings are a mental disorder is counterproductive. Because it is classed as a disorder, therefore, the implication is that it should be treated and corrected. In much the same way that homosexuality was once classed as a mental disorder, those without knowledge of GID don’t believe that it’s a feeling that you’re born with. Treatment for homosexuality used to encompass religious threats and aversion therapy. The status of GID as a disorder, I believe, should be renounced and it should have the same, “Born with it” status that homosexuality is gaining so that people who feel they are a different gender are not classed as “disordered”. Most people diagnosied with GID pursue life as their desired gender.

4: Munchausen Syndrome. Munchausen sufferers are the classic attention seekers of the psychiatric world. They fake or induce illness in order to gain attention. Anyone who has an illness that gains attention is written off as an attention seeker and often not treated for their disorder.

3: Depression and Manic Depression. Along the depression spectrum lies the public fear of suicide and disruptive behaviour. Depression and manic depression are both chronic illnesses but again, there’s that wonderful tendency for people to tell you to snap out of it. Depressives are often seen as underachievers, manic depressives are often seen as unruly.

2: Any Personality Disorder. The psychiatric label of “personality disorder” implies that the sufferer is at fault. The worst personality disorder labels are, in my opinion, Borderline Personality Disorder and Antisocial Personality Disorder. Borderline Personality Disorder is the generic disorder you’ll be diagnosed with if you’re a woman who self harms. The diagnostic criteria of it implies that sufferers are attention-seeking and unstable. They’re often refered to as manipulative. The class Borderline Sufferer, if you’re believe the cold set of symptoms, is yer Bunny Boiler type of woman who’ll go out of her way to keep someone, resorting to violence, threats and intimidation.

Antisocial Personality Disorder is basically most bratty teenage boys. However, once you get into your late teens or early twenties, it’s a serious disorder that is commonly connected to psychopathy. It’s an extremely unpleasant disorder that doesn’t respond well to treatment. So if you have antisocial personality disorder, you’re a psychopath apparently! Well done you.

Personality disorders are seen as incurable. Some, like Borderline, get better with age and almost disappear. However, they’re largely seen as the loose cannons of the psychiatric world, difficult to treat and difficult to diagnose.

1: Paranoid Schizophrenia: The granddaddy of all psychotic illnesses and now shorthand in the media for “psychokiller”. Paranoid schizophrenics are almost universally feared. They are seen as disorganised and violent, when they are no more violent than the rest of the population. Murders committed by paranoid schizophrenics are heavily reported as a handy way to justify preposed changes to the Mental Health Act that remove yet more rights from the patients. If you see the headline, “Loony should have been locked up”, you’re almost guaranteed the story will be about a paranoid schizophrenic.

This little list is compiled from personal experience of what I’ve read, heard and seen. Feel free to dispute anything.