Week 6 - Savannah Keyse

Savannah Keyse
Week 6
Section 2

"Pathologizing Everyday Life"

In this chapter of the book Depathologizing Psychopathology the authors Wasserma et. al explain the Western medical practice of labeling many human problems with medical diagnoses. Increasingly over time Western Medicine has found a reason to make medical diagnoses and prescribe pills to conditions that were previously dealt with in home and without the use of medical drugs. The authors cite that the great increase of medicalizing common problems began with the new DSM-V which lists over 300 mental illnesses and criteria on what needs to be present to make a diagnosis of the mental illness. I agree with the authors in believing that having a medical diagnosis available for common life circumstances creates a sense of "sick role" that people will tend to inhabit. Western countries and North America specifically have created societies that allow doctors to place labels on patients whether the labels are necessary or not all for a profit. One trouble with having a label placed on a person is that it creates an outcasted group that have these stigmatized labels, much like that of specific Asian communities having stereotypes associated with their label. The authors identify that while people do have anxieties and social pressures on them that may be difficult to handle, it is not always necessary to have a medical procedure to correct them. This point fits perfectly with the discourse that surrounds Asian Americans and the idea that they do not seek medical help when dealing with mental illnesses. While most people in Western society find that it is important to get help for mental health, the research conducted by the authors shows that it is not always pertinent that these individuals, Asian Americans, seek medical attention. 

Question: Will there be a move in Western society that takes back holistic ways of dealing with personal health instead of relying on medical intervention? 

• Image from: O’Meara, K. (2017, April 19). UN Special Rapporteur Sets Milestone by Addressing Excessive “Medicalizing” of Mental Health Issues. CCHR International.
• Wasserma, T., & Wasserma, L. (n.d.). Pathologizing Everyday Life. In Depathologizing Psychopathology (pp. 7-12). Springer International Publishing.