Hi Steph,
Jon Ronson (2011), in The Psychopath Test: a journey through the madness industry - has done some great investigative journalism around this - he is funny, mind-opening and sceptical/ critical of psychologists, psychiatrists, drug companies , journalists, awful empathy-less big business dealers, - He says "There are obviously a lot of very ill people out there." ( and not only meaning those who are labelled). So he's not a social constructionist but I think he is thoughtful and down to earth about media, business, quasi-scientific and political power.
He talks about people ...."getting over-labelled, becoming nothing more than a big splurge of madness in the minds of the pople who benefit from it" and "There is no evidence that we've been placed on this planet to be especially happy or especially normal. And in fact our unhappiness and our strangeness, our anxieties and compulsions, those least fashionable apsects of our personalities, are quite often what lead us to do rather interesting things."
Annie
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From: The UK Community Psychology Discussion List [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of David Fryer [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 17 March 2012 10:59
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [COMMUNITYPSYCHUK] 'the war without bullets' and 'the emperor's new clothes'
Hi Steph,
Regarding "actual madness/ psychological distress being intentionally cultivated via the media", I came across a reference which might interest you: Bilic, B & Georgaca, E. (2007). Representations of 'mental illness' in Serbian newspapers: A critical discourse analysis. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 4, 167-186, if you would like to read some research examining newspaper text in relation to 'mental illness'. Critical discourse analysis does not of course concern itself with the intentions but with what it is possible to say or be within a particular discourse.
For me what is wrong with DSM is not that what it purports to talk about is socially constructed . . . after all for a social constructionist all illnesses are socially constructed . . . e.g. appendicitis is social constructed too. I would not distinguish between 'actual madness' and 'socially constructed madness' therefore as all is socially constructed and 'socially constructed' does not men 'not real' to me. For me what is wrong with DSM (all DSMs not just 5 and all diagnoses not just some) is how what is constructed functions, especially in relation to power, knowledge and subjectivity and especially in relation to oppression.
I take madness to be socially constructed too . . . for me it is not important whether use of the term 'mad' is PC but, again, how it functions, especially in relation to power, knowledge and subjectivity and especially in relation to oppression.
David
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From: Stephanie Meadows <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Thursday, 15 March 2012, 7:43
Subject: 'the war without bullets' and 'the emperor's new clothes'
Disclaimer... decided to use the word 'mad'; hope this is PC with all !!!
There have been interesting past discussions on the social construction of madness via the DSM ie.making you think you are mad when you're not.
I would be interested in anyone's views/ links to writings on actual madness/ psychological distress being intentionally cultivated via the media in order to disorientate and control ie.making you feel mad when you would normally feel ok, maybe resulting in inability to think straight and make good decisions... (and maybe 'buy products', or 'go indoors and stop making a fuss').
people can be so humble ... they often doubt their own sanity before questioning the sanity of their 'leaders'
maybe we don't like to face the idea that our 'leaders' may be 'mad' themselves (even though we joke about it)
but what if they really were? (how about obsessional gold hoarding disorder maybe that could maybe make it into the DSM with our support!)
To be 'resilient', people will need a new gameplan than trying to be 'good' and 'follow the leader'
I look forward to any of your comments
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