And if he balks at taking out the trash, he’s got ODD – “Oppositional Defiance Disorder” – 313.8.

      Even drinking more than two or three cups of coffee qualifies as a mental illness – “Caffeine Intoxication,” number 305.90 – as is “Caffeine-Induced Sleep Disorder.”

      While psychiatrists have failed to prove the existence of these maladies, this detail has not prevented the list of “illnesses” from growing each year. In 1952, the DSM contained 112 mental disorders, up from seven in 1880.

      In 1968, the updated manual listed 163 mental disorders, including a category of “Behavior Disorders of Childhood and Adolescence.” These new ailments – each of which could be considered a “handicap” – appeared shortly after psychiatry procured federal funding for treating handicapped children. Commentary in the DSM revealed that the listed “disorders” had not been established by scientific evidence but by a committee which voted on whether they existed. Later versions of the DSM used this same “scientific” criterion – “electing” new disorders.

      When the latest version of the DSM was published in 1994, the number of disorders jumped to 374. While the manual lists all of these maladies, it admits that no definition specifies precise boundaries for the concept of a “mental disorder.”

      Dr. Herb Kutchins, professor of social work at California State University, notes that even tomboys can be classified with gender-related personality disorders, while college students can be labeled alcoholics.

      Psychiatrist Al Paredes rejects the DSM as a “masterpiece of political maneuvering” and not a scientific manual at all.

      As Dr. Fred A. Baughman Jr., a California pediatric neurologist, states, “The invention of diseases satisfied medical-economic needs. Additional income for growing numbers of psychologists and psychiatrists is generated.”

      These labels provide the fraudulent underpinnings for the multibillion-dollar psychiatric industry.

      Despite the fact that such mental “illnesses” grow like mushrooms on a damp forest floor, Richard Gardner has yet to have “parental alienation syndrome” endorsed by his normally eager brethren. But that technicality has not deterred him from jumping on the cash bandwagon, charging $250 per hour for “work” he does in the office, $200 per hour for travel time and $500 per hour for courtroom testimony. There’s a $2,500 retainer to boot.

      And others are quick to join in. In one recent California “parental alienation syndrome” case, for example, the psychologist involved reaped $63,000.

Heads I Win, Tails You Lose, continued ...



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