Saturday, February 24, 2007

Insanity vs. Malice as Motives of Rampage - New York Times

Perhaps we should consider a new DSM diagnosis, say Media Crazed Disorder or MCD. It has a nice ring to it.

Insanity vs. Malice as Motives of Rampage - New York Times: "But to Mr. Hinckley, the prosecutor, Mr. Johnson’s words were evidence not of mental illness but of a widespread phenomenon familiar to anyone who watches “American Idol” on television.

Mr. Johnson was simply media-crazed, and determined to get his 15 minutes of fame, the prosecutor said.

“The defendant didn’t have any command hallucinations,” or orders from God telling him to kill white people, Mr. Hinckley said. Rather, “he knew he would create media attention” by shooting up a bar, and he wanted his family to profit from his 15 minutes of “notoriety.”

Mr. Hinckley rattled off a long list of other people he said were similarly obsessed by fame, perhaps criminal in some cases but not insane. The list included Mel Gibson, Osama bin Laden, Timothy McVeigh, abortion clinic bombers, Palestinian and Iraqi suicide bombers, members of the Aryan Nations, and any number of amateur singers competing on “American Idol.”"

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

A Casualty on Romania's Road Back From Atheism - New York Times

This story from 2005 makes it clear that older ways of understanding madness have not altogether disappeared from the earth. Today the Times reports that Daniel Petre Corogeanu was sentenced to 14 years in prison for killing a 23 year old nun in a crucifixion exorcism ritual…The four nuns arrested with him were sentenced to terms of five and eight years. Had she died during a procedure prescribed by bio-medical science the practitioner, probably would not have faced criminal charges, but would have been liable for negligence and perhaps sued for malpractice. The dominance of a belief system matters.

A Casualty on Romania's Road Back From Atheism - New York Times

Sunday, February 18, 2007

An Autism Anomaly, Partly Explained - New York Times

An Autism Anomaly, Partly Explained - New York Times
Here is a snapshot of the emergence of a new 'epidemic' in psychiatry. The question that isn't asked is whether the definition of a 'new' disease has morphed as vigilance about it increases. My guess is that states that find more autism also use a broader definition of that disorder. This certainly seems to be the case of the definition of depression over the 'prozac years.'

Saturday, February 17, 2007

U.N. Troops Fight Haiti Gangs One Street at a Time - New York Times

In case you thought that the overt political use of psychiatric detention was a thing of the past:
U.N. Troops Fight Haiti Gangs One Street at a Time - New York Times: "Mr. Mulet, of the United Nations, said he believed that the gang leaders were beyond rehabilitation. “They’ve been killing people, kidnapping people, torturing people, raping girls,” he told reporters recently in Washington. “It is very difficult to reinsert into society someone like that. A psychiatric institution would be the best place to place them in the future — after we arrest them.”"