The Mental Illness Rights Movement

[nolabear]

9. I spend every day with "mentally ill" people. It's about as accurate a term as "physically ill".

First, I've got an advanced degree, years of post graduate training and years and years of experience. And I would never, NEVER diagnose anyone in absentia. Nor would I assume that a third party was able to give me an accurate description from which I could do anything more than speculate. The DSM IV is the best we've got but you can only diagnose symptoms, not people. People are incredibly complex and deserve respect. Two people with the same DSM IV diagnosis are different as night and day.

And btw some of the "mentally ill" I see are among the finest people I have ever known.