The Lumber Room: Mental Illness in the House of Medicine (2016 second edition)

Nonfiction, Health & Well Being, Medical, Reference, History, Ailments & Diseases, Mental Health
Cover of the book The Lumber Room: Mental Illness in the House of Medicine (2016 second edition) by D.S. Arrowsmith, D.S. Arrowsmith
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: D.S. Arrowsmith ISBN: 9780983671510
Publisher: D.S. Arrowsmith Publication: May 21, 2011
Imprint: Smashwords Edition Language: English
Author: D.S. Arrowsmith
ISBN: 9780983671510
Publisher: D.S. Arrowsmith
Publication: May 21, 2011
Imprint: Smashwords Edition
Language: English

The Lumber Room: Mental Illness in the House of Medicine (second edition published in 2016) is a lively, literate examination of handbooks written to help doctors distinguish mental illness from physical illness. Evidence from the history of illness and of medicine is presented, including a glance at the evolution of the psychiatrists' bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), and references to epilepsy, lycanthropy, syphilis, cancer, the Capgras delusion, malaria, Alzheimer's disease, porphyria, multiple sclerosis, psychoanalysis, E.M. Forster, Samuel Johnson and Louis Pasteur. The author suggests that the editors of the next edition of the DSM consider renaming it the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic Manual, since the statistical part of the book was eliminated in 1980, and the editors declared the term mental disorder unsuitable in 1994.

In the first two thirds of the essay, a critical look at these handbooks shows trends in psychiatry from the nineteenth century to today and touches on the many afflictions whose victims have been erroneously assigned to psychiatry instead of to other medical specialties. In the conclusion, the idea of a "God of the gaps" is introduced, that is, a deity whose bailiwick is everything that can't be explained by science: a poor argument for the existence of God because those gaps tend to get filled in. What these books show is a psychotherapist of the gaps, ready with psychological explanations and remedies until medicine advances and what was once, say, confusional psychosis or schizophrenia is found to be encephalitis or a brain tumor. The conclusion suggests that, with progress in medicine, difficult, unruly mental illnesses vanish and re-emerge as quantifiable, often curable physical illnesses.

"Lumber" is used here in the British sense meaning useless odds and ends. A house’s lumber room is where one stores those items that don’t belong anywhere else.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The Lumber Room: Mental Illness in the House of Medicine (second edition published in 2016) is a lively, literate examination of handbooks written to help doctors distinguish mental illness from physical illness. Evidence from the history of illness and of medicine is presented, including a glance at the evolution of the psychiatrists' bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), and references to epilepsy, lycanthropy, syphilis, cancer, the Capgras delusion, malaria, Alzheimer's disease, porphyria, multiple sclerosis, psychoanalysis, E.M. Forster, Samuel Johnson and Louis Pasteur. The author suggests that the editors of the next edition of the DSM consider renaming it the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic Manual, since the statistical part of the book was eliminated in 1980, and the editors declared the term mental disorder unsuitable in 1994.

In the first two thirds of the essay, a critical look at these handbooks shows trends in psychiatry from the nineteenth century to today and touches on the many afflictions whose victims have been erroneously assigned to psychiatry instead of to other medical specialties. In the conclusion, the idea of a "God of the gaps" is introduced, that is, a deity whose bailiwick is everything that can't be explained by science: a poor argument for the existence of God because those gaps tend to get filled in. What these books show is a psychotherapist of the gaps, ready with psychological explanations and remedies until medicine advances and what was once, say, confusional psychosis or schizophrenia is found to be encephalitis or a brain tumor. The conclusion suggests that, with progress in medicine, difficult, unruly mental illnesses vanish and re-emerge as quantifiable, often curable physical illnesses.

"Lumber" is used here in the British sense meaning useless odds and ends. A house’s lumber room is where one stores those items that don’t belong anywhere else.

More books from Mental Health

Cover of the book Your Killer Emotions by D.S. Arrowsmith
Cover of the book Creating Meaningful Funeral Ceremonies by D.S. Arrowsmith
Cover of the book The Year of You by D.S. Arrowsmith
Cover of the book Love Louder by D.S. Arrowsmith
Cover of the book Auriculoterapia EBOOK by D.S. Arrowsmith
Cover of the book Emotional Freedom by D.S. Arrowsmith
Cover of the book PTSD Road to Recovery Workbook by D.S. Arrowsmith
Cover of the book Contribution à l'histoire du mouvement psychanalytique by D.S. Arrowsmith
Cover of the book Don't Call That Man! by D.S. Arrowsmith
Cover of the book The 7 Life Miracles by D.S. Arrowsmith
Cover of the book Guía práctica para descubrir el poder sanador de las emociones by D.S. Arrowsmith
Cover of the book The Biological Basis of Mental Health by D.S. Arrowsmith
Cover of the book Human Nature by D.S. Arrowsmith
Cover of the book Collective Trauma, Collective Healing by D.S. Arrowsmith
Cover of the book What Teacher's Never Taught You... by D.S. Arrowsmith
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy