Post Traumatic Stress is diagnosed far too liberally, claims trauma expert

[Heidi]

If I were gonna err, I'd try to err on the side of helping people instead of essentially calling them liars. Whatta y'all think about this guy's comments?

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Post Traumatic Stress is diagnosed far too liberally, claims trauma expert
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has become a "fashionable diagnosis" that is far too liberally diagnosed, according claims a trauma expert who treated victims of the King's Cross Tube fire.

By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent
Published: 9:00AM BST 27 Jul 2009

Dr James Thompson, a trauma psychologist, made the comments on BBC's Panorama programme investigating the growing army of sufferers.

The programme claims that the NHS now treats an estimated 220,000 people a year suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder, a diagnosis once reserved for those coming back from war zones.

<snip>

In the programme, titled The Trauma Industry, Dr Thompson suggested it was part of the growing "victim culture".

"It has become a fashionable diagnosis because it has the key feature that is about what the world did to you," he told the programme.

"And that is always attractive to all of us. Now you can teach yourself PTSD on the internet within five minutes."

Read more here

[Dogmudgeon]

1. There are always morally superior people who want to ...

... give us the punishment they believe we so richly deserve.

James Thompson is one such person.

George W. Bush, Maggie Thatcher, and the common low-rent dominatrix and/or "whip master" are examples of others.

I'm a TBI (PTSD) patient myself. How did I pull off my shameful scam? All it took was five minutes on the Internet -- plus a car accident, a mugging, a high fever, and bacterial encephalitis. No problemo!

:eyes:

--d!

[Heidi]

2. Preach it, Dogmudgeon.

I agree.

Good morning! :hi:

[Jim__]

3. "It has become a fashionable diagnosis ..."

Did he give any specific examples of cases where this was the diagnosis and the diagnosis was made purely because it is fashionable? If not, I wouldn't take him seriously.

[cap]

4. PTSD can be verified with an MRI

the shape of the brain actually changes. I saw an article a while back that said any competent psychologist can diagnose PTSD without the MRI; but that the MRI proves conclusively that PTSD did exist.

[SpiralHawk]

5. I'd bet a sack of doughnuts he is yet another republicon chickenhawk

This just sounds so much like the BS that comes out of the Chickenhawk Republicon Homelanders, who serve only themselves, not America.

[WolverineDG]

6. I think it isn't diagnosed often enough nt

[Heidi]

7. Agree.

People who've suffered profound trauma certainly aren't getting the medical help they need. :(