Mad or normal? Paradoxes of contemporary diagnostic cultures

Abstract

Brinkmann, Svend (2017). 'Mad or normal? Paradoxes of contemporary diagnostic cultures' i Tidsskrift for Forskning i Sygdom og Samfund, nr. 26,[169][170][171][172][173][174][175][176][177][178][179][180][181][182][183]

Expanding boundaries in psychiatry: uncertainty in the context of diagnosis‐seeking and negotiation

“…This expansion and increasing lay awareness regarding psychiatric diagnosis has led to growing demands for formal diagnosis (Chan and Sireling ) and practices of self‐diagnosis (Brinkmann , Singh ), with psychiatric concepts being widely adopted as explanations for personal difficulties and distress. This work expands upon what Brinkmann refers to as ‘diagnostic cultures’ (Brinkmann , ), which alludes to the ways in which psychiatric diagnoses are now used – not only to understand and treat mental disorders, but also as ways ‘to interpret, regulate, and mediate various forms of self‐understanding and activity’ (Brinkmann : 170). This article will argue that certain diagnoses are more sought after than others, due in part to an apparent moral hierarchy of diagnosis; in addition, it will be argued that de‐emphasising the ontological uncertainty surrounding more medicalised diagnoses plays a key role in the moral categorisation of patients, adding to the exclusiveness of such categories; this in turn facilitates gatekeeping practices within mental health care by allowing patients to be downgraded.…”

“…Additionally, the marketisation and commodification (Brinkmann ) of psychiatric diagnoses has led many individuals to identify with popular categories such as bipolar disorder and autism, reinterpreting and framing their behaviour in the light of (evolving) diagnostic definitions. As illustrated by Hacking's concept of the ‘looping effects of human kinds’ (), this reframing can in turn change the way in which such diagnoses are classified (e.g.…”

Beyond Pressure and Perfectionism – Student Struggles in Contemporary Denmark from the Perspectives of Educational Counsellors

“…It has been documented that as a result of an increasing focus on competition and achievement in Western Societies, many students feel highly pressured [3,4] and several researchers have highlighted the relationship between the pressures experienced by students and an increase in diagnoses such as stress, anxiety, and depression [5,6], and the increase in non-medical use of prescription pharmaceuticals for enhancement purposes among healthy college-students [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. This is also the case in Denmark, where several reports bear witness to increases in anxiety, stress, and a general lack of wellbeing among young people [2,3,[15][16][17]. A tendency for young people to use and misuse prescription medicines as a way of keeping up and performing in the Danish educational system has also been noted [18][19][20][21][22].…”

Case Study of Recognition Patterns in Haunted People Syndrome

“…Nell was careful not to completely dismiss our conclusions and recommendations, but she quickly pushed for a consultation with a spiritual medium to validate her stance on the anomalous experiences. This shift appeared to us as a form of “doctor shopping (or hopping),” which involves patients who seek multiple clinicians or second opinions ( Sansone and Sansone, 2012 ; Velma et al, 2014 ; Lane, 2020 ) often as a way “to interpret, regulate, and mediate various forms of self-understanding and activity” ( Brinkmann, 2017 , p. 170). This behavior can be particularly aggravated when an individual is dealing with medically unexplained symptoms ( de Zwaan and Müller, 2006 ).…”