If any of you still need convincing that a diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder is dangerous (even for trans people) I refer you to this story of an Italian man who had his driving license suspended on the grounds that being gay made him mentally unfit to drive.
2 thoughts on “The Dangers of Psychiatric Diagnosis”
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Oh good heavens — It would make sense in a country where gay is somehow illegal (it would offend the hell out of me, but at least make internal sense) — but clearly that’s the case in Italy where the judges sided with him in what appears to be a rather speedy manner.
Psych diagnosis can be helpful under certain specific conditions — but all too often it brands one for life and it’s impossible to get out from under. In large part, that’s not the fault of psychiatrists so much as the way we allow those diagnoses to be used.
It’s one of the reasons there are so many laws being passed in the states to permanently protect individuals from having genetic tests used against them in any way (legal, insurance, etc). Genetic testing, to determine potential disease, is enormously useful — both to the individual and to medical science in general — but most people refused the offer (even free) until the first laws were passed to keep Insurance companies from using it in any way to define “bad risk.”
Clearly we forgot to do that in the case of Psych diagnosis…
Yeah, I read that on Sunday just before gaming. It certainly generated some disgruntled snickers about how dumb some Italians can be but I’m sure the Pope makes them do it!
It was a bit unnerving though. Hope the guy enjoys spending his compensation – maybe he should get a Ferrari!