Great quote from the article: "Each disorder in the DSM is probably just a final common presentation caused by hundreds of different and heterogeneous biological pathways." I think this is true of a lot of the complex physical conditions as well, such as chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. Fatigue, aches, pains, etc. can be caused by anemia, hypothyroidism, and probably 100 other reasons, but until the patient gets that specific diagnosis, he/she is just lumped in as having "fatigue."
Psychiatric disorder labels are troublesome to me. There certainly are emotional and behavior disturbances due to bad philosophy, lack of motivation, bad habits, lack of coping skills, cultural influences, etc. There are also emotional and behavior disturbances due to biology-- and I'd suspect most childhood or adolescent-onset so-called psychiatric disorders fall into this category. They are physical diseases with brain manifestations. Even vitamin deficiencies can cause mental symptoms. The trouble is, that seems to point toward determinism. :-/
Regarding binge eating as a disorder-- in some cases I think it is, though I think it's biochemical rather than emotional. You're probably well-versed in the Ancel Keys starvation experiments. After restricted caloric intake over a period of time, the starved subjects developed tremendous cravings and uncontrollable bingeing that lasted for months, if not years, after they were allowed to resume normal meals. Interestingly, the starvation level was 1,200 calories a day, which is what many modern Americans subject themselves to when dieting. There are some theories that say binge eating disorder is a compensatory response for previous undernutrition.
no subject
"Each disorder in the DSM is probably just a final common presentation caused by hundreds of different and heterogeneous biological pathways."
I think this is true of a lot of the complex physical conditions as well, such as chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. Fatigue, aches, pains, etc. can be caused by anemia, hypothyroidism, and probably 100 other reasons, but until the patient gets that specific diagnosis, he/she is just lumped in as having "fatigue."
Psychiatric disorder labels are troublesome to me. There certainly are emotional and behavior disturbances due to bad philosophy, lack of motivation, bad habits, lack of coping skills, cultural influences, etc. There are also emotional and behavior disturbances due to biology-- and I'd suspect most childhood or adolescent-onset so-called psychiatric disorders fall into this category. They are physical diseases with brain manifestations. Even vitamin deficiencies can cause mental symptoms. The trouble is, that seems to point toward determinism. :-/
Regarding binge eating as a disorder-- in some cases I think it is, though I think it's biochemical rather than emotional. You're probably well-versed in the Ancel Keys starvation experiments. After restricted caloric intake over a period of time, the starved subjects developed tremendous cravings and uncontrollable bingeing that lasted for months, if not years, after they were allowed to resume normal meals. Interestingly, the starvation level was 1,200 calories a day, which is what many modern Americans subject themselves to when dieting. There are some theories that say binge eating disorder is a compensatory response for previous undernutrition.