Question:
The main topic for this week was on mental illness. Psychiatrist and professor of Psychiatry Thomas Szasz argued that because people engage in ''us-versus-them'' thinking, it is easy for a society to stigmatize people who are noticeably different. He believed that culturally undesirable behaviors, emotional difficulties, and coping problems may be inaccurately called mental illness. In fact, Szasz proposed that mental illness is actually a myth.
Read the included excerpt from Szasz's book and then answer the following questions:
Summarize Szasz's main ideas presented in the excerpt from his book. What are some of the reason he presents as support for his claims of calling mental illness a myth.
Do you agree with Szasz's thoughts about mental illness being a myth? Explain.
Do diagnoses stigmatize people? In what ways does diagnosing people help or hinder them? Explain.