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Is it them or us?

slacker2114

3rd Level White Feather
Joined
Apr 27, 2001
Messages
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So I'm chatting with a dear friend from the forum today and our discussion turns to telling the person you're with about your fetish. A comment was made about how we, as fetishists always seem shocked when the person on the outside has a reaction that is basically no reaction at all. A lot of us tend to worry about people finding out about our fetish and can't believe it when we get a "oh, is that it" or "ah, that's no big deal". And it set us to wondering...

Do we seem to underestimate the possible openess and acceptance of people in general?

Is it possible our concerns over people knowing may stem from a subconcious guilt we have over a lot of us being raised to be "normal" and that we won't be accepted if we're not?

And could this possible guilt even stem from the fact that a lot of our ticklish experiences came from being tickled and observing tickling when we were young?

Granted, I undertsand this is certainly not the case for all of us, but any and all serious feedback is welcome.

I turn the floor over to you.
 
🙂 :redheart:


Personally, I think that the reason we're so apprehensive, IS due to the fact that most of our experiences with tickling (whether observing or partaking in) happened at a very young age.

That, co-mingled with the added guilt of it now being sexual for some can cause major self-induced conflicts. As well as the majority of the world's population worrying about what the other people will think about them as individuals.

All of that builds into a montage of paranoia, if you will. And then we're stuck withholding the truth not only to other's, but to ourselves as well. Which blows.
 
I totally think we make it out to be more than it is. I remember when I told Michael I liked being tickled, I sat him down on the bed, I was nervous and jittery and couldn't even look at him. When I finally blurted out that I have a tickling fetish (for lack of a better word - let's not get into that debate here), he was totally quiet for about 20 seconds, and then when he finally did talk he said...and I quote, "....is that it?" And the few friends that I've told had the same reaction. Either they were like "oh" or they were like "that's cute." I haven't anyone freak out or give any kind of negative reaction.

I find myself "reality checking" with Michael all the time now. When I was too embarassed to get my first pedicure because I didn't want it to tickle and like..I dunno..I'd be embarassed, he said to me, "I'm telling you as someone who doesn't have any hang ups about tickling - being tickled by a pedicure is NOTHING to be embarassed about."

So yeah - I totally think we blow it up to be more than it is most of the time.

However...there are people who HAVE had negative experiences telling significant others, so the possiblity does exist. But I think more often than not, we're blowing it out of proportion.

Good thread 🙂
 
Guilt I think is an overly complicated explanation for what I think can be understood as fear. Fear of rejection.

It's quite common for difference to be scorned, mocked, and rejected. It doesn't seem unreasonable that we would fear these things.
 
Have to agree that tend to make more of it than necessary.
For me, since early childhood, & grew up in very strict religious environment, exaggerated it even more. Add a few "negative" responses & then we start thinkin we have a problem.

One thing I have come to realize in my old age is that it doesn't change who we are as a person. Alot more people know I am into tickling in the last 3-4 yrs than the previous 25, & still are my friends, both guys & gals.
Doesn't mean it's easy but not quite as "shy" about it anymore.
 
The fact is that the fetish is something that the sufferer seems to view as somewhat dehumanized, and as a result of this dehumanization in lieu of something extremely primordial (sex), the sufferer seems to believe they are isolated, perhaps even hopelessly alone.

People are uncomfortable in disclosing the fetish to another because, doing such, gives the opposing person something that holds sway over you. And if that relationship dissolves, or someone gets angry, it's an easy spot to choose to harm someone.

It's no different than sharing a sexual experience with someone and having it go horribly. It's no different than having a girlfriend who you are afraid might make fun of you having a tiny penis, or the fact that you are sexually unsatisfying her.

More than likely, the reality is, these issues are things that can be marginalized or improved. But because of people wanting to not avail this sort of information to others, they turn it into a project of pomp and circumstance.
 
I've told all my family and my close friends.
None of them are surprised, or even really cared.

It's such a non-issue for so many people I know,
that I have a hard time realising that it's such
a painful issue for others. I'm glad they know,
and we never talk about it.

Lee
 
Hi all,

I just happened to see the title of this thread and thought I would investigate it further. As it would turn out, I have recently gone through telling a close friend about my fetish, and I can relate to many people's thoughts/worries on this "issue". How fortuitous! 🙂

I have for a VERY long time felt awkwardness around my enjoyment of tickling, and it has taken a similarly long time to "heal" this part of myself. I have told only 3 people about it, and each time was difficult. I think I'm very lucky in that not one of them reacted in an adverse manner, and all were willing, on some level, to let me "explore" it further. None of them had to oblige me, and I am grateful for their openness.

Recently I told a close friend about this, and I received SUCH a positive response from her that I was basically doing backflips. Not only did she think that it was really great, but she was also very keen to explore it with me. Such a rarity, I thought. As I talked about it with her, I commented on how it has always been with me since childhood, and I tried my best to explain the different kinds of developmental stages that I went through, such as how my obsession with tickling overrode my capacity for "normal" sexual fantasies during my teenage years, and how that affected me later on when I became sexually active. She was quite understanding and sympathetic to my little story.

After telling her all of this, it really made me realize that I had never put the pieces of my "tickling history" together on a timeline. Upon doing so, it really made me look at my past patterns of how I thought about my fetish, and also more importantly on a much deeper level how I thought about myself. Looking back now, I can see that it wasn't that I had trouble accepting my fetish, or that I was overly worried about what others thought. It was much more the case that I never really accepted myself for having the fetish in the first place (which I had no control over anyways).

We (not just "us" or "them") take a great deal of stock into how others perceive us, and we forget that everyone else is doing exactly the same thing. It's my opinion that when we start convincing ourselves that others might have some negative view about us, it's because we haven't fully accepted it ourselves. Heh, why would we perceive something as being wrong, or different, or weird, if we had already completely accepted it in the first place? 😉

Anyways folks, I suppose that this is still just another way to reiterate what has already been said: it's really no big deal--we just make it that way. And whether or not the people that we tell respond positively or negatively, what really matters is our own acceptance of ourselves.

In conclusion....I'm done.

Take care everyone,

Sean
 
Do we seem to underestimate the possible openess and acceptance of people in general?

Well... this is my take on it... These people are your friends and loved ones, correct? And that they are for a reason.

One of my favorite quotes goes like this: "Be who you are and say what you feel; because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."

I think this is the case here. I mean what are they gonna do? A tickling fetish isn't that big of a deal anyway, I think some people might be weirded out by it but... I think they're actually in a minority.
 
Have you ever watched fetish porn for a fetish you just don't get? Sometimes I feel like that's how non-ticklephiles would feel about our fetish...

But yes, it's really not a big deal to most people. American society (I can't speak internationally) is so goddamned Puritan about what sex should be. When you realize that the thing that turns your crank doesn't fit into that narrow category, it's easy to feel embarrassed or ashamed about it.
 
American society (I can't speak internationally) is so goddamned Puritan about what sex should be. When you realize that the thing that turns your crank doesn't fit into that narrow category, it's easy to feel embarrassed or ashamed about it.

Yeah it's the same over here... I think it is everywhere. Thing is, when people find out, they generally don't mind. I mean most people probably have some sort of kink, you just never hear them talk about it.
 
..... It's my opinion that when we start convincing ourselves that others might have some negative view about us, it's because we haven't fully accepted it ourselves. Heh, why would we perceive something as being wrong, or different, or weird, if we had already completely accepted it in the first place? 😉

That's exactly the point IMO.
The way you feel about your fethish yourself will certainly influence the way you're going to get it across. If you start by making it a huge announcement out of nowhere, seem nervous and use words like fetish, weird, or whatever you imagine it to be, chances are higher that the person you're talking to will get a strange feeling as well.
Then again if you're comfortable about it yourself, you will most likely wait for the right moment and just bring it up as no big deal at all.

I totally agree, that its not easy at all to act cool about it, if we feel a bit insecure and nervous, but I also agree, that we usally make it much more of an issue then it actually is.
 
I would agree with LD that fear plays a big role in it. I think that we all want to be accepted on some level. Being honest with someone else about who you are takes courage because you never know how they are going to react to your honesty. I think most people are open minded enough to realize that everyone has some sort of kink or fetish that they are into and it isn't really their place to judge. Just because they don't want to partake in your fetish with you doesn't mean they are not accepting of it. I mean of course there is always the person who is going to reject your honesty, but I tend to believe that those people are insecure with who they are and because of that they feel they need to judge others.

From my experience telling girlfriends about it I only had one who acted negatively about it. Her negative reaction was more of a disbelief that I would be into something like that. I think the reaction did hurt our relationship though because I just felt like I couldn't be honest with her after that. All the other girls I have dated have either been accepting or open to it. Since I am ticklish too, I have found from my experience that most girls find it amusing to tickle their boyfriend when he is ticklish. They seem to find it even more amusing if he is ticklish and they know it arouses him.
 
I think we want too keep it secret because we think people will see us... as being nuts & need help
a lot still see a fetish as being a psychological disorder
Look at what a lot of people still think of BDSM they think is about narcissistic control of a person .. WE KNOW ITS NOT I know its not but some still do
.tickling is misunderstood the Sammy acshiley all fetish's are!
fetish's have no DSM-4-iv listing direly anyway!.
 
I'm in agreement overall. It being something usually associated with us as kids, then now being sexual in nature for a lot of people probably has a lot to do with it. On top of that, if someone knows it "can" be sexual for you, it can be a fear of if I get in a tickle fight with anyone regardless of if they start it, are they wondering if I'm getting off on it. For so many it is completely contextual and can be used in roughhousing with their nieces and nephews, or kids and even friends in general, in a nothing but playful way.

So yea, all the things mentioned make sense. I don't doubt for a second so many make it into more than it is, and in the grand scheme of things, it really is something so simple and even cute to most people.
 
What???? What is that??

It's the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders. Used by psychologists, psychiatrists, etc. for determining what possible disorder a patient may have based on their symptoms.

I learned in a human sexuality class that the techincal definition of 'fetishism' only involves objects, ie, sexual attraction to specific objects, like shoes. Being attracted to body parts, on the other hand, fall into a sub-category called 'partialisms'. I don't know if tickling would fall into that category, but if the term fetishism is exclusive to objects only, then I guess it would.

I guess now we should be telling people that we have a "tickling partial", and not a "tickling fetish" 😉
 
It's the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders. Used by psychologists, psychiatrists, etc. for determining what possible disorder a patient may have based on their symptoms.

I learned in a human sexuality class that the techincal definition of 'fetishism' only involves objects, ie, sexual attraction to specific objects, like shoes. Being attracted to body parts, on the other hand, fall into a sub-category called 'partialisms'. I don't know if tickling would fall into that category, but if the term fetishism is exclusive to objects only, then I guess it would.

I guess now we should be telling people that we have a "tickling partial", and not a "tickling fetish" 😉

Ahhhh. Okay. Thanks, hon. 🙂
 
What???? What is that??

That is this.....




Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
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The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is published by the American Psychiatric Association and provides diagnostic criteria for mental disorders. It is used in the United States and in varying degrees around the world, by clinicians, researchers, psychiatric drug regulation agencies, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and policy makers.

The DSM has attracted controversy and criticism as well as praise. There have been five revisions since it was first published in 1952, gradually including more disorders. It initially evolved out of systems for collecting census and psychiatric hospital statistics, and from a manual developed by the US Army. The last major revision was the DSM-IV published in 1994, although a "text revision" was produced in 2000. The DSM-V is currently in consultation, planning and preparation, due for publication in May 2012.[1] An early draft will be released for comment in 2009. [2] The mental disorders section of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) is another commonly-used guide, used more often in some parts of the world. The two classifications have developed alongside each other and use the same diagnostic codes.[vague][dubious – discuss]
Contents
[hide]

* 1 History
* 2 Use of the DSM
* 3 The current DSM
o 3.1 Categorization
o 3.2 Multi-axial system
o 3.3 Cautions
o 3.4 DSM-IV sourcebooks
* 4 DSM-V planning
o 4.1 Criticism
* 5 DSM and sexual orientation
* 6 Criticism
* 7 See also
* 8 References
* 9 External links

[edit] History

The initial impetus for developing a classification of mental disorders in the United States was the need to collect statistical information. The first official attempt was the 1840 census which used a single category, "idiocy/insanity". The 1880 census distinguished among seven categories: mania, melancholia, monomania, paresis, dementia, dipsomania, and epilepsy. In 1917, a "Committee on Statistics" from what is now known as the American Psychiatric Association (APA), together with the National Commission on Mental Hygiene, developed a new guide for mental hospitals called the "Statistical Manual for the Use of Institutions for the Insane", which included 22 diagnoses. This was subsequently revised several times by APA over the years. APA, along with the New York Academy of Medicine, also provided the psychiatric nomenclature subsection of the US medical guide, the "Standard Classified Nomenclature of Disease", referred to as the "Standard".[3]

World War II saw the large-scale involvement of US psychiatrists in the selection, processing, assessment and treatment of soldiers. This moved the focus away from mental institutions and traditional clinical perspectives. A committee headed by psychiatrist and brigadier general William C. Menninger developed a new classification scheme called Medical 203, issued in 1943 as a "War Department Technical Bulletin" under the auspices of the Office of the Surgeon General.[4] The foreword to the DSM-I states the US Navy had itself made some minor revisions but "the Army established a much more sweeping revision, abandoning the basic outline of the Standard and attempting to express present day concepts of mental disturbance. This nomenclature eventually was adopted by all Armed Forces", and "assorted modifications of the Armed Forces nomenclature [were] introduced into many clinics and hospitals by psychiatrists returning from military duty." The Veterans Administration also adopted a slightly modified version of Medical 203.

In 1949, the World Health Organization published the sixth revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases (ICD) which included a section on mental disorders for the first time. The foreword to DSM-1 states this "categorized mental disorders in rubrics similar to those of the Armed Forces nomenclature." An APA Committee on Nomenclature and Statistics was empowered to develop a version specifically for use in the United States, to standardize the diverse and confused usage of different documents. In 1950 the APA committee undertook a review and consultation. It circulated an adaptation of Medical 203, the VA system and the Standard's Nomenclature, to approximately 10% of APA members. 46% replied, of which 93% approved, and after some further revisions (resulting in it being called DSM-I), the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders was approved in 1951 and published in 1952. The structure and conceptual framework were the same as in Medical 203, and many passages of text identical.[4] The manual was 130 pages long and listed 106 mental disorders.[5]

Although the APA was closely involved in the next significant revision of the mental disorder section of the ICD (version 8 in 1968), it decided to also go ahead with a revision of the DSM-II. It was also published in 1968, listed 182 disorders, and was 134 pages long. It was quite similar to the DSM-I. The term “reaction” was dropped but the term “neurosis” was retained. Both the DSM-I and the DSM-II reflected the predominant psychodynamic psychiatry,[6] although they also included biological perspectives and concepts from Kraepelin's system of classification. Symptoms were not specified in detail for specific disorders. Many were seen as reflections of broad underlying conflicts or maladaptive reactions to life problems, rooted in a distinction between neurosis and psychosis (roughly, anxiety/depression broadly in touch with reality, or hallucinations/delusions appearing disconnected from reality). Sociological and biological knowledge was also incorporated, in a model that did not emphasize a clear boundary between normality and abnormality.[7]

In 1974, the decision to create a new revision of the DSM was made, and Robert Spitzer was selected as chairman of the task force. The initial impetus was to make the DSM nomenclature consistent with the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD), published by the World Health Organization. The revision took on a far wider mandate under the influence and control of Spitzer and his chosen committee members.[8] One goal was to improve the uniformity of psychiatric diagnosis in the wake of a number of critiques, including the famous Rosenhan experiment. There was also a perceived need to standardize diagnostic practices within the US and with other countries. The establishment of these criteria was also an attempt to facilitate the pharmaceutical regulatory process.

The criteria adopted for many of the mental disorders were taken from the Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) and Feighner Criteria, which had just been developed by a group of research-orientated psychiatrists based primarily at Washington University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Other criteria, and potential new categories of disorder, were established by a consensus during meetings of the committee, as chaired by Spitzer. A key aim was to base categorization on colloquial English descriptive language (which would be easier to use by Federal administrative offices), rather than assumptions of etiology, although its categorical approach assumed each particular pattern of symptoms in a category reflected a particular underlying pathology (an approach described as "neo-Kraepelinian”). The psychodynamic or physiologic view was abandoned, in favor of a regulatory or legislative model. A new "multiaxial" system attempted to yield a picture more amenable to a statistical population census, rather than just a simple diagnosis. Spitzer argued, “mental disorders are a subset of medical disorders” but the task force decided on the DSM statement: “Each of the mental disorders is conceptualized as a clinically significant behavioral or psychological syndrome.”[6]

The first draft of the DSM-III was prepared within a year. Many new categories of disorder were introduced; a number of the unpublished documents that aim to justify them have recently come to light.[9] Field trials sponsored by the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) were conducted between 1977 and 1979 to test the reliability of the new diagnoses. A controversy emerged regarding deletion of the concept of neurosis, a mainstream of psychoanalytic theory and therapy but seen as vague and unscientific by the DSM task force. Faced with enormous political opposition, so the DSM-III was in serious danger of not being approved by the APA Board of Trustees unless “neurosis” was included in some capacity, a political compromise reinserted the term in parentheses after the word “disorder” in some cases. In 1980, the DSM-III was published, at 494 pages long and listing 265 diagnostic categories. The DSM-III rapidly came into widespread international use by multiple stakeholders and has been termed a revolution or transformation in psychiatry.[6][7].

In 1987 the DSM-III-R was published as a revision of DSM-III, under the direction of Spitzer. Categories were renamed, reorganized, and significant changes in criteria were made. Six categories were deleted while others were added. Controversial diagnoses such as pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder and Masochistic Personality Disorder were considered and discarded. Altogether, DSM-III-R contained 292 diagnoses and was 567 pages long.

In 1994, DSM-IV was published, listing 297 disorders in 886 pages. The task force was chaired by Allen Frances. A steering committee of 27 people was introduced, including four psychologists. The steering committee created 13 work groups of 5–16 members. Each work group had approximately 20 advisers. The work groups conducted a three step process. First, each group conducted an extensive literature review of their diagnoses. Then they requested data from researchers, conducting analyses to determine which criteria required change, with instructions to be conservative. Finally, they conducted multicenter field trials relating diagnoses to clinical practice.[10][11] A major change from previous versions was the inclusion of a clinical significance criterion to almost half of all the categories, which required symptoms cause “clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning”.

A "Text Revision" of the DSM-IV, known as the DSM-IV-TR, was published in 2000. The diagnostic categories and the vast majority of the specific criteria for diagnosis were unchanged.[12] The text sections giving extra information on each diagnosis were updated, as were some of the diagnostic codes in order to maintain consistency with the ICD.

[edit] Use of the DSM

Many mental health professionals use this book to help communicate a patient's diagnosis after an evaluation. Many hospitals, clinics, and insurance companies require a 'five axis' DSM diagnosis of all the patients seen. The DSM can be consulted for the diagnostic criteria. It does not address the method of the evaluation or treatment. The DSM is less frequently used by health professionals who do not specialize in mental health.

Another use of the DSM is for research purposes. Studies done on specific diseases often recruit patients whose symptoms match the criteria listed in the DSM for that disease. An international survey of psychiatrists in 66 countries comparing use of the ICD-10 and DSM-IV found the former was more often used for clinical diagnosis while the latter was more valued for research.[13]

Students may also refer to the DSM to learn criteria required for their courses.

The DSM, including DSM-IV, is a registered trademark belonging to the American Psychiatric Association.[14]

[edit] The current DSM
DMS-IV-TR, the current DSM edition

[edit] Categorization

The DSM-IV is a categorical classification system. The categories are prototypes, and a patient with a close approximation to the prototype is said to have that disorder. DSM-IV states, “there is no assumption each category of mental disorder is a completely discrete entity with absolute boundaries...” but isolated, low-grade and noncriterion (unlisted for a given disorder) symptoms are not given importance.[15] Qualifiers are sometimes used, for example mild, moderate or severe forms of a disorder. For nearly half the disorders, symptoms must be sufficient to cause “clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning", although DSM-IV-TR removed the distress criterion from tic disorders and several of the paraphilias. Each category of disorder has a numeric code taken from the ICD coding system, used for health service (including insurance) administrative purposes.

[edit] Multi-axial system

The DSM-IV organizes each psychiatric diagnosis into five levels (axes) relating to different aspects of disorder or disability:

* Axis I: clinical disorders, including major mental disorders, as well as developmental and learning disorders
* Axis II: underlying pervasive or personality conditions, as well as mental retardation
* Axis III: Acute medical conditions and physical disorders.
* Axis IV: psychosocial and environmental factors contributing to the disorder
* Axis V: Global Assessment of Functioning or Children’s Global Assessment Scale for children under the age of 18. (on a scale from 100 to 1)

Common Axis I disorders include depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, ADHD, phobias, and schizophrenia.

Common Axis II disorders include personality disorders: paranoid personality disorder, schizoid personality disorder, schizotypal personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder, avoidant personality disorder, dependent personality disorder, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, and mental retardation.

Common Axis III disorders include brain injuries and other medical/physical disorders which may aggravate existing diseases or present symptoms similar to other disorders.

[edit] Cautions

The DSM-IV-TR states, because it is produced for the completion of Federal legislative mandates, its use by people without clinical training can lead to inappropriate application of its contents. Appropriate use of the diagnostic criteria is said to require extensive clinical training, and its contents “cannot simply be applied in a cookbook fashion”.[16] The APA notes diagnostic labels are primarily for use as a “convenient shorthand” among professionals. The DSM advises laypersons should consult the DSM only to obtain information, not to make diagnoses, and people who may have a mental disorder should be referred to psychiatric counseling or treatment. Further, a shared diagnosis/label may have different etiologies (causes) or require different treatments; the DSM contains no information regarding treatment or cause for this reason. The range of the DSM represents an extensive scope of psychiatric and psychological issues or conditions, and it is not exclusive to what may be considered “illnesses”.

[edit] DSM-IV sourcebooks

The DSM-IV doesn't specifically cite its sources, but there are four volumes of "sourcebooks" intended to be APA's documentation of the guideline development process and supporting evidence, including literature reviews, data analyses and field trials.[17][18][19][20] The Sourcebooks have been said to provide important insights into the character and quality of the decisions that led to the production of DSM-IV, and hence the scientific credibility of contemporary psychiatric classification.[21][22]

[edit] DSM-V planning

The DSM-V is tentatively scheduled for publication in 2012.[1] In 1999, a DSM–V Research Planning Conference, sponsored jointly by APA and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), was held to set the research priorities. Research Planning Work Groups produced "white papers" on the research needed to inform and shape the DSM-IV,[23] and the resulting work and recommendations were reported in an APA monograph[24] and peer-reviewed literature.[25] There were six workgroups, each focusing on a broad topic: Nomenclature, Neuroscience and Genetics, Developmental Issues and Diagnosis, Personality and Relational Disorders, Mental Disorders and Disability, and Cross-Cultural Issues. Three additional white papers were also due by 2004 concerning gender issues, diagnostic issues in the geriatric population, and mental disorders in infants and young children.[26] The white papers have been followed by a series of conferences to produce recommendations relating to specific disorders and issues, with attendance limited to 25 invited researchers.[27]

On July 23rd 2007, the APA announced the task force that will oversee the development of DSM-V. The DSM-V Task Force consists of 27 members, including a chair and vice chair, who collectively represent research scientists from psychiatry and other disciplines, clinical care providers, and consumer and family advocates. Scientists working on the revision of the DSM have experience in research, clinical care, biology, genetics, statistics, epidemiology, public health and consumer advocacy. They have interests ranging from cross-cultural medicine and genetics to geriatric issues, ethics and addiction. The APA Board of Trustees required that all task force nominees disclose any competing interests or potentially conflicting relationships with entities that have an interest in psychiatric diagnoses and treatments as a precondition to appointment to the task force. The APA made all task force members' disclosures available during the announcement of the task force. Several individuals were ruled ineligible for task force appointments due to their competing interests. Revision of the DSM will continue over the next five years. Future announcements will include naming the workgroups on specific categories of disorders and their research-based recommendations on updating various disorders and definitions.[28]

Owing to criticism over the perceived proliferation of diagnoses in the current edition of the DSM, David Kupfer, who is shepherding the DSM's revision, said in an interview: "One of the raps against psychiatry is that you and I are the only two people in the U.S. without a psychiatric diagnosis."[29]

[edit] Criticism

Robert Spitzer, the head of the DSM-III task force, has publicly criticized the American Psychiatric Association for mandating that DSM-V task force members sign a nondisclosure agreement, effectively conducting the whole process in secret: “When I first heard about this agreement, I just went bonkers. Transparency is necessary if the document is to have credibility, and, in time, you’re going to have people complaining all over the place that they didn’t have the opportunity to challenge anything.”[30]

The appointment, in May 2008, of two of the taskforce members, Kenneth Zucker and Ray Blanchard, has led to an internet petition[31] to remove them.[32] According to MSNBC, "The petition accuses Zucker of having engaged in 'junk science' and promoting 'hurtful theories' during his career."[33] According to The Gay City News, "Dr. Ray Blanchard, a psychiatry professor at the University of Toronto, is deemed offensive for his theories that some types of transsexuality are paraphilias, or sexual urges. In this model, transsexuality is not an essential aspect of the individual, but a misdirected sexual impulse."[34] Blanchard responded, "Naturally, it's very disappointing to me there seems to be so much misinformation about me on the Internet. [They didn't distort] my views, they completely reversed my views."[34] Zucker "rejects the junk-science charge, saying there 'has to be an empirical basis to modify anything' in the DSM. As for hurting people, 'in my own career, my primary motivation in working with children, adolescents and families is to help them with the distress and suffering they are experiencing, whatever the reasons they are having these struggles. I want to help people feel better about themselves, not hurt them.'"[33]

[edit] DSM and sexual orientation

Following controversy and protests from gay activists at APA annual conferences from 1970 to 1973, as well as the emergence of new data from researchers such as Alfred Kinsey and Evelyn Hooker, the seventh printing of the DSM-II, in 1974, no longer listed homosexuality as a category of disorder. But through the efforts of psychiatrist Robert Spitzer, who had led the DSM-II development committee, a vote by the APA trustees in 1973, and confirmed by the wider APA membership in 1974, the diagnosis was replaced with the category of "sexual orientation disturbance". That was replaced with the diagnosis of ego-dystonic homosexuality in the DSM-III in 1980, but then was removed in 1987 with the release of the DSM-III-R.[6][35][36] A category of "sexual disorder not otherwise specified" continues in the DSM-IV-TR, which may include "persistent and marked distress about one’s sexual orientation."

[edit] Criticism

Beginning with the problem that there is no single objective diagnostic test for a mental illness in the field of psychiatry — a problem the DSM sidesteps by referring only to "mental disorders", defined modestly as dysfunctional psychological or behavioral patterns — the DSM-IV has come under various criticisms over the years. It has been argued the design of the DSM and the expansion of the criteria represents an increasing medicalization of human nature, or "disease mongering", driven by drug company influence on psychiatry.[37] The potential for direct conflict of interest has been raised, partly because roughly half the authors who selected and defined the DSM-IV psychiatric disorders have or previously had financial relationships with the pharmaceutical industry.[38] The president of the organization which designs and publishes the DSM, the American Psychiatric Association, recently acknowledged in general American psychiatry has "allowed the biopsychosocial model to become the bio-bio-bio model" and routinely accepted "kickbacks and bribes" from pharmaceutical companies.[39]

There has also been continuing scientific doubt concerning the construct validity and reliability of the diagnostic categories and criteria in the DSM[40][41][42] even though they have been increasingly standardized to improve inter-rater agreement in controlled research. It has been argued the DSM's claims to being empirically founded are overstated in general.[21] Reliance on operational definitions demand intuitive concepts, such as depression need to be operationally defined before they become amenable to scientific investigation. Such definitions are used as a follow up to a conceptual definition, in which the specific concept is defined as a measurable occurrence. John Stuart Mill pointed out the dangers of believing anything that could be given a name must refer to a thing and Stephen Jay Gould and others have criticized psychologists for doing just that. A committed operationalist would respond speculation about the thing in itself, or noumenon, should be resisted as meaningless, and would comment only on phenomena using operationally defined terms and tables of operationally defined measurements.

Despite caveats in the introduction to the DSM, it has long been argued its system of classification makes unjustified categorical distinctions between disorders, and between normal and abnormal. Although the DSM-V may move away from this categorical approach in some limited areas, some argue a fully dimensional, spectrum or complaint-oriented approach would better reflect the evidence.[43][44][45][46]

It has been argued purely symptom-based diagnostic criteria fail to adequately take into account the context in which a person is living, and to what extent there is internal disorder of an individual or a psychological response to adverse situations.[47][48] It is claimed the use of distress and disability as additional criteria for many disorders has not solved this false-positives problem, because the level of impairment is often not correlated with symptom counts and can stem from various individual and social factors.[49]

Similarly, it has been argued the DSM fails to identify what lies beneath patterns of symptoms or relations between disorders. Being based on appearances, it is said to be like a naturalist’s field guide to birds, with similar advantages and disadvantages.[50] However, key figures in the development of the modern DSM argue that "...little progress has been made toward understanding the pathophysiological processes and etiology of mental disorders. If anything, the research has shown the situation is even more complex than initially imagined, and we believe not enough is known to structure the classification of psychiatric disorders according to etiology."[51]

Some argue the existing scheme does not take an integrated evolutionary approach to the conditions it classifies. It is claimed it is "not guided by any theory about the structure and functioning of normal minds,"[52] and fails to make distinctions between those conditions which are "malfunctions" in the cognitive machinery and those which are evolved psychological adaptations. Some argue these distinctions have real implications for diagnosis and treatment,[53] but there is also debate about their implications and the value judgements involved.[54][55]

There is scientific and political controversy regarding the continued inclusion of sex-related diagnoses such as the paraphilias (sexual fetishes) and female hypoactive sexual desire disorder (low female sex drive).[56][57] Some cite the APA's decision to remove homosexuality from the DSM as evidence the APA incorrectly referred to these states of being or orientations as mental illnesses.[58][59] Religious groups argue that homosexuality should never have been removed and that it meets the criteria for being a mental disorder.[3]

Other conditions formerly classified as mental include epilepsy and the circadian rhythm sleep disorders.

The DSM has been criticized for using criteria, definitions and terminology which are inconsistent with a recovery model, and it can therefore hinder recovery. It has been suggested the DSM-V requires greater sensitivity to cultural issues and gender; needs to recognise the need for others to change as well as just those diagnosed with DSM disorders; and needs to adopt a dimensional approach in a way that better captures individuality and does not erroneously imply excess psychopathology or chronicity.[60]

[edit] See also

* Relational disorder (proposed DSM-V new diagnosis)
* Classification of mental disorders
* Chinese Classification and Diagnostic Criteria of Mental Disorders
* DSM-IV Codes
* GAF Scale
* Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual
* Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID)

[edit] References

1. ^ a b DSM-V: The Future Manual
2. ^ Internet addictions: A real medical menace?, Yaho Tech Blog: christopher Null: the Working Guy, 3/24/08.
3. ^ Greenberg SA, Shuman DW, Meyer RG. (2004) Unmasking forensic diagnosis. Int J Law Psychiatry. 2004 Jan-Feb;27(1):1-15. doi=10.1016/j.ijlp.2004.01.001
4. ^ a b Houts, A.C. (2000) Fifty years of psychiatric nomenclature: Reflections on the 1943 War Department Technical Bulletin, Medical 203. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56 (7), Pages 935 - 967
5. ^ Grob, GN. (1991) Origins of DSM-I: a study in appearance and reality Am J Psychiatry. Apr;148(4):421–31.
6. ^ a b c d Mayes, R. & Horwitz, AV. (2005) DSM-III and the revolution in the classification of mental illness. J Hist Behav Sci 41(3):249–67.
7. ^ a b Wilson, M. (1993) DSM-III and the transformation of American psychiatry: a history. Am J Psychiatry. 1993 Mar;150(3):399–410.
8. ^ Speigel, A. (2005) The Dictionary of Disorder: How one man revolutionized psychiatry The New Yorker, issue of 2005-01-03.
9. ^ Lane, Christopher (2007). Shyness: How Normal Behavior Became a Sickness. Yale University Press. pp. 263. ISBN 0300124465.
10. ^ Allen Frances, Avram H. Mack, Ruth Ross, and Michael B. First (2000) The DSM-IV Classification and Psychopharmacology.
11. ^ Schaffer, David (1996) A Participant's Observations: Preparing DSM-IV Can J Psychiatry 1996;41:325–329.
12. ^ APA Summary of Practice-Relevant Changes to the DSM-IV-TR.
13. ^ Mezzich, Juan E. (2002). "International Surveys on the Use of ICD-10 and Related Diagnostic Systems" (guest editorial, abstract). Psychopathology 35 (2-3): 72–75. doi:10.1159/000065122. http://content.karger.com/ProdukteD...tikelNr=65122&Ausgabe=228600&ProduktNr=224276. Retrieved on 2 September 2008.
14. ^ "Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS)". Retrieved on 2008-02-08.
15. ^ Maser, JD. & Patterson, T. (2002) Spectrum and nosology: implications for DSM-V Psychiatric Clinics of North America, Dec, 25(4)p855-885
16. ^ DSM FAQ
17. ^ DSM-IV Sourcebook Volume 1
18. ^ DSM-IV Sourcebook Volume 2
19. ^ DSM-IV Sourcebook Volume 3
20. ^ DSM-IV Sourcebook Volume 4
21. ^ a b Poland, JS. (2001) Review of Volume 1 of DSM-IV sourcebook
22. ^ Poland, JS. (2001) Review of vol 2 of DSM-IV sourcebook
23. ^ First, M. (2002) A Research Agenda for DSM-V: Summary of the DSM-V Preplanning White Papers Published in May 2002
24. ^ Kupfer, First & Regier (2002) A Research Agenda for DSM-V
25. ^ Regier, DS., Narrow, WE., First, MB., Marshall, T. (2002) The APA classification of mental disorders: future perspectives. Psychopathology. Mar-Jun;35(2-3):166-70.
26. ^ DSM-5 Research Planning
27. ^ APA DSM-V Research Planning Activities
28. ^ Regier, MD, MPH, Darrel A. (2007). "Somatic Presentations of Mental Disorders: Refining the Research Agenda for DSM-V" (pdf). Psychosomatic Medicine (Lippincott Williams and Wilkins) 69: 827–828. doi:10.1097/PSY.0b013e31815afbe4. http://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org/cgi/reprint/69/9/827.pdf. Retrieved on 21 December 2007.
29. ^ Grossman, Ron (December 27, 2008). "Psychiatric manual's update needs openness, not secrecy, critics say", Chicago Tribune.
30. ^ Carey, Benedict (December 17, 2008). "Psychiatrists Revise the Book of Human Troubles", New York Times.
31. ^ "Objection to DSM-V Committee Members on Gender Identity Disorders," last accessed 22.55GMT 10 May 2008.
32. ^ Lou Chibbaro Jr. (2008-05-30). "Activists alarmed over APA: Head of psychiatry panel favors ‘change’ therapy for some trans teens", Washington Blade.
33. ^ a b Alexander, Brian (2008-05-22). "What's ‘normal’ sex? Shrinks seek definition: Controversy erupts over creation of psychiatric rule book's new edition", MSNBC. Retrieved on 14 June 2008.
34. ^ a b Osborne, Duncan (2008-05-15). "Flap Flares Over Gender Diagnosis", Gay City News. Retrieved on 14 June 2008.
35. ^ "The diagnostic status of homosexuality in DSM-III: a reformulation of the issues", by R.L. Spitzer, Am J Psychiatry 1981; 138:210-215
36. ^ Spiegel, Alix. (18 January 2002.) "81 Words". In Ira Glass (producer), "This American Life." Chicago: Chicago Public Radio.
37. ^ Healy D (2006) The Latest Mania: Selling Bipolar Disorder PLoS Med 3(4): e185.
38. ^ Cosgrove, Lisa, Krimsky, Sheldon,Vijayaraghavan, Manisha, Schneider, Lisa, Financial Ties between DSM-IV Panel Members and the Pharmaceutical Industry
39. ^ Sharfstein, SS. (2005) Big Pharma and American Psychiatry: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Psychiatric News August 19, 2005 Volume 40 Number 16
40. ^ Kendell R, Jablensky A. (2003) Distinguishing between the validity and utility of psychiatric diagnoses. Am J Psychiatry. Jan;160(1):4-12. PMID 12505793
41. ^ Baca-Garcia E, Perez-Rodriguez MM, Basurte-Villamor I, Fernandez del Moral AL, Jimenez-Arriero MA, Gonzalez de Rivera JL, Saiz-Ruiz J, Oquendo MA. (2007) Diagnostic stability of psychiatric disorders in clinical practice. Br J Psychiatry. Mar;190:210-6. PMID 17329740
42. ^ Pincus et al. (1998) "Clinical Significance" and DSM-IV Arch Gen Psychiatry.1998; 55: 1145
43. ^ Spitzer, Robert L, M.D., Williams, Janet B.W, D.S.W., First, Michael B, M.D., Gibbon, Miriam, M.S.W., Biometric Research
44. ^ Maser, JD & Akiskal, HS. et al. (2002) Spectrum concepts in major mental disorders Psychiatric Clinics of North America, Vol. 25, Special issue 4
45. ^ Krueger, RF., Watson, D., Barlow, DH. et al. (2005) Toward a Dimensionally Based Taxonomy of Psychopathology Journal of Abnormal Psychology Vol 114, Issue 4
46. ^ Bentall, R. (2006) Madness explained : Why we must reject the Kraepelinian paradigm and replace it with a 'complaint-orientated' approach to understanding mental illness Medical hypotheses, vol. 66(2), pp. 220-233
47. ^ Chodoff, P. (2005) Psychiatric Diagnosis: A 60-Year Perspective Psychiatric News June 3, 2005 Volume 40 Number 11, p17
48. ^ Jerome C. Wakefield, PhD, DSW; Mark F. Schmitz, PhD; Michael B. First, MD; Allan V. Horwitz, PhD (2007) Extending the Bereavement Exclusion for Major Depression to Other Losses: Evidence From the National Comorbidity Survey Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2007;64:433-440.
49. ^ Spitzer RL, Wakefield JC. (1999) DSM-IV diagnostic criterion for clinical significance: does it help solve the false positives problem? Am J Psychiatry. 1999 Dec;156(12):1856-64. PMID 10588397
50. ^ Paul R. McHugh (2005) Striving for Coherence: Psychiatry’s Efforts Over Classification JAMA. 2005;293(no.20)2526-2528.
51. ^ Spitzer and First (2005) Classification of Psychiatric Disorders. JAMA.2005; 294: 1898-1899.
52. ^ Dominic Murphy, PhD; Steven Stich, PhD (1998) Darwin in the Madhouse [1]
53. ^ Leda Cosmides, PhD; John Tooby, PhD (1999) Toward an Evolutionary Taxonomy of Treatable Conditions "J of Abnormal Psychology." 1999;108(3):453-464. [2]
54. ^ McNally RJ. (2001) On Wakefield's harmful dysfunction analysis of mental disorder. Behav Res Ther. 2001 Mar;39(3):309-14. PMID 11227812
55. ^ Wakefield JC. (2001) Evolutionary history versus current causal role in the definition of disorder: reply to McNally. Behav Res Ther. 2001 Mar;39(3):347-66. PMID 11227814
56. ^ Alexander, B. (2008) What's ‘normal’ sex? Shrinks seek definition Controversy erupts over creation of psychiatric rule book's new edition MSNBC Today, May.
57. ^ Kleinplatz, P.J & Moser, C. (2005). Politics versus science: An addendum and response to Drs. Spitzer and Fink. Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality, 17(3/4), 135-139.
58. ^ "GID Reform Advocates" (2007). Retrieved on 2007-12-12.
59. ^ "Kalapa / DSM and Pedophilia" (2007). Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
60. ^ Michael T. Compton (2007) Recovery: Patients, Families, Communities Conference Report, Medscape Psychiatry & Mental Health, October 11-14, 2007

[edit] External links

* DSM-IV-TR Official Site - American Psychiatric Association
* DSM-V Prelude Project - DSM-V Prelude Review Project by American Psychiatric Association
* Davis, L.J. The Encyclopedia of Insanity, Harper's Magazine, February 1997.
* Reproduction of Medical 203
* The DSM-II
* Sections of the DSM-IV-TR on Google Book Search.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diagnostic_and_Statistical_Manual_of_Mental_Disorders"
Categories: Medical manuals | Mental illness diagnosis by DSM and ICD | Abnormal psychology | Clinical psychology | Classification systems
 
I mean most people probably have some sort of kink, you just never hear them talk about it.

Exactly! Which makes me wonder, why do some people feel the need to "confess" in the first place?

It's really no one's business but yours and your SO.

If your other friends don't go blabbing about their kinks, what makes one think they want to know about yours?
 
I think for the most part, if you meet a person that's not terribly repressed, you'll find they react better than you'd expected.

Is tickling a bit off center? Probably. But it's a lot more innocent than some of the other things out there.

I always say that female lees have it easiest since guys will do most anything if it means they're going to touch a girl, and possibly get laid. And it's not asking much for them to do the tickling. Some guys might have a problem if they had to take the tickling, because I think a lot of them find being tickled to be emasculating.

Male 'lees may have a tough time because again, a guy that's tied up and laughing in a octave higher than most would like to hear, can be unattractive for some.

But, I still think male 'lers have it the hardest. Despite being able to hide their fetish through playful punishment of a girl's smart ass comments, when the truth comes out, some girls just cannot stand being tickled. In fact, I think a lot of people would prefer to not be tickled.

Thems' the breaks.
 
Sometimes I think using the word fetish makes it seem a lot weirder than it is. Telling someone you have a fetish for tickling seems much worst than telling someone you like tickling but using other words to ease them in. When you use the word fetish, you might as well add "sick" and "creepy" to the same sentence.
 
Sometimes I think using the word fetish makes it seem a lot weirder than it is. Telling someone you have a fetish for tickling seems much worst than telling someone you like tickling but using other words to ease them in. When you use the word fetish, you might as well add "sick" and "creepy" to the same sentence.

Agreed. Acarophilia is not a good substitute for "fetish" either.
 
From the few posts i've read about telling significant others/friends/family, it seems to me that men get more negative reactions about tickling fetishes than women. Any guy would oblige to tying up and tickling a girl they like/are dating/are married to no matter if they were really into it or not. I dont see most women who arent already into tickling agreeing to 'lee or 'ler for their guy who is.
 
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