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Enough About Me, What Do You Think of Me?


vanity.JPGAh, the DSM. Or, for the less initiated, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, otherwise known as the psychiatrist’s bible of mental disorders.

It sat on the bookshelves of several former roommates who were either medical students or psychologists. And because I would read a bread bag if nothing else were around, I gave the old DSM a shot once. You know, for research. But since I can’t even completely ferret out my own mental maladies, I shelved it about half an hour later.

What I read wasn’t mind blowing (pardon the pun), but it was enough traction for me to get the gist of this famous and much-referred to manual. But its latest edition is lighter: Editors removed five personality disorders, including the ever-popular narcissistic personality disorder (NDP)—which has sparked some controversy in the medical field. Should extreme narcissism be considered a disorder? Apparently not, say the DSM‘s editors.

I don’t know about what you’ve seen, but I think it’s even more prevalent now than in 1980, when it was first included in the DSM. Is it so prevalent today that doctors have simply accepted it as (deep gasp) normal?

I don’t know, but when I read Center for Parent/Youth Understanding president Walt Mueller’s thoughts, I knew I wasn’t the only layperson to question the decision. He said on his website, “I’m led to wonder if … the next addition to the DSM might be something related to other-centeredness.” In other words, thinking too much about your fellow man might qualify you for some time on the couch.

If altruism and selflessness are such grievously endangered species—or worse, future mental disorders—please beam me off the planet. But then again, the belief that that’s even possible is probably, in itself, another disorder.