A Proposal to Classify Happiness as a Psychiatric Disorder

In 1992, psychiatrist Richard Bentall wrote an article in the Journal of Medical Ethics proposing that happiness be classified as a psychiatric disorder. Here's his abstract:

It is proposed that happiness be classified as a psychiatric disorder and be included in future editions of the major diagnostic manuals under the new name: major affective disorder, pleasant type. In a review of the relevant literature it is shown that happiness is statistically abnormal, consists of a discrete cluster of symptoms, is associated with a range of cognitive abnormalities, and probably reflects the abnormal functioning of the central nervous system. One possible objection to this proposal remains--that happiness is not negatively valued. However, this objection is dismissed as scientifically irrelevant.


Link via J-Walk Blog | Photo by Flickr user thephotographymuse used under Creative Commons license

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If you read more than just the title and/or abstract of this article, you will find that the author was actually satirizing the process and criteria by which psychiatric disorders are defined.
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Happy people are simply better at deluding themselves. Ignorance is indeed bliss. And since so many people are so very ignorant, happiness is quite normal.
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@Matt

"Psychiatrists have been trying to classify everyone as insane. The DSM 5 is going to be a huge joke. After it is published, no one in the world can be considered normal."

Riduculous exaggerations and blanket statements only serve to make you look even more like a crazy conspiracy theorist...not that you need any more help in that department.
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Psychiatrists have been trying to classify everyone as insane. The DSM 5 is going to be a huge joke. After it is published, no one in the world can be considered normal.

Following that, the drug companies will be marketing new drugs for you, your kids, your family. All in the name of profits.

cchr.org is a good source of info about the truth behind psychiatry and Big Pharma.
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In fact, this scientific paper clearly states that reading more than the abstract of a scientific paper is highly correlated with unhappiness.

Based on various studies, it is recommended to only read the title of anything (be it a scientific paper, a blog post, or the label on a cereal box) and use imagination to fill it with comforting meanings.
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