Have the Lunatics Taken Over the Asylum? Part 3

The, er, dramatic conclusion to my DSM5 series for The 21st Floor.

Part 3: The medicalisation of rape? (with apologies)

The DSM-IV makes an interesting definitional decision which may seem a bit peculiar at first. A mental condition is normally only defined as a ‘disorder’ if it causes the sufferer ‘clinically significant distress’. Normally at the end of each list of symptoms, this proviso is mentioned – if it doesn’t cause distress, it’s not a disorder. There’s an interesting philosophical argument to be had on this issue – what exactly IS a disorder? – but for now we’ll look at one specific example.