there are lots of very sick people with serious mental diseases on which psychopharmacology has worked wonders. the diseases include schizophrenia, bi-polar disease, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, various Anxiety Disorders, Dementia, Dissociative Disorders, Impulse Control Disorders, and yes Depressive disorders. sure some people abuse the meds, but for hundreds of thousands of other, its the difference between leading a somewhat normal life vs being locked away in a mental institution or prison.
I agree with what you've said here. But, I agree with Tom Szasz (the guy in the video) that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in particular is
not a disease. It is not a "malfunction" of the brain, just a slightly different functioning brain. ADHD will be a productive phenomenon if we 1) allow those with it to follow their natural interests and 2) facilitate/feed those interests. If we do this, they will master what they are naturally interested in.
In fact, many children/people with ADHD actually show an
increased ability to focus on something, relative to those who do not have ADHD. The catch is, they must be
naturally interested in that something. But, if they are naturally interested in it, they will completely immerse themselves in it and master it. It is not a "disease" (a malfunction of the brain). Most of the others are.
"Normal" can be no more than opinion, and most of the time it simply means "what most
other people are most content with."
If you're not acting in a way others consider to be acceptable for them, they will say you have something wrong with you. If it is naturally occuring and there is no physical (cellular) disability, there is
not anything wrong with you. Again, there are many legitimate psychological disorders/diseases, but, attention deficit disorder in particular is not one.
http://www.amazon.com/Psychiatry-Science-Lies-Thomas-Szasz/dp/0815609108/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230495522&sr=8-1
