Alarm at temper tantrum plan

Thursday July 29th, 2010

Heart-break and toddler temper tantrums are in danger of becoming psychiatric illnesses, experts have warned.

A senior psychiatrist has raised the alarm about the tendency to include new conditions in an influential mental health guidebook.

The fifth edition of the US-based Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) is not due until 2013.

But proposals for new disorders have already emerged - including one affecting children called "temper dysregulation with dysphoria".

Psychiatrist Jerome Wakefield, of New York University, USA, warns that some doctors are already trying to treat patients for new disorders - even though DSM-5 is only in draft is being hotly debated.

Writing in the Journal of Mental Health, he says: "In the new edition, temper tantrums among toddlers and heartache over a lost spouse could now be defined as mental health conditions.

"One of the most frightening scenarios is the potential for medicating people – particularly children – who haven’t yet shown any signs of illness in a bid to treat them for Psychosis Risk Syndrome, as identified by the new draft of DSM-5."

Tags: Child Health | Mental Health | North America

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