4 Troubled Teens Blog

Diagnosing a child with "severe mood dysregulation" or "temper dysregulation with dysphoria" may be a better idea than diagnosing them with bipolar disorder, according to an article in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health.

If agreed upon, these terms would replace bipolar disorder in the new edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual used by physicians to diagnose and treat mental disease.

"Physicians do not know exactly what is wrong with these children or how to treat it," the authors wrote. "Facing up to these limitations could lead to better treatment recommendations and more accurate long-term prognosis."

Even children as young as two and three years old displaying severe mood swings and violent temper tantrums are being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a disease that physicians formerly believed began in late adolescence.

Health insurance companies can demand certain diagnoses such as bipolar disorder in order to pay for treatment.

Labels: children, dsm-v, bipolar

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The American Psychiatric Association is proposing changes to its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). The Association is asking for help from psychiatrists and the public to help define mental diseases for the DSM-5, the first new edition in 10 years.

The following are among the proposed changes:

• "Substance abuse" and "substance dependence" would become "addiction and related disorders," including "substance use disorders," such as "alcohol use disorder" and "heroin use disorder."
  
• "Behavioral addictions" would include gambling, but not addictions to sex or the Internet.
• Young children now diagnosed with bipolar disorder could instead be diagnosed with "temper dysregulation with dysphoria," which would include behavioral and mood problems.
• Asperger's Syndrome would no longer be a separate diagnosis but included under the term "autism spectrum."
• Binge eating would be recognized as an eating disorder.

DSM-5 is slated to be published in 2013.

Labels: dsm-v, mental_health, mental_illness

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