Mental health professionals across the globe have a little known “secret code book” used to diagnose mental illness, i.e., depression, anxiety, etc. In the US it is called the DSM while in Europe it is called the ICD. Psychiatrists generally get paid by insurance companies and use the codes in this 6 pound, 800 page guerilla of a book to get reimbursed. In other words unless you are diagnosed with a mental illness, the docs don’t get paid, hence there is a diagnosis for everything you can imagine and many you can’t. Attitudes change over time and it used to be that the DSM classified homosexuality as a mental illness until 1973 when the DSM got changed and miraculously millions of homosexuals were “cured.” Today, people involved in sexual behaviors that don’t conform to the norms of society can also be labeled as mentally ill, i.e., consenting adults who participate in sadomasochism, fetishism, etc. This is a big deal because important matters like child custody cases can be effected if one of the parents has been diagnosed with a mental illness. This month in Sweden however they took a giant step towards allowing consenting adults to make adult choices by eliminating six alternative forms of sexual expression from Sweden’s version of the ICD (i.e., sadomasochism, fetishism, and multiple disorders of sexual preferences). Sexuality educators throughout the world are applauding Sweden for their global leadership towards creating a more sex positive planet. Do we really want the government to decide which of our sexual behaviors are okay and which ones are an illness? Not so much! Cheers to the Swede’s. www.doctorcannon.com
