Oppositional Disorder

Oppositional Defiant Disorder - real or social control tool?

© Sam Vaknin

Oct 3, 2006

Let us hope that the "scholars" of the DSM V Committee have the good sense to remove this blatant tool of social control from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual.

If you are a rebellious child or teenager and you have not been diagnosed with Conduct Disorder, you are still at risk of being labelled and pathologized. The DSM informs us that "The essential feature of Oppositional Defiant Disorder is a recurrent pattern of negativistic, defiant, disobedient, and hostile behavior towards authority figures that persists for at least 6 months."

Unbelievable as this Orwellian, Big Brother text is - it gets worse. If you are under 18 years old and you lose your temper, argue with adults, actively "defy or refuse to comply with the requests or rules of adults", deliberately do things that annoy said adults, blame others for your mistakes or misbehavior - then unquestionably you are a sick little puppy.And who is to make these value judgements? An adult psychologist or psychiatrist or social worker or therapist. And what if you disagree with these authorities? They get annoyed and this is proof positive that you are afflicted with Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). Did anyone mention catch-22?

And the charade continues, masquerading as "science". If you are touchy or get easily annoyed (for instance by the half-baked diagnoses rendered by certain mental health practitioners), you are ODD (i.e., you suffer from Oppositional Defiant Disorder).You are allowed to be touchy when you are an adult - it is then called assertiveness. You are allowed to get pissed off when you are above the crucial (though utterly arbitrary) age limit. Then it is called "expressing your emotions", which is by and large a good thing.So tell us the charlatans that call themselves mental health 'professionals' (as though psychology is an exact science, not merely an elaborate literary exercise).

The DSM, this manual of the Potemkin science known as clinical psychology, continues to enlighten us:

If you are habitually angry and resentful, spiteful or vindictive and these traits impair your "normal" social, academic, or occupational functioning (whatever "normal" means in today's pluralistic and anomic culture), beware: you may be harbouring Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD).It is not clear what the DSM means by 'occupational' when Oppositional Defiant Disorder typically applies to primary school age children. Perhaps we will find out in the DSM V.

"The behaviors must occur more frequently than is typically observed in individuals of comparable age and developmental level." - the DSM helpfully elaborates. If the child is psychotic or suffers from a mood disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder should not be diagnosed.

Why am I bothering you with this tripe? Because the DSM is ominously clear:

"The diagnosis is not made if ... criteria are met for Conduct Disorder or Antisocial Personality Disorder (in an individual above the age of 18)."

Get this straight: if you are above the age of 18 and you are stubborn, resistant to directions, "unwilling to compromise, give in, or negotiate with adults and peers", ignore orders, argue, fail to accept blame for misdeeds, and deliberately annoy others - you stand a good chance of being "diagnosed" as a psychopath.

Let us hope that the "scholars" of the DSM V Committee have the good sense to remove this blatant tool of social control from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. But don't count on it and don't argue with them if they don't. They may diagnose you with something.

Read The Myth of Mental Illness - Click on this link:

http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/mentalillness.html

Is Psychoanalysis a science? - To Find out, click on this link:

http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/psychoanalysis.html


The copyright of the article Oppositional Disorder in Personality Disorders is owned by Sam Vaknin. Permission to republish Oppositional Disorder must be granted by the author in writing.



Comments
Oct 11, 2006 2:17 AM
L. P. :
Interesting article, especially since I have a teen ager that would be considered at times to have behavioral problems. Funny thing about behavior problems is that sometimes it can be helped by teachers or parents or seemingly made worse by those around the teen as well. I think there is a lot of confusion right now in education. Sometimes labels are needed so that certain students can get help in the way that will benefit them. A student that is labelled with a behavioral problem can be treated differently than a student who does not have that label and in fact it becomes their legal right if they qualify. Their misbehavior then becomes something that either does or does not have to do with their particular disability. A child without a label can be kicked out of school for misbehavior where a child with a label is required to receive the type of help needed in order for him to learn. This can be a good thing... a lot of times it becomes more social training than anything else, with hopes of some academic learning taking place as well. We seem to grasp at straws in education, trying to figure out the problems we have in our society. Classroom management has changed quite a bit from the days of being paddled in the principal's office or of using humiliation as a deterent. I am not quite sure where I stand yet. I can see both good and bad in it. It is an interesting subject to me. The teachers working with these students have quite a few tricks up their sleeves in order to get them to do what they need to do. Hopefully, it is helping some of these students. I am curious what you think should be done with these students that are having behaviors that affect their learning at school or home life in a significant way. Without a label, they are not qualified to receive any extra help they might need with their behaviors or with learning difficulties.
It seems to be important to decide whether these students have ODD or conduct disorder. One group is considered to have more serious issues than the other. Bottom line too, is that there is only so much money available to give extra help in education...that is a huge consideration. So some students are classified as deliquent and some are classified as having a disorder that requires help. It has to do with whether they are always having a hard time or just with authority figures...whether they can turn it off and on, doing fine with buddies and not so fine with authority...or whether the student is troubled to t
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