Dear Editor:
Your articles on pathological gambling by Fong, published in the March, April, and May issues of Psychiatry 2005, bring to mind the wide and skewed separation between modern day (young) psychiatrists and those of my generation. The psychiatric world has turned upside down. What used to be considered impulsive is now considered “compulsive.” What used to be considered antisocial behaviors are now considered “disorders.” Obvious sociopaths in the past are now considered to have bipolar disorders. Perhaps in the new DSM-V, there will be a transformation of social attitudes into disorders or diseases.
As I watch happy, well-adjusted professional gamblers on Travel TV, I am reminded that should they become unhappy, i.e., start losing, they will then have disorders. Perhaps in the near future, they will be able to file insurance claims.
With regards,
Lewis H. Lipsius, MD
Marietta, Georgia