Sarah Fay on Pathological: The Dangers of Overidentifying With a Mental Health Diagnosis EP 144

Sarah Fay discusses her new book Pathological and how, by researching her six misdiagnoses, she concluded that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) is utterly inaccurate. | Brought to you by Masterworks (https://masterworks.io use code PASSION to start your journey). Sarah Fay (Ph.D., MFA) writes for many publications, including The New York Times, The Atlantic, Time, and The Paris Review. She's the recipient of the Hopwood Award for Literature and grants and fellowships from Yaddo, the Mellon Foundation, and the MacDowell Colony. She's on the faculty at Northwestern University and the founder of Pathological: The Movement. She is the author of the new book Pathological: The True Story of Six Misdiagnoses: https://amzn.to/3McFd7o (Amazon link). -- ► Click here for the entire show notes: https://passionstruck.com/sarah-fay-pathological/  --► Subscribe to My Channel Here: https://www.youtube.com/c/JohnRMiles --► Subscribe to the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/passion-struck-with-john-r-miles/id1553279283 *Our Patreon Page: https://www.patreon.com/passionstruck. This episode of Passion Struck with John R. Miles is brought to you by Masterworks: * Masterworks - 66% of Billionaires Collect Art, so Why Aren't You? Low Minimums, Simple and Exciting. You Can Use Art as an Alternative Investment to Diversify Your Portfolio—blue-Chip Artwork. Go to https://www.masterworks.io/ and use code passion to start. What I discuss with Sarah Fay: Almost one in five people (47.1 million) in the US have been diagnosed with a mental health condition. That number increased by about 1.5 million from last year. More may follow with a mounting sense of isolation in our fragmented country. But is a mental diagnosis the path to healing or a self-fulfilling prophecy? Sarah suffered from six mental illness diagnoses for almost thirty years, all labeled because of the DSM. She realized the DSM is seriously flawed, even useless, but it's all we have through that process. Time Stamps 0:00 Intro and announcements2:41 Introducing Sarah Fay5:07 Why Anorexia and Bipolar illness were defining moments8:29 Why Pathological is eloquently written through the use of punctuation11:47 How her mental illness diagnosis impacted Sarah19:08 Why the DSM is seriously flawed, even useless29:20 Why the DSM has no scientific validity35:12 Why do we desperately want an answer and relief from our suffering38:28 Why chronic loneliness is so rampant in the world today43:53 Why suffering, grief, and loneliness are part of the human experience46:00 Why the DSM can't define dysfunction51:14 How her whole world disappeared because of her diagnoses56:45 Overcoming withdrawal from psychological drugs1:00:27 Why when she stopped considering herself sick she no longer was1:05:27 The Cautionary Tale of the Dangers of Over-Identifying With a Mental Health Diagnosis1:06:57 Show Wrap Up and Synthesis Where can you find Sarah Fay * Pathological: The Movement: https://www.pathological.us/ * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahfayauthor/ * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-fay-460570188/ * Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahfayauthor Links * My interview with Susan Cain on her new book "Bittersweet" * My interview with Gretchen Rubin about knowing yourself * My interview with Dr. Michelle Segar on her new book "The Joy Choice" * My most recent solo episode on why you must feel to emotionally heal *My Solo episode on work-life balance: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7AZksXySbYVoMPMuma5DpB?si=_VPv5sn3QBCq2pYVh-LXkg *Solo episode on overcoming burnout: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5keAXxjRs3Q8NKZYWBlPXS?si=N-nf0iQjThSzgsCAutPVPA  *Solo episode on how you stop living in fear: https://passionstruck.com/how-do-you-stop-living-in-fear/     -- Welcome to Passion Struck podcast, a show where you get to join me in exploring the mindset and philosophy of the world's most inspiring everyday heroes to learn their lessons to living intentionally. Passion Struck aspires to speak to the humanity of people in a way that makes them want to live better, be better and impact. * Learn more about me: https://johnrmiles.com. *Stay tuned for my latest project, my upcoming book, which will be published in the summer 2022. FOLLOW JOHN ON THE SOCIALS * Twitter: https://twitter.com/Milesjohnr * Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnrmiles.c0m * Medium: https://medium.com/@JohnRMiles​ * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/john_r_miles * LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milesjohn/ * Blog: https://johnrmiles.com/blog/ * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/passion_struck_podcast/ * Gear: https://www.zazzle.com/store/passion_struck/    Pre-Order The Mattering Effect: https://matteringeffect.com/. Take the 90-second diagnostic to see if you're disappearing.Explore the Show: https://passionstruck.com/starter-packs/. New to Passion Struck? Start with the best episodes curated for you.Connect with JohnWebsite: https://johnrmiles.comBook John to Speak: https://johnrmiles.com/speaking/Substack: https://www.theignitedlife.net/Children’s Book — You Matter, Luma: https://youmatterluma.com/Support the Movement: https://startmattering.com/. Every human deserves to feel seen, valued, and like they matter. Wear it. Live it. Show it.Passion Struck — #1 Alternative Health Podcast. 85M+ downloads.DisclaimerThe Passion Struck podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only. The views and opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Passion Struck or its affiliates. This podcast is not a substitute for professio