Medicalization of deviance refers to the growing trend of categorizing deviance as medical conditions. This means that socially deviant behaviors are opted to treated by a medical professional through the administering of drugs rather than socially-interactive outlets that seek to adjust the behavior.
This article points out a study which shows the longer-lasting effect that cognitive therapy, a type of psychotherapy, has over antidepressants in treating depression. The study “challenges the American Psychiatric Association’s guidelines that antidepressant medications are the only effective treatment for moderately to severely depressed patients.” The greater success of cognitive therapy as a treatment for depression should cause us to look into de-medicalizing depression; because if the treatment is non-medical, isn’t grounds for the cause being non-medical as well?
But towards the end, the article also points out that a patient’s reception of and response to treatment is key. This, to my mind, may signal that once something has been medicalized, it may always remain that way in the minds of some of those people who are exhibiting the deviant behavior. I wonder whether it would make a difference if the institution which labeled the deviance was the State only (through its laws). It may be the case that people respond differently to their case of deviance based upon which social institution labels it as deviant. Maybe because these people believe that other sicknesses or disorders of the body are very much tangible, and that anything given a similar medical label deserves that label, and therefore, needs a very tangible bio-chemical cure to be administered.
Generally, depression patients tend to blame themselves. They are certain that they lack the required capacity for happiness and depreciate themselves as being a useless person or worthless presence. Such phenomenon can be viewed as being derived from their negativity. I believe that if positivity level increases from the mind, one evaluates oneself as valuable, but if negativity increases, it leads to self-deprecation. As a result, such negative thoughts lead to lack of motivation. Once a person loses motivation, one will not attempt to even perform simple tasks. Even though they think about or know what they have to do, they have no inner desire or stimulation due to lack of motivation. For example, depression patient believes that one cannot act or satisfaction cannot be achieved through such act so the patient refuses to act. In order to change, one must understand about oneself. Depression patient does not have knowledge about oneself and it seems important to have one recognize that blaming oneself is unjust. I also believe that cognitive therapy by inducing patient to recognize one’s strength over weakness and bestowing positive thinking is more effective than drug therapy at times.