linktoreality:redbeardace:Asexuality is OFFICIALLY not a disorder, according to the APA.The images a
linktoreality:redbeardace:Asexuality is OFFICIALLY not a disorder, according to the APA.The images above are from the DSM-5, which is the latest edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The DSM-5 is a really important book. It is used by doctors and mental health care providers around the world to diagnose mental disorders.The DSM-5 explicitly and clearly recognizes asexuality, and says that if a person is asexual, that they should not be diagnosed with Female Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder or Male Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder.This book says that you are valid, your feelings are real, and that you do not have a disorder because you feel this way.Anyone who claims otherwise is wrong.They do not know what they are talking about. You can point them at this book as proof that they are wrong.Full Reference:On page 434, in the section on Female Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder (302.72), at the end of the “Diagnostic Features”, it reads:If a lifelong lack of sexual desire is better explained by one’s self-identification as “asexual”, then a diagnosis of female sexual interest/arousal disorder would not be made.On page 443, in the section on Male Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (302.71), at the end of the “Differential Diagnosis”, it reads:If the man’s low desire is explained by self-identification as an asexual, then a diagnosis of male hypoactive sexual desire disorder is not made.Realistically, anyone who has taken an abnormal psychology class should KNOW that asexuality isn’t a disorder. Why? Let’s look at a few definitions of mental disorders.Wikipedia-“A mental disorder, also called a mental illness, psychological disorder or psychiatric disorder, is mental or behavioral pattern that causes either suffering or a poor ability to function in ordinary life.”DSM-IV-“A mental disorder is a clinically significant behavioral or psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in an individual and that is associated with present distress or disability or with a significantly increased risk of suffering death, pain, disability, or an important loss of freedom.”DSM-V-“A mental disorder is a syndrome characterized by clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or developmental processes underlying mental functioning. Mental disorders are usually associated with significant distress in social, occupational, or other important activities. An expectable or culturally approved response to a common stressor or loss, such as the death of a loved one, is not a mental disorder. Socially deviant behavior (e.g., political, religious, or sexual) and conflicts that are primarily between the individual and society are not mental disorders unless the deviance or conflict results from a dysfunction in the individual, as described above.”Notice the similarity?Every single proper definition of a psychological disorder states that if something does not cause the patient distress (or endanger them or those around them), then it’s not a problem! Don’t fix what isn’t broken! ASEXUAL PEOPLE ARE NOT BROKEN!Sincerely,A psych major college drop-outThe issue with that is that in many people, asexuality can cause distress, because of society’s views on sex and how much of it you’re supposed to want. Especially if someone is ace and doesn’t know that asexuality exists. “I felt broken before I found the word” is a common theme in a lot of ace stories, which means that there are a huge number of “I’m broken because I don’t know there’s a word for me yet” people you there, and those people are distressed. -- source link