Sluggishly progressing schizophrenia
Sluggishly progressing schizophrenia was a fifth category of
schizophrenia diagnosed by
psychiatrists in the
Soviet Union. At the time, Western psychiatry recognised only four types of schizophrenia:
Catatonic,
hebephrenic,
paranoid, and simple. The diagnostic criteria for this additional category were so vague that it could be applicable to virtually any person not suffering from mental function impairment and having interests beyond survival needs. This diagnosis was often applied to dissidents who were not in fact
mentally ill so that they could be forcibly hospitalized in
mental institutions and subjected to different treatments including powerful
anti-depressants and
electroconvulsive therapy.
The existence of this diagnosis has led to questions on the part of supporters of
anti-psychiatry about the existence of schizophrenia in general; whether it is diagnosed properly, and about political misuses of the schizophrenia diagnosis in the West.
Note that modern psychiatry now
does contain a fifth category; undifferentiated schizophrenia. This is similar to sluggishly progressing schizophrenia only in that it serves as a catch-all categorization for any schizophrenic person who does not easily fit into the other forms. It does, however, require psychotic symptoms to be present for a diagnosis.
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Psikhushka*
Thoughtcrime*
Drapetomania
