The title of Szasz’s paper, ‘The myth of mental illness’, gives you a clue as to his opinion on whether or not mental illness exists. But how can this be questioned? There are many examples of people who have emotional distress, who have intrusive or irrational thoughts and who behave in ways that are challenging to themselves and others. Surely this is mental illness?
‘No,’ says Szasz. The issue here is about the term ‘illness’ and Szasz disputes the idea that psychological distress is the same as a medical illness like chickenpox. Szasz wrote this paper in 1960 and followed it up with a book of the same name in the following year. Although it was written before some of your grandparents were born, the argument is current and no nearer a resolution today.
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