Thomas Szasz vs Albert Ellis: Is Mental Illness a Myth?

In a debate, recorded in 1977, Thomas Szasz and Albert Ellis argue over the concept of mental illness.

I don’t agree with all of Thomas Szasz’s point of view regarding his opinions on racism, jews, and the oppression of women, he is correct in saying that mental illnesses are basically made up disorders by a committee of psychiatrists that vote on what constitutes a “mental illness”. Psychiatrists in their arrogance decide what is normal for the rest of us and in my assessment are destroying our society with pseudoscience.

It is true that women were oppressed and this was justified thru psychiatric labels but the reverse is happening today. Men are demonized and are more likely to be labeled as narcissistic. Feminism and liberalism is using the mental health field to give its ideology scientific credibility. This isn’t new, for example in the Soviet one could be diagnosed with “sluggish schizophrenia” for questioning the communist state. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sluggish_schizophrenia

It’s very likely that when and if the day comes the government decides to start to locking people up who have “controversial views”, the mental health field well have role in this by diagnosing anyone who questions the status quo as mentally unstable and are in need of treatment or reeducation.

This is an article I found on Goodtherapy that proves my point https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/are-people-who-believe-in-conspiracy-theories-crazy-0423157