The addiction addiction

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Abstract

A recent online petition sponsored by the Society for Humanistic Psychology (2011), and currently carrying over 12,000 signatures, expresses serious misgivings regarding several facets of the upcoming fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–V). Among the stated concerns are the lowering of diagnostic thresholds, the dangers inherent in diagnosing questionable " disorders " —particularly in vulnerable populations—and the medicalization of common emotional responses to living. Internet addiction disorder is singled out as a proposed diagnostic category that is of particular concern due to its lack of an empirical basis in the scientific literature. Thus, it gives one pause to encounter a book titled Internet Addiction: A Handbook and Guide to Evaluation and Treatment. In part, such apprehension is warranted: The mental health treatment industry has in the past succumbed to passing fevers when drama surpasses knowledge, and an illusion of