Sluggishly progressing schizophrenia
Sluggishly progressing schizophrenia was a fifth (as opposed to the four recognised in the West) category of schizophrenia diagnosed by psychiatrists in the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (RFSFR). It was commonly alleged in the West that this diagnosis was often applied to dissidents who were not in fact mentally ill. Many Soviet dissidents were diagnosed in this way, forcibly hospitalized in mental institutions, and subjected to potentially mentally-destructive treatments including powerful anti-depressants and electroconvulsive therapy. It is believed that this treatment had devastating impact on the mental health of the victims.
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.
See also