Sluggish schizophrenia
Sluggishly progressing schizophrenia was a fifth (as opposed to the four recognised in the West) category of schizophrenia diagnosed by psychiatrists in the Soviet Union. The diagnostic criteria for this 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.
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