Yearly Archives: 2017
A Lazy Person’s Guide to Happiness
From The Atlantic: According to author Dan Buettner, who studies the healthiest people in the world, improving our surrounding environment has a much greater impact...
Science is Broken
In this piece for Aeon, Siddhartha Roy and Marc A. Edwards explore how increasingly perverse incentives and the academic business model are affecting scientific practices and...
Dr. Noel Hunter and Brett Francis: Diagnosis, Empowerment and Equality
This week we interview Dr. Noel Hunter and Brett Francis who have, in their different ways, experienced the psychiatric system and then gone on to challenge our response to mental ill health and the medical model.
Psychiatry: The Brain is a Malignant Tumor!
We have persistently failed in trying to influence psychiatry with scientific argument because we view the brain as normal and they think it is a cancer. Imagine how weird it must seem to them: We are talking about an organ inside our heads that we treasure, and they are peering at it the way a surgeon studies a neuroblastoma.
Smartphone Based Interventions for Depressive Symptoms
New meta-analysis of smartphone based interventions demonstrates small-to-moderate effect.
Inside Croatia’s Pioneering Mental Health Center
From The Guardian: The oldest asylum in the Balkans has now been transformed into an unlocked mental health center. The patients have begun living in...
The Link Between Poor Mental Health and Low Income
From Metro: Poverty can have a dramatic effect on people's mental and physical health, as it can impact diet, healthcare access, sleep, and socialization.
"There are plenty...
Women With Endometriosis at Risk of Mental Health Issues
From The Sun: According to a new study, one in ten women with the chronic condition endometriosis are at a greater risk of developing mental health problems....
How to Cope With Social Anxiety Over Thanksgiving
In this piece for Medical News Today, Jasmin Collier describes five non drug-related ways to cope with social anxiety over the Thanksgiving holiday: preparing in...
4 Reasons Gratitude is Good for You
From USA Today: Gratitude has been shown to have both physical and mental health benefits. Here are a few ways to cultivate our feelings of gratitude...
Review Reinforces Social Connection as Protective Health Factor
Is a lack of social connection in the US harmful to health? In a review of social connection and health literature, researcher calls for a societal shift in values towards interdependence.
Us, Too: Sexual Violence Against People Labeled Mentally Ill
In light of the recent events and media discussions pertaining to the issue of sexual violence, we feel that it is of the utmost importance to speak out about this issue in the context of psychiatry and the treatment of those perceived as mentally ill.
Climate Change Puts Cambodians at Risk of Mental Health Issues
From Eco-Business: Many Cambodians are still healing from a tragic recent past, from the Lon Nol regime in 1970 to the collapse of the Pol...
A Likely Culprit for Teen Mental Health Deterioration
From The Conversation: In the five years between 2010 and 2015, U.S. teens' mental health greatly deteriorated. The sudden ascendance of the smartphone is most...
Selling Bad Therapy to Trauma Victims
From Psychology Today: The American Psychological Association has just issued guidelines for treating trauma that are backed by faulty science. The research behind the guidelines...
Steps Forward: Integrative Mental Health is Gaining Ground
In September 2017, a gift of 200 million dollars was given to the University of California, Irvine, to create new buildings and new programs dedicated to forwarding the model of integrative healthcare. This large donation is bound to lead to changes in both the training of psychiatrists as well as the delivery of mental healthcare.
Scientists Call for Increased Transparency in Research
Scientists at the Yale Collaboration for Research Integrity and Transparency (CRIT) published a new policy paper this month criticizing the current state of biomedical research and calling for improved transparency in research methods.
The Angry Congressman: Tim Murphy’s Lack of Insight
The most spectacular part of Rep. Murphy’s hypocrisy has nothing to do with abortion or reproductive rights. Allegations of his dangerous behavior and his lack of insight into his own actions would be enough to commit him, involuntarily, to psychiatric treatment under the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act that he championed.
Army Lifts Ban on Waivers for Recruits With Mental Health Issues
From USA Today: The Army will now allow recruits with a history of self-harm, bipolar disorder, depression, and drug and alcohol abuse to seek waivers...
The Problem With Hospitalizing Opioid Addicts Against Their Will
From The Washington Post: In Massachusetts, which has one of the highest rates of opioid deaths nationally, addiction-related civil commitments have doubled in the past...
“No More, We Have a Counselor…Let’s Get Real”
In this piece for Medium, Karen Kilbane critiques the way the foundational theories of psychology ingrain children and adolescents with self-doubt and self-criticism.
"Our psychological theories...
How Do We Prevent Loneliness?
Loneliness has been linked to negative health outcomes, but there are no interventions clearly proven to ‘fix’ the problem.
How Your Germs Control Your Politics
In this podcast for Cracked, Alex Schmidt and David Wong discuss how our fear of germs has shaped our politics, preferences, and personalities throughout history.
"Stop...
How Victorian Women Were Oppressed Through Psychiatry
From The Atlantic: In the mid- to late 1800s, psychiatric institutions were used to oppress women and reinforce patriarchal norms. The new Netflix show Alias Grace, based...
Scientists Start to Tease Out the Ways Racism Hurts Health
From NPR: Scientists are beginning to understand the subtle ways that experiences of racism and discrimination affect people's health on both a physiological and psychological...
