Yearly Archives: 2017
How to Override Your Own Personality
From Science of Us: We are often told to "just be ourselves" as if the self is a fixed, unchanging concept. However our personalities change...
Is Philosophy Therapy, or is it Simply a Search for Truth?
In this interview for Aeon, Nigel Warburton and Jules Evans explore the potential therapeutic value and shortcomings of using ancient philosophy to overcome emotional suffering.
"Personally, Iâm not...
SSRI Ineffective at Treating Depression in Individuals with Chronic Kidney Disease
Dr. Madhukar Trivedi and colleagues find that the SSRI sertraline does not reduce depressive symptoms any more than placebo in people with Chronic Kidney Disease.
Psychiatryâs Greatest Harm: Its Lies Have Poisoned Our Entire Culture
Psychiatryâs harms extend far beyond those people it âtreatsâ â they are undermining our societyâs entire foundation. In just thirty years in America, the medical model's widespread acceptance has largely undone the huge adaptive potential that millions of years of brain evolution had provided.
The Drug Being Pushed on Nursing Home Residents
From Next Avenue: The drug Nuedexta has only been approved for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, the maker of...
The Men Taking Classes to Unlearn Toxic Masculinity
From Science of Us: The Washington, D.C., Rape Crisis Center, Collective Action for Safe Spaces, and ReThink, an organization that works to prevent sexual assault,...
Dr. David Healy: Seeking a Cure for Protracted, Medication-Related Sexual Dysfunction
An interview with Dr. David Healy, internationally respected psychiatrist, psychopharmacologist, scientist, and author, discussing Post SSRI Sexual Dysfunction (PSSD) and his innovative approach to finding a cure.
Gilead Says Drug Profits Must Stay High to Pay for ‘Innovation’
From the Los Angeles Times: In attempting to justify skyrocketing drug prices, John C. Martin, the executive chairman of Gilead Sciences, claimed that pharmaceutical companies...
Minority and Immigration Status Associated with Psychosis Risk
Ethnic minorities and those who migrated during childhood have an elevated risk for psychosis, study finds.
Bias and Deception in Behavioral Research
Contrary to popular belief, science is not immune to the corrupting influences of the society it operates in. When false results produced by p-hacked research have social, scientific, and political importance, and affect or harm the lives of millions of people while entire fields look on, it constitutes a scientific scandal.
Health Care? More Like Health Scare!
From the Lown Institute: For pharmaceutical companies who use scare tactics to sell drugs, every day is like Halloween. This list of egregious advertisements shows...
Twenty Years of Art at Bethlem Hospital
From BBC: At Bethlem Royal Hospital, a psychiatric hospital in London, patients are given the opportunity to work in the hospital's art studios as part...
The Misery Filter
In this op-ed for The New York Times, Ross Douthat discusses the way we tend to "filter for misery," failing to recognize the private struggles...
Tranquilizing Humanity into Oblivion: A Warning from Nathan S. Kline
Widely heralded as the father of American psychopharmacology, Kline insisted that his discoveries were adjunctive to psychotherapy, not replacements. The psychopharmacology of Kline's era recognized that medications are a blunt instrument.
The Placebo Effect is Amplified When Doctors Appear Likeable
From The British Psychological Society: A new study found that the placebo effect is enhanced by the impression of warmth and competence.
"Howe and her team...
Mental Health Patient Becomes Best Mental Health Nurse
From ABC Australia: Matthew Ball, a mental health nurse with lived experience of hearing voices, psychiatric diagnosis, and hospitalization, was recently named the Australian College...
Depressed Patients on Antidepressants Do Worse in the Long Run
From Medical Xpress: A new analysis of the long-term effects of antidepressants found that symptoms of depression were more sharply elevated nine years following treatment...
Western âDepressionâ is Not Universal
Derek Summerfield, consultant psychiatrist at South London and Maudsley National Health Service Foundation Trust, challenges the assumption that Western depression is a universal condition.
A Brave New World â Somatic Psychiatry in the Spotlight
Historically, psychiatric diagnoses were never intended to signify literal brain diseases. They used to be a shorthand and a guide to point to the psychological issues that presented. This is how it still should be today. The way diagnosis is now used is a travesty.Â
Low-Carbohydrate Diet Superior to Antipsychotic Medications
From Psychology Today: Research and case studies show that the ketogenic diet may be a promising treatment for psychosis and other mental health challenges. The ketogenic...
The Truth is Out There: The Philosophy of the X-Files
From Big Think: The X-Files, a popular TV show from the 1990's, explores the philosophy of science, delving into questions about what constitutes quality science. While one...
Mirror, Mirror: Study Challenges Notion of a Narcissism Epidemic Among Youth
One study indicates that pointed fingers incriminating youth for narcissism may be pointed in the wrong direction.
Humans Had to Evolve to Acknowledge Octopus Consciousness
In this piece for Quartz, Ephrat Livni explores our evolving attitudes toward octopuses, from initial fear and revulsion to contemporary respect and inquiry. Now, scientists are...
Teaching Psychology Students to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse
From The Conversation: An undergraduate course in behavioral psychology at Bangor University now includes a fully gamified module that immerses students in a zombie apocalypse...
Zombies Must Be Dualists
In this piece for Nautilus, Sean Carroll introduces the idea of a "philosophical zombie," beings that look and behave exactly like humans, but lack the...
