Monthly Archives: July 2019
Psychiatric Eugenics Then and Now—You Betcha It’s Still Happening
Most are oblivious to the fact that psychiatric eugenics initiatives continued to exist—and beyond that, to flourish—long after the end of what is normally thought of as “the eugenics era” (roughly, late nineteen century to 1945). Sadly, we are not learning from history what we direly need to learn.
Rock Bottom: When You Are in Your Darkest Moment
The one big lie that your mind will tell you when you are in that dark night: I am never going to feel okay again. This is the lie that drives people to self-destruction. It’s also the lie that keeps dynamic, complicated individuals captive in a system that says: your struggle is a permanent and defining feature of your brokenness.
55 Steps: A Battle Cry Against Forced ‘Treatment’ for Us All
From Rachel Waddingham - Behind the Labels: We should work together to resurrect this hard-hitting film from 2018, starring Helena Bonham Carter and Hilary Swank, that has been effectively buried.
The Complexity of the Indigenous Historical Trauma Concept
Researchers explore how the processes of colonization may impact the well-being of indigenous populations today.
Antidepressants Blunt Ability to Feel Empathy
A new study suggests that taking antidepressants impairs empathy, while the experience of depression itself does not.
Why the Mainstream Media Has Failed to Tell Truths About Psychiatry
From Truthout: Several factors have combined to prime the mainstream media to embrace the conventional narrative and to discount research and critiques that challenged it.
FDA Approval of First Digital Pill Based on ‘Weak Evidence’
From Medscape: Investigators found that the data submitted to the FDA were limited to trials that only assessed whether patients could use the product as intended.
Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood: A Tale of Psychotherapy
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and not knowing which one to take, I stood straight, watching my life pass me by. But in therapy, I began to feel the knots of my life come alive inside me. The point is not just to talk, it is to feel your story inside, to hear your silences, and to realize who you are… and who you can be.
We’ve Been Too Patient: Voices from Radical Mental Health
LD Green and Kelechi Ubozoh are co-editors of We’ve Been Too Patient: Voices from Radical Mental Health, published by North Atlantic Books, distributed by Penguin Random House, and released July 9, 2019. In a brief interview by email, we asked them about their creation of this work.
An “Even-Handed” History of Psychiatry as Damning as the “Polemics”?
Where Professor Harrington's book seems to differ from books that others might call polemics is that she does not attribute nefarious motives to the psychiatric establishment. I worry that she underplays the ways in which the current model causes harm, but I support her suggestion for a retraction of psychiatry's scope.
Why I Am Not a Psychiatrist
From the International Institute for Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal: Scott Waterman, Professor of Psychiatry Emeritus at the University of Vermont, writes about his personal journey through psychiatry over the past several decades.
Dr. Gabor Maté on Alienation, Inner Resilience, and Our True Nature
From Bioneers: We have the capacity to heal both ourselves and the planet by reconnecting with our true nature as empathic, nurturing, social beings.
Could Stress Turn Our Gut Bacteria Against Us?
From Psychology Today: New animal research shows that social stress alters both the composition and behavior of gut bacteria, leading to self-destructive changes in the immune system.
Structural Competency Training May Increase Empathic Connections in Psychiatry Residents
Identification, discussion of neighborhood structures cultivates connection, illustrates patients’ subjective experiences.
We Lost a Giant Today: A Tribute to Janet Foner
Janet Foner, a longtime mental health liberation activist, passed away on July 24, 2019. Many people do not know that Janet helped form the very early Alternatives Conferences in the U.S. and she co-founded MindFreedom International and continued serving on its board to this day. Here we honor her wisdom, tenacity and courage.
Review Finds FDA Approval of Digital Antipsychotic Misguided
The approval of the digital antipsychotic may open the door for more pharmaceutical company profits without evidence of benefits to patients.
Study Explores Extreme States Associated with Meditation
Biomedical and alternative discourses frame people’s experiences of extreme mental states associated with meditation in different ways.
Responding to “The Case Against AOT”—Next Steps for Change
Many will direct their efforts toward repealing involuntary outpatient commitment statutes in their states—an extremely challenging and uphill battle—or reforming abuses. Their arguments will be strengthened immensely by the findings in MIA's report. What follows are suggestions about what kinds of interventions to consider.
NC Jail Staff Accused of Beating ‘Mentally Ill’ Veteran to Death
From The Appeal: Officers responded to the man's anger by repeatedly pepper spraying him, kicking him, stomping on him, punching him, and shocking him.
When Attempts to Localize Global Mental Health Miss the Mark
Researchers find that efforts to integrate the Cambodian idiom baksbat (broken courage) into local mental health care may have served to pathologize adaptive responding.
Going Off Antidepressants – Take Time to Quit
From Radio New Zealand: "It’s only when you go down into much smaller doses that...the withdrawal symptoms really start to become more evident and more severe."
Open Dialogue and a Human Rights Approach to Mental Health Care
Analysis suggests that Open Dialogue aligns with human rights-based perspectives on mental health care.
The Chemical Imbalance Theory: Dr. Pies Returns, Again
Psychiatrist Ronald Pies published a recent piece in the Psychiatric Times titled "Debunking the Two Chemical Imbalance Myths, Again." The subtitle: "A little learning is a dangerous thing." And indeed it is. But not nearly as dangerous as a psychiatrist with a head full of spurious diagnoses and a ready prescription pad.
The Trauma Floor: The Secret Lives of Facebook Moderators in America
From The Verge: “I don’t think it’s possible to do the job and not come out of it with some acute stress disorder or PTSD.”
The Light in the Dark
Darkness began to consume my life, both literally and metaphorically. My surroundings and even my own thoughts would become distorted into something terrifying. As the nights droned on, shadows in my dorm room would contort themselves into threatening figures. The whispers continued to grow, overcoming the thoughts in my head.
