Around The Web

With the American Medical Association (AMA) declaring its opposition to direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug advertising, Martha Rosenberg asks, did DTC increase the number of people who have "diseases"?

Psychologist William Copeland writes for Mental Health Recovery that “bullying can occur at any age and the effects of which remain harmful long after the behavior has been endured.” “We, as a society, are just beginning to understand and come to terms with the havoc that bullying wreaks on the emotional lives of its victims.

-A historical article by MIA Blogger Andrew Scull in The Paris Review includes early artistic depictions of madness.

Sheila Kaplan for STAT News: “The modern history of science is littered with studies in which participants were harmed because researchers failed to take...

“The Food and Drug Administration’s approval of pharmaceutical treatment for low sexual desire in women has launched a heated debate over the dangers and benefits of medicalizing sex,” Maya Dusenbery writes in the Pacific Standard. Is “female Viagra” a feminist victory or a product of clever faux-feminist marketing by Big Pharma?

According to Jesse Singal, “ever since the 1930s, young people in America have reported feeling increasingly anxious and depressed. And no one knows exactly...

A previously "solicitous and loving" young undergoes "a classic onset of schizophrenia", followed by "a changing regimen of antidepressants." He is now in jail...

According to the University of South Dakota's The Volante, "In 1993, about four percent of American college students used prescription drugs for nonmedical uses, according...

After seven suicides in two years, students have come together to develop community building interventions including a texting hotline, artificial light boxes, and conversation...

“Two big lies—that smoking relieves the symptoms of psychosis, depression and anxiety and that mentally ill people have a special immunity to tobacco-related diseases—were...

The University of Toronto recently opened a Mental Health and Physical Activity Research Centre to work with individual students, and to study the link...

-The Globe and Mail looks interviews researchers about the growing interest in inflammation as a source of serious psychological distress in some individuals.

-A social worker explains why people should be more careful, if they believe it's a good idea to call the police to deal with someone who is disruptive.

"The name of a 'new attention disorder' sounds like an Onion-style parody: sluggish cognitive tempo," writes Slate. "It also sounds like a classic case...

This week, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a report revealing that prescription drug spending in the U.S. is rising and is projected to continue rising...

LiveScience reports from the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting, and provides brief summaries of a plethora of recent research into the effects of diet...

From VTDigger: A new bill has been introduced in Vermont that would scale back the state's law banning pharmaceutical companies from providing certain gifts to health care...

Pro Publica and the NY Times collaborate on an investigative report revealing loopholes in HIPAA laws that allow providers to release the mental health...

“When the federal government takes the rare step of fining medical providers for violating the privacy and security of patients’ medical information, it issues...

For the Huffington Post, David Freeman asks “By tamping down anxious feelings, could it be that these so-called “anxiolytic” drugs are blunting our empathy and...

From The New York Times: His testimony as an expert witness in some 600 trials helped plaintiffs win billions of dollars in cases involving malfeasance by pharmaceutical makers.

The Daily Echo features "5 Rhythms" dance classes as an alternative treatment for depression.  "Based on methods developed by Gabrielle Roth in the 1970s, the...

-Psychiatrist Allen Frances discusses his mixed feelings about many commonly used but misleading psychiatric terms.

-Psychologist Joachim Hagopian argues that both psychiatry and psychology as fields have come to be too much about making profits.

In The Atlantic, Julie Beck interviews emotional intelligence expert David Caruso about the importance of accurately recognizing and communicating your emotions. “American culture demands that the answer to the question ‘How are you?’ is not just ‘Good,’ but sometimes ‘Great.’ Or—this drives folks around the world crazy, who might be based in another country but they work for an American company—we need to be ‘Awesome.’ There's this relentless drive to mask the expression of our true underlying feelings. It's almost inappropriate.”