Around The Web

Updates on critical psychiatry postings across the Internet.

“Elliot Rodger and the NRA Myth: How the Gun Lobby Scapegoats Mental Illness”

11
Salon discusses, in light of the most recent mass killing in Santa Barbara, how "rather than emphasize the crisis of guns in America, the media...

“Why Can’t Doctors Identify Killers?”

2
The New York Times posts a commentary by psychiatrist Richard Friedman, noting that "What most people don’t know is that drug and alcohol abuse...

“Prescription Drugs More Deadly Than Car Accidents, Guns, and Suicide”

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The Daily Beast reports that "the US, which holds 5 percent of the world’s population, is responsible for 75 percent of global prescription drug...

“A Revolutionary Approach to Treating PTSD”

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The New York Times Profiles Bessel van der Kolk, and the controversial approaches to working with trauma, such as yoga and "tapping," that he...

“Drugged Up: Psychiatry is over-reliant on chemical cures. It’s Time to Look at the...

4
Psychiatrist Bob Johnson writes in IAI News, "If ever there were a case for an outside body to let the light in, then it’s...

“You Don’t Always Know What You’re Saying”

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Among the reasons for listening carefully to others, this article in Nature adds, "People's conscious awareness of their speech often comes after they've spoken,...

“Drug Firms Have Used Dangerous Tactics to Drive Sales to Treat Kids”

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Dr. Mercola writes that "the high rates of psychotropic drug use among foster children and poor children is likely a direct result of drug...

“Mental Illness Plagued Student Who Leaped From Niagara Falls”

5
Greg Young, who leapt to his death from the top of Niagara Falls, "had been on numerous medications, all of which came with warnings...

“Let Dogs Be Dogs”

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The New York Times invites a discussion on the growing use of psychotropic medication for pets, with author of "How the Dog Became the...

“A Soldier Fights Off the Cold”

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A soldier's story, in the New York Times, speaks for more than people in the military: "I feel an obligation to tell my story,...

“‘Greyhound Therapy’ and America’s Mental Health Crisis”

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Dan Rather reports on the practice of "patient dumping;" giving psychiatric patients a one-way ticket to someplace they've never been before, with instructions to...

“Chuck Norris Warns Antidepressants Can Depress”

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Chuck Norris writes in WND: "I believe that too many who struggle with mild cases of depression don’t think they can find genuine relief...

“Lives ‘Left in Ruin’ by Rising Tide of Depression Drugs”

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Julia Llewellyn Smith reports in the Telegraph that "Last year, 53 million prescriptions were issued for antidepressants in England alone, nearly double the number prescribed a...

“Coming Out of the Fog”

1
"For the past eight years, Vicki Dyer has been the program director of the dementia ward at Lakewood, a continuing care centre in Waterville, Me.,...

“Views on Assisted Outpatient Treatment: Fuller Torrey, M.D.”

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E. Fuller Torrey, M.D, shares his experiences and views on AOT with Behavioral Healthcare. “The whole issue of involuntary treatment is one that’s difficult...

“No Easy Answer to the Question of Forcible Medication”

4
Nathaniel Ayers, the violin-playing subject of the 2009 film "The Soloist," continues to fight against efforts to compel him to take antipsychotic medication.  "....

“Opiates and ‘Benzos’ — a Deadly Cocktail of Drugs”

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MIA Blogger Richard Lewis lands an op-ed in New England's South Coast Today: "Not a week goes by without some news headline reporting about...

“What Can A Rat’s ‘Behavioral Despair’ Tell You?”

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"A 'tail suspension test' is exactly what its title implies. Researchers lift a rat by the tail for a few minutes at a time,...

“Is Britain Hooked on Happy Pills?”

2
The Telegraph provides a forum for Joanna Moncrieff: "The use of antidepressants continues its inexorable rise. Since the early 1990s the number of prescriptions...

Limbic Kindling — Hardwiring the Brain for Hypersensitivity

2
Beyond Meds looks at limbic kindling - "one of the most exciting concepts in neuroscience you’ve never heard of. And it’s becoming a key...

“Saving Minds Along With Souls”

3
Tanya Luhrmann writes in the NY Times about Pastor Rick Warren's effort to "get the church directly involved with the care of people with...

“The Business Interests Behind America’s Costly Medical Care”

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Truthout explains that "Unlike most other wealthy countries, the U.S. lacks any central mechanism to constrain overall health-care spending. This has led us instead...

“Are You Too Optimistic? Science Can Fix That”

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From Discover magazine: "Unrealistic optimism refers to the pervasive tendency of healthy individuals to underestimate their likelihood of future misfortune, including illness. The phenomenon...

“The Antidepressant Generation”

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Doris Iarovici, a psychiatrist from Duke University, asks in the New York Times "Are we using good scientific evidence to make decisions about keeping...

“Mother Wishes She Had Restricted Flow of Prescription Drugs to her Son”

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"Looking back, Pam Herrera wishes she had asked more questions and been more forceful with her son's therapists," says the Denver Post. "The list...