I Was a Cult Member in the Cult of Psychiatry
From Mental Hellth: Today I believe OCD is a trauma response. But at the time I believed what the psychiatrist told me, that there was something structurally wrong with my brain.
1 in 3 UK Teens Given Antidepressants, Despite Official Guidelines
From inews.co.uk: Family doctors say a lack of access to effective psychological therapies on the NHS is leading them to over-prescribe medication.
Behind Rolling Stone’s Hatchet Job on a Psychiatrist Critical of Neoliberal Capitalism
From CounterPunch: Why did Rolling Stone attempt to associate Joanna Moncrieff, author of the recent serotonin study, with the right-wing in order to discredit her for its readers?
Capitalism and Coercive Control
From Red Flag: A society that normalizes the dynamics of coercive control in most aspects of life is ill-equipped to eradicate them from our personal lives.
Depression and Serotonin: It Was All a F*cking Lie | Russell Brand
Comedian Russell Brand offers a humorous take on the recent news that depression has not been found to be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.
The Anxiety Industry: At the Limits of Anxious Consumerism
From Public Seminar: Anxiety – that chronic, widespread uncertainty proliferating out of the insecurities that exemplify modern life – has become the lodestone of 21st century consumer capitalism.
Decades of Alzheimer’s Research Allegedly Based on Fabricated Data
From Futurism: Billions of dollars have been invested in pursuing treatments based on the "toxic oligomer" hypothesis, which is now called into question.
By Naming ‘Pennhurst,’ Stranger Things Uses Disability Trauma for Entertainment. Dark Tourism & Asylum...
From The Conversation: Pennhurst is one of many “haunted” tourist attractions worldwide inspired by the traumatised lives of people with disability.
Eight in Ten Sexual Violence Victims Seeking Support Diagnosed With Psychiatric Disorder
From Victim Focus and the Independent: "It shifts the focus from the sexual trauma to being mentally ill," said psychologist Jessica Taylor. "It shifts the focus from the perpetrator to the victim."
The Fight for Pharma Accountability and Psychiatric Rights: Jim Gottstein, Esq.
From Psychiatric Times/Awais Aftab, MD: Gottstein's book The Zyprexa Papers left me with a renewed sense of moral disgust at pharmaceutical corruption and alarm at their pervasive influence and lack of meaningful public accountability.
GSK Discontinues Production of Liquid Paroxetine (Seroxat)
From The Pharmaceutical Journal: The oral suspension is being discontinued even though liquid formulations of antidepressants are essential for successfully tapering patients.
Depression May Not Stem From a “Chemical Imbalance” After All – Suggesting the Problem...
From Salon: Scholars have argued for decades that depression has a social and political cause. A new study reinforces that view.
The U.K. Advises Coming off Antidepressants Very, Very Slowly
From Undark: Mounting evidence suggests that withdrawal effects may be both more common and more severe than previously thought.
Am I Normal?: The 200-Year Search for Normal People (and Why They Don’t Exist)
From The Guardian: A new book by Sarah Chaney is an examination of the 200-year-old history of the notion of "normal" and its power to alienate and oppress.
What Is ‘Schizophrenia’? Common Myths and Misconceptions
From The Mirror: Even though one in 100 adults in England lives with a 'schizophrenia diagnosis,' the condition continues to be surrounded by myths and misconceptions.
Why I Won’t (Yet) Recommend 988 as a Crisis and Suicide Prevention Resource
From Medium/Vic Welle: Simply put, 988 is not trauma-informed, and the current rollout is carrying over the same harmful protocols and practices of the Lifeline it is replacing.
How to Take the News That Depression Has Not Been Shown to Be Caused...
From Joanna Moncrieff: So maybe thinking about depression as a brain disease is the wrong way to think about it. Maybe we need a different sort of framework.
We’re Historians of Disability. What We Just Found on eBay Horrified Us.
From Slate: We were disturbed to come across a slew of listings for private, highly personal, and revealing medical records from now-closed New York state psychiatric institutions.
A Decisive Blow to the Serotonin Hypothesis of Depression
From Psychology Today: An exhaustive new review debunks the “chemical imbalance” theory of depression, despite its persistence among physicians and the public.
“Trauma-Informed Care” Left Me More Traumatised Than Ever
From Psychiatry Is Driving Me Mad: Trauma-informed care isn’t just about changing the question from ‘what's wrong with you’ to ‘what happened to you’ while keeping the same clinical structure.
Depression Likely Not Caused by a Chemical Imbalance in the Brain – New Study
From The Conversation: Until now, there has been no comprehensive review of the research on serotonin and depression that could enable firm conclusions about the chemical imbalance theory.
The 988 Helpline Exists in an America Full of Broken Systems—Of Course It’s Flawed
From Refinery29: While 988 is well-intentioned, it can only do so much good when connected to broken criminal justice, healthcare, and mental healthcare systems.
The Corruption of Character in Medicine
From the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry: At 26, I finished medical school and decided to switch careers, because I had come to feel that medical training was turning me into a terrible human being.
Mass Shootings and the News Media: Catching Up to the Science of PACEs
From ACEs Too High: Over the last 25 years, the main development that has changed our understanding of violence is the CDC-Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences Study.
Marx, Spinoza, and the Political Implications of Contemporary Psychiatry | Bruce Levine, PhD
From CounterPunch: That organized religion has a great deal in common with organized psychiatry would be apparent to two of history’s most famous critics of the political implications of organized religion.
