Blogs

Essays by a diverse group of writers, in the United States and abroad, engaged in rethinking psychiatry. (The directory of personal stories can be found here, and initiatives here).

Two hands holding pills, one with a smiley face, the other with x's for eyes and a frown

Observational Studies Confirm Trial Results That Antidepressants Double Suicides

36
Depression drugs don’t work, and they increase suicide.
Illustration of a head showing brain and cogs in the background

Psychiatry, Capitalism, and the Industrial Machine

68
Psychiatry, under the guise of science, tries to identify and manage those who deviate from industrial society's norms.
Abstract design made of thick canvas paint relevant for human connections with the world's colors and textures

Schizophrenia in Philosophy and Theology

16
From Socrates to Jesus to Nietzsche, all experienced divine Beatific Visions, just as I have.
A photo of RFK Jr. emerges from a pile of blue pills

RFK Jr. May Be Wrong on Many Medical Issues, But He’s Right About Antidepressants

46
Documented cases show a link between SSRIs and school violence, but pharma has suppressed the data that could prove this link.
Pop art retro style. A female therapist leans over a male client reclining in a suit.

Default Depression—How We Now Interpret Distress as Mental Illness

24
The Situational Approach provides an alternative to the poor outcomes seen with the medicalisation of distress.
brain

Too Good to Be True: How TMS Damaged My Brain

421
TMS not only has not improved my mental health, but also has robbed me of some of the most important things in life. There has been little to no research on or awareness around the negative side effects that TMS can inflict. This must change.
A drawing of a human head, brain visible in profile, being burned

Upcoming ECT Legislation Needs to Be Revised

6
Testimony submitted to the Connecticut state legislature in opposition to a bill expanding forced ECT.
Young boy looking through the window

As a Psychologist, I’ve Seen Many Children Misdiagnosed as Autistic—It’s a Clinical Catastrophe

33
The ASD diagnosis glosses over the many developmental specifics that might underlie a child’s challenges related to social communication.

Why Anti-Authoritarians Are Diagnosed as Mentally Ill

341
(Note: Read Bruce Levine's latest post: Anti-Authoritarians and Schizophrenia: Do Rebels Who Defy Treatment Do Better? In my career as a psychologist, I have talked with...
Professional Support. Psychologist comforting depressed female patient during therapy session in office

Beyond Techniques: The Common Factors That Drive Healing

28
Common factors, rather than the intricacies of any single modality, are the real engine of therapeutic transformation.
Close photo of a hand spilling pills on a floor

Prescription Drugs Are the Leading Cause of Death

27
Overtreatment with drugs kills many people, and the death rate is increasing. Why have we allowed this drug pandemic to continue?
autism definition

I Don’t Believe in Autism

50
The conversation about what truly constitutes “autism” is an ongoing one. Although I resist the label personally, I do not begrudge anyone for identifying as autistic, or seeking out an autism diagnosis. Leaving this discussion within the domain of medicine is limiting. That’s why a new discourse is emerging, not among doctors, but among activists who push for autistic self-advocacy.
One green gamepiece facing many black gamepieces

How and Why Neurotypicals Misunderstand and Mistreat Autistic People

47
Commonly used autism interventions, such as ABA, have been found to be both ineffective and abusive, inflicting trauma on those subjected to them.
A hand holds out pills. A child is out of focus in the background.

For-Profit Healthcare Is a Predator; Its Main Prey Is Our Young

14
Labeling kids with “brain diseases” sets them up for failure. This explains why the U.S. has so many youth crises.

Mad in America’s 10 Most Popular Articles in 2024

3
A roundup of Mad in America's most read blogs and personal stories of 2024 as chosen by our readers.

“There’s No Word for Depression in Zulu”: Inside South Africa’s Mental Health Crisis

18
High levels of childhood adversity interact with violent crime, poverty, and lack of access to education.
David Foster Wallace

David Foster Wallace: Suicide and the Death of Agency

89
Today is the 10th anniversary of David Foster Wallace’s suicide. While it’s not fair to build an entire theory on an incredibly complicated issue like suicide around one person, Wallace’s death should challenge the common narratives around suicide — that “mental illness” causes it and that “we can’t ever know why people do it.” Both of these are self-serving platitudes that are simply not true.

Mad In South Asia

1
While conducting research in rural Northern India, Ayurdhi Dhar spoke to a woman whose mother had vivid visual hallucinations of Indian wedding processions. When...

Beyond Benzos: Jordan B. Peterson’s Trip to Hell and Back

131
I am thankful "Beyond Order" exists; if only because it serves as a cautionary tale for anyone looking to modify their mood using psychiatry’s plethora of pills.
Colorful drawing of protesters

Mad Activists: The Language We Use Reflects Our Desire for Change

19
There is not one movement but many, and the language people use reflects how accepting they are of the psychiatric explanation of their experiences.
child looking at smartphone

“Virtual Autism” May Explain Explosive Rise in ASD Diagnoses

83
New clinical case studies have found that many young children who spend too much screen time—on TV’s, video games, tablets and computers—have symptoms labeled as “autism.” When parents take away the screens for a few months the child’s symptoms disappear.
A questionnaire reads "Eating disorder: Are you at risk?" The options are checkboxes for "Yes" and "No."

The New DSM Is Coming and That Isn’t Good News

47
Binge Eating Disorder is one of many invalid diagnoses we’ll continue to receive as a result of the APA’s failure to correct the mistakes of past versions of the DSM.
wooden box with farm vegetables in the hands of men and women, close-up. vegetarianism, healthy eating, autumn harvest, farming, without nitrates

Kyrie Therapeutic Farm: Distress Understood as Part of the Human Condition

1
KTF aims to combine supportive community, holistic care, and meaningful opportunities for participating in a natural farm setting.
A white-coated white male with glasses looks skeptical; an ouija board is the background

The Ouija Board and the Skeptic

80
Skepticism, especially from those with lived experience, is necessary. It forces us to question whether our tools and methods truly help.
Medical Students In Lecture Hall 6th March 2022 Hyderabad India — Photo by rajastills

Modern Psychology and Its Colonial Legacy

23
I question the modern rhetoric of ‘primitive’ cultures not having enough ‘knowledge’ about mental health and needing to be ‘educated’.