Trap with medical bottle full pills. 3D rendering isolated on white background

On the Brink of Murder Because of an Antidepressant

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After being put on antidepressants, Katinka started hallucinating wildly, thinking in very violent images.
A normal distribution curve appears on a tablet screen

Bad Science Revisited: “The Bell Curve” Turns 30

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Critiquing the wildly popular 1994 eugenicist book, which purported to link IQ and race, by reviewing the supposed genetic evidence.

Long-term Outcomes Better for Those Who Stop Taking Antipsychotics

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Research undermines the prolonged use of antipsychotics in schizophrenia treatment, suggesting improved social functioning and quality of life with discontinuation.
Silhouette illustration of female figure dancing behind bars with giant hands reaching out to enclose her

Szasz and the Liberation of the “Mental Patient”

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By setting standards of equality, competence, and accountability, Szasz worked for the liberation of the "mental patient.”

The Experience of Survivors of Psychiatry in Brazil

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The suffering caused by physical, sexual or psychological violence, common in women's lives, is pathologized by psychiatry.
A sepia-tone photograph of a lonely teddy bear small against a window.

Medical Journals Refuse to Retract Fraudulent Trial Reports That Omitted Suicidal Events in Children

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The published articles underreported suicide-related events and provided false claims that the drugs were effective.

Undisclosed Financial Conflicts of Interest in the DSM-5: An Interview with Lisa Cosgrove and...

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On the Mad in America podcast we talk with Lisa Cosgrove and Brian Piper about their BMJ paper entitled "Undisclosed Financial Conflicts of Interest in the DSM-5 TR: Cross-Sectional Analysis"
African woman in traditional clothes standing, looking, hand to eyes, in field of barley or wheat crops at sunset or sunrise

From a Paranoid Schizophrenia Diagnosis to a Peer Researcher in Nigeria

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The mental health system needs to adopt the principle of holistic care, promoting fundamental rights and the relevance of family support.
Sun glare through a thick forest of tall trees

Beyond Greenspaces and Mental Health: The Power of the Wild

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Tensions of sustainability, climate change, and global mental health: grassknots, greenspace, and climate psychology.

Withdrawal Psychosis and the Aftermath of Tragedy

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I wake to what has happened every day, and must filter my every action through the memories and the fallout of what I did when I was psychotic as a twenty-four-year-old kid.
The Guardian of Forever from TOS, with an image of R. D. Laing at its center.

Can Madness Save the World? Where R.D. Laing—and Star Trek—Meet

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What if the only choice we can really make, and trust, is the irrational, even mad, choice to love? What would saving the world look like then?

Putting JAMA Psychiatry and MIA to the Genetic Test

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We can assess whether Mad in America readers or JAMA Psychiatry readers are being provided with the most robust scientific literature.
Woman cover face using paper with emotions sketch, like hiding mask. Private life identity concept. Split inner personalities. Multipolar mental health disorder. Mood change, expressions and reactions

Animal Theory of Emotion: Emotion Is Not a Disorder

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Too many people see themselves as having mental disorders when what they have is emotion, and in some cases, a great deal of it.

Antidepressant Use in Pregnancy Harms Child Development, Untreated Maternal Depression Shows Benefit

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In this new study, exposure to maternal anxiety in utero also harmed child development.

Interpersonal Caring as an Act of Resistance Among Socially Marginalized

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Some of the most marginalized and stigmatized people in a community are those with psychiatric diagnoses and those who are HIV positive.
Studio shot of bearded Persian man doctor against gray background in black and white

In Defense of Open Dialogue Research

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One of the original Open Dialogue researchers responds to a paper presenting a prejudiced and selective review of the scientific literature.

Deprescribing Psychiatric Drugs to Reduce Harms and Empower Patients: Interview with Psychiatrist Swapnil Gupta

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Ayurdhi Dhar interviews psychiatrist Swapnil Gupta on psychiatric drug discontinuation, drug cocktail risks, patient choice, and the need for trust and transparency.
Marital Counselor Taking Notes At Therapy Session With African American Spouses, Holding Blank Clipboard, Filling Information Form At Marriage Counseling Meeting With Blank Couple, Cropped Image

Never Waste a Good Depression: Family Therapy Challenges the Seductive Shortcut of Psychiatric Drugs

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The widespread use of psychiatric drugs reduces important conversations about the problems of being human while limiting our options for problem-solving.

Study Highlights Difficulty of Antipsychotic Withdrawal

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New research finds insomnia, anxiety, and depression are common symptoms of antipsychotic withdrawal, highlighting difficulties of discontinuation.

Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome (PAWS): How the Last Step to Recovery Became the Final Step...

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How persistent, unbearable suffering, due to prolonged withdrawal from antipsychotics prescribed as a sleeping medication, led to euthanasia.

Engaging Voices, Part 1: Validating The Arrival of My Wife’s First ‘Alters’

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Sam Ruck shares his third excerpt from his book Healing Companions, which describes his life with, and love for, his wife and her “alters.” 
Illustration of a red pencil circling a group of people

How Psychiatrists Responded to the Launch of Our New ECT Survey

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Amid mostly rude and unprofessional jibes, there were also some legitimate points, which are addressed here.

Is Madness an Evolved Signal? Justin Garson on Strategy Versus Dysfunction

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Philosopher Justin Garson discusses the potential benefit of looking at madness not as disease or defect, but as a designed feature.
Photo of hands stacking on top of each other in very yellow light

The Integration of Peer Support Principles in Community Mental Health Policy and Practice: Toward...

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Though there are obstacles, integration of peer support is already underway thanks to change agents in the mental health system.

Common Side Effects Leading to Antidepressant Discontinuation

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New research finds the negative drug effects most commonly associated with initiating antidepressant discontinuation are anxiety, suicidal thoughts, vomiting, and rashes.