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

9
Depression drugs don’t work, and they increase suicide.
Abstract design made of thick canvas paint relevant for human connections with the world's colors and textures

Schizophrenia in Philosophy and Theology

12
From Socrates to Jesus to Nietzsche, all experienced divine Beatific Visions, just as I have.
Illustration of a head showing brain and cogs in the background

Psychiatry, Capitalism, and the Industrial Machine

31
Psychiatry, under the guise of science, tries to identify and manage those who deviate from industrial society's norms.
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

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

Grief and Burnout: The Challenge of Staying Out of Psychiatry

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No matter how many times I scatter, I gather my pieces every time and get down to my garden where souls dwell, waiting to be tended.
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

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KTF aims to combine supportive community, holistic care, and meaningful opportunities for participating in a natural farm setting.

Antidepressant Withdrawal Symptoms Linked to Life-Altering Consequences, New Study Shows

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A new study reveals that withdrawal symptoms from antidepressants can last years, disrupting lives and relationships.
Professional Support. Psychologist comforting depressed female patient during therapy session in office

Beyond Techniques: The Common Factors That Drive Healing

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Common factors, rather than the intricacies of any single modality, are the real engine of therapeutic transformation.

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

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

The Note

20
I’ve helped dozens of my students through tough times and suicidal thoughts. But my own child? How do I handle THIS?

Kids Are Not the Problem: An Interview With Gretchen LeFever Watson

10
In this interview, Brooke Siem, who is the author of a memoir on antidepressant withdrawal, May Cause Side Effects, interviews Gretchen LeFever Watson, PhD. Gretchen...
Two women, one looking sadly at the viewer and the other standing out of focus in the background. Magazines and chocolates on the bed. A pink convertible out of focus through the window in the background.

I Am Looking for People I Miss

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It’s a community of like-minded people; we should stick together. Maybe, hopefully, I will find my hospital friends.
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.

A Psycho-Spiritual Journey

25
The Wellness approach, despite years of deliberate suppression, has survived and proven itself to be highly effective.
The universe inside us, the profile of a young woman and space, the effect of double exposure. scientific concept. The brain and creativity. Elements of this image furnished by NASA.

Guided Dreaming Can Transform Psychosocial Issues: 11 Case Studies

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Dreaming problem-solves various waking concerns creatively through memory consolidation and emotional processing.
3D illustration of a green tree emerging from an unlocked prison-cell like door shaped like a head

Schizophrenia and Homosexuality: My Experience and Case Studies

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During my confinement, I became convinced that the forced repression of my homosexuality was the true etiology of my schizophrenia.

Burnout: How Mental Health Systems Fail Neurodivergent Professionals

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Many neurodivergent professionals are burning out quietly in a field that prides itself on empathy while treating its providers like machines.

Reframing Antipsychotic Discontinuation: A Psychiatrist’s Personal and Professional Call for Epistemic Justice

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A psychiatrist with lived experience advocates for a more humane, collaborative approach to antipsychotic discontinuation that respects diverse ways of knowing.

Peer Support and Resistance: Becky Brasfield’s Vision for Mental Health Justice

6
In this interview with Ayurdhi Dhar, Becky Brasfield calls for radical truth-telling in the mental health system.

Summing up the STAR*D Scandal: The Public was Betrayed, Millions were Harmed, and the...

74
American psychiatry, the NIMH, the larger medical community, and mainstream media have betrayed the American public by failing to make this scandal known.

My Involuntary Metamorphosis

2
After day treatment, I went once a week to a “continuing care” group. What was “continued” was the lesson that you had a fault that was shameful, volatile and dangerous.
Engraving-style art of a person looking out the door of an asylum room

From Auctions to Moral Treatment

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In less than 25 years Oregon moved from auctioning off the “care” of the "insane" to the lowest bidder to creating a safe place focused on recovery.

Mad in America’s 10 Most Popular Articles in 2024

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A roundup of Mad in America's most read blogs and personal stories of 2024 as chosen by our readers.
Medical Students In Lecture Hall 6th March 2022 Hyderabad India — Photo by rajastills

Modern Psychology and Its Colonial Legacy

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I question the modern rhetoric of ‘primitive’ cultures not having enough ‘knowledge’ about mental health and needing to be ‘educated’.
Close up of document titled "Informed Consent" being held

Who Can Consent to Research—and What Does That Mean for Forced Treatment?

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What the doctors are not seeing is the health in people—except when it’s convenient for them and their research projects.