Manic and Mistreated
I was shaking and crying as I told a stranger everything about my life, and they looked at me like I was a criminal. Like I was crazy. I started to think maybe I was.
Giving Caregivers a Platform: Sherita, Mother of Tony
This is the story of Sherita and her son Tony, and her efforts to help him following years of psychiatric drugs and hospitalizations.
What Helpedâand What Didn’t HelpâMy Recovery
In order to recover, it was necessary to give up the psychiatric treatment system, and the idea that I need something from that system, that I belong there.
Itâs Healthâs Illusions I Recall, I Really Donât Know Health at All
There is a core concept shaping the âmarketâ in health, the concept of an assay, that few doctors or patients understand.
Much of U.S. Healthcare Is Broken: How to Fix It (Chapter 2, Part 3)
Les Ruthven addresses the lack of evidence for antidepressants being better than placebo, as well as a note about ECT.
Therapy by App: A Clinical Psychologist Tries BetterHelp
Revealing concerns about BetterHelpâs ability to provide quality, secure treatmentâand the unresolved tensions in the science of psychotherapy that services like BetterHelp exploit.
A Psychotic Experience can Help to Process Difficult Memories
The patient is talking, if sometimes more or less metaphorically, about real experiences. Hallucinations and delusions are not meaningless.
Winding Back the Clock: What If the STAR*D Investigators Had Told the Truth?
The STAR*D Study has been cited as real-world evidence of the efficacy of antidepressants. In truth, it told of a failed paradigm of care.
De-privatizing Our Relationships
Iâm glad weâre chipping away at the cracks in psychiatry and psychology and de-privatizing our lives.
Much of U.S. Healthcare Is Broken: How to Fix It (Chapter 2, Part 2)
Les Ruthven addresses the scientific literature on antidepressant efficacy and FDA approval.
Mad in America’s 10 Most Popular Articles in 2023
A roundup of Mad in America's most read blogs and personal stories of 2023 as chosen by our readers.
Self Stolen: How ECT Fried My Brain
Extreme ECT memory loss is like having Alzheimerâs, and being fully cognizant of it. It takes away who you are as a person: your self-identity.
Dr. Gordon Warme: The Curious Case of an Unconventional Psychiatrist
Dr. Warme bucked convention, examining the cultural role that shamans, witch doctors, and placebo cures played in medicine.
Conservatorship: The Racket That Ruined My Fatherâs Last Years
I have watched as my fatherâs pursuit of happiness was swept away by the court system in his senior years.
Trying to Fly AboveâAn Example of Sequencity
I consider synchronicity and sequencity connections to be gifts. The meaning involved is often much deeper and more personal than other people will recognize.
Antidepressant Exposure In Utero May Negatively Impact Motor Skills in 2-Year-Old Children
A new study in Frontiers of Pharmacology finds that antidepressant use during pregnancy is linked to reduced motor skills in children at 2 years...
Much of U.S. Healthcare Is Broken: How to Fix It (Chapter 2, Part 1)
Beginning the discussion on depression and antidepressant drugs. Are they as effective and safe as psychiatry claims?
Placebo EffectâNot AntidepressantsâResponsible for Depression Improvement
In adolescent depression treatment, those who received a placebo but thought they received Prozac improved more than those who received the drug and knew it.
Not Just a Dream: Finding the Mental Health Community Iâd Been Longing For
I dreamed of a place where healers werenât afraid of intense states like madness. They embraced it; maybe theyâd been through it themselves.
The Words That Stick Forever
I often think about how the situation could have played out, had that nurse and the doctor chosen kindness rather than aggression and impatience.
Therapy by Script Undermines Healing; Connection Is the Key
Healing from our deepest wounds comes through being in connection with people who cherish us and take us seriously.
Robert Whitaker Answers Reader Questions on Pharma Marketing and Psychiatric Drugs
In Part 2 of our reader Q&A podcast, MIA founder Robert Whitaker answers questions on pharmaceutical marketing and issues with psychiatric treatments including psychiatric drugs and electroconvulsive therapy.
Reimagining Crisis Support: A Conversation with Tina Minkowitz
The mental health system is always trying to get more resources for itself, insinuate itself into every aspect of life, subsuming every aspect of the fulfillment of human rights.
Much of U.S. Healthcare Is Broken: How to Fix It (Chapter 1, Part 3)
About healthcare's focus on back end treatment rather than front end treatment: treating the symptoms rather than the causes of the health condition.
Antipsychotics Lead to Worse Outcomes in First-Episode Psychosis
Those who did not get antipsychotics in the first month were almost twice as likely to be in recovery after five years.
