Trans Lifeline: Naming Trans-Specific Harm in Mental Health
Interim Hotline Manager Jahmil Roberts and Advocacy Director Yana Calou from the Trans Lifeline work towards connecting trans people to the community support and resources they need to survive and thrive - free of prisons and police
Mad by Design: An Ancient Paradigm of Psychiatric Thought
To propose that madness may have a function is not to deny the toll it may exact on people, but to help us understand what problem it is meant to solve.
Did Psychiatry Ever Endorse the Chemical Imbalance Theory of Depression?
With the chemical imbalance theory falling out of fashion, researchers examine the claim that psychiatry never truly endorsed it.
Thomas Insel and the Future of the Mental Health System
Insel says he has the answerāthe same emphasis on neuroscience and genetics, which he admits led to no improvements under his leadership at NIMH.
Antidepressants Do Not Improve Quality of Life
A new study found that taking antidepressants did not improve quality of life.
A Tribute to Dr. Dean K. Brooks: The Fire Still Burns
Stories of a state hospital leader who challenged the mental health system by placing patients as the most important people: Dr. Dean K. Brooks of Oregon State Hospital.
Eugenics, Lobotomy, Risperidone: “Science” Gone Awry
The worst thing about psychiatry is how it convinces your family to do things that they think are correct, which ultimately gets them to participate in harming you.
Ending Coercive āHelpā: A Review of “Reimagining Crisis Support”
The book presents a thoughtful, comprehensive plan for replacing the current coercive medical model of crisis āsupportā with something that actually helps.
The Song of Psychiatry: The Impact of Language
I want to share the journey I took to find a new language, a new story, around my experiences and how that journey impacted my survival.
An American History of Addiction, Part 10: My Strange Path to Recovery
Every drinking āexperimentā I performed was already tainted. Every time I would try, I became angry and resentful, feeling like I had been tricked into joining a cult.
Patient Reports Reveal SSRI Antidepressants Often Lead to Emotional Blunting
According to patient reports, SSRI antidepressants most frequently lead to the subjective experience of emotional blunting.
An American History of Addiction, Part 9: How I Became an āAddictā
My current allotment of Xanax had just run out, and I remembered feeling the last dose wearing off. My heart had started racing and I had become fidgety.
Books Under Review: Spring 2022
Reviews of four recent books reflecting various perspectives on the mental health system.
From Labeled to Healer: A Road Less Traveled
We have let down our children (and ourselves) by losing touch with parental intuition and handing their care over to professionals at the first sign of a problem.
Apples and Oranges in Peer Support Research
Discussing a meta-analysis on the effectiveness of peer support: The co-opting of peer support specialists into roles that donāt fit with their purpose is a big problem.
Psych Concepts Creep Into Our Everyday Experiences: An Interview with Nicholas Haslam
MIAās Ayurdhi Dhar interviews Nicholas Haslam about how psychiatric terms get diluted and creep into everyday language, altering our experiences.
Saving Lives or Cementing Stigma? A Review of “Just Like You…”
In my experience, episodes of anxiety and depression dwindle in the face of hope and empowerment, while broken-brain narratives lead to deeper despair.
Mad in (S)pain
A Q&A with the team members who edit and run Mad in (S)pain: "There must be a radical change in the way mental suffering is understood and cared for."
Psychiatric Drugs Increase Dementia Risk Threefold After COVID in 65+ Population
Hospitalized COVID patients over 65 were three times as likely to receive a dementia diagnosis if they took psychiatric drugs.
Interview with Sonja Styblo: Update on the Massachusetts Benzo Bill
Styblo discusses the history of the Benzodiazepine Bill, its current status, the purpose of the legislation, and why she and others have so vigorously pursued this legislation.
The Observation Room
Class war between the haves and have nots is nowhere more evident than in a psychiatric ward. Dissidence becomes both a disease and a crime where cure is indistinguishable from punishment.
The Dramatic Results of John Weir Perryās Diabasis House Program
John Weir Perryās Diabasis House Program both built on and exceeded Jungās previous understanding of psychosis.
The Impact the DSM Has Had On All of Us: An interview with Sarah...
"You're not going to sell many drugs by saying your problem is your life experiences. It's far more effective to say your problem is in the brain. It's an imbalance, we can correct that imbalance, just take our product."
Many Service Users Interested in Decreasing Antipsychotic Use with Professional Help
New research examines service user attitudes on discontinuing and reducing antipsychotic drugs.
The Grief Pill is Coming!
If you yearn or pine too long for your dead child, partner, spouse, or friend, you may be addicted to grief, according to the new revision of the DSM.
