Nearly All ECT Recipients Report Negative Effects, Study Finds
A new international online survey published in the Journal of Affective Disorders gives voice to the lived experiences of people who have undergone electroconvulsive...
Mad in America’s 10 Most Popular Articles in 2025
A roundup of Mad in America's most read blogs and personal stories of 2025 as chosen by our readers.
In Defense of Instability in Mental Health Recovery
Limiting someone’s dreams based on a professional opinion of what is possible for people with serious mental illnesses is misguided at best.
Anti-inflammatory Drugs Fail for Depression
Response and remission rates failed to beat placebo in a new Harvard meta-analysis, throwing the inflammation hypothesis into question.
The Missing History of Children’s Mental Health in Oregon
It seems fitting that this history of mental health ends with Oregon’s attempt to grapple with the needs of children and families.
All in the Family: My Unlikely Connection To Nick, Rob and Michele Reiner
As a certified paranoid schizophrenic who inadvertently took my own mother’s life while going through my first major psychotic breakdown, I feel a great deal of empathy toward Nick Reiner.
The Gentrification of Social Work: Why a “Political Mental Health” Must be Public
It's hypocrisy to speak of equity and advocacy yet remain silent about the changes within that privilege affluent communities/professionals.
Addressing the Twofold Mental Health Crisis in New York City
The focus on crisis work displaces our attention and resources onto the symptomatic rather than the essential issues.
Childhood Trauma and Recent Stressors Rarely Addressed; ECT Given Instead
Mental health services force electroshock, rarely asking about causes like childhood adversities and recent stressors; few receive therapy.
Pills for Everyone: How Psychiatry Failed Me
The irony of antidepressants was that they were supposed to lift me out of depression, but they only dragged me down deeper.
We Must Stop the ADHD Prescribing Cascade, Not Perpetuate It
There is no scientific evidence base for routine use of multiple psychiatric drugs, particularly for children.
Learning to Soar: A Conversation With Artist Kev G Mor
Musician and artist Kev G Mor joins us to discuss his experience of psychosis, his daily support strategies, and the pros and cons of having a pit bull for emotional support.
Beyond Pleasure: A Developmental View of Addiction
Sometimes addiction has more to do with the ability to tolerate day-to-day life without the substance: self-regulation.
Antidepressant “Maintenance Treatment” Not Required: Slow Tapering with Support Works
Questions remain about best practices for discontinuation strategies, and the distinction between relapse and withdrawal was not defined.
New NEJM Perspective on Antidepressants and Pregnancy Misses the Mark
The NEJM opinion piece ignores basic science, common sense, and decades of research findings in making the case for SSRIs in pregnancy.
A Story of (Lack of) Self-Determination
Even geriatric patients who have limited cognitive abilities have the right to make their own health care decisions. Why should mental health patients have less?
Medication-Free Treatment in Norway Found Effective Over the Short Term
Those who received drug-tapering support did just as well or better than those receiving treatment as usual.
The APA Opposes Written Informed Consent for Veterans
The American Psychiatric Association and other prominent medical associations are lining up in opposition to proposed legislation that would require prescribers of psychiatric medication to obtain signed consent from veterans acknowledging the side effects and risks of psychiatric drugs.
How Mental Health Ideology Perpetuates a War on Emotions
Despite unprecedented access to therapy, medication, and novel treatments, mental health is deteriorating.
Psych Drugs Linked to Increased Risk of ALS
Psychiatric drugs linked to increased risk of the rare, incurable neurological disease that causes loss of motor function.
Connecticut’s Forced Electroshock Problem
Unpacking forced electroshock data obtained from the State of Connecticut Office of the Probate Court Administrator.
Faith in Oneself: How Adversity Made Me Anti-fragile
Post-traumatic growth doesn’t look like Superwoman. It’s simply the strength to endure.
I Declared Myself Jesus and Still Avoided the Psych Ward
I might still get a psychosis, but it was short-lived and I am not feeling down, or overdosed by psychiatric drugs.
The Damage Doesn’t End When the Drugs Do: Diana Rose on Psychiatry’s Long Shadow
Ayurdhi Dhar interviews survivor-researcher Diana Rose on her long-term adverse experiences from psychiatric drugs, survivor knowledge, and the humiliations built into the system.
We Need a Culture That Embraces Emotion Instead of Numbing It
Medicating depression and anxiety does nothing to address their root cause. SSRIs clear away the smoke without putting out the flame.
