Eat For Life Podcast: The Hidden Harms of Antidepressants with Robert Whitaker
From Eat For Life: As one of the first children to be put on Prozac, this is an important and personal episode for me, as depression and mental illness continue to rise despite all the drugs available today to treat them.
Number Needed to Treat with a Psychiatric Drug to Benefit One Patient Is an...
The number needed to treat with a psychiatric drug to benefit one patient is largely an illusion, because more patients are harmed than receive a benefit.
The Schizophrenia Genetics Illusion—A Century of Failure and Hype
This is the schizophrenia game. It has been played for over a century, and it’s time to stop.
Animals Exposed to Antidepressants in Utero Are Worse at Taking Care of Their Own...
A new study in rats found that those exposed to antidepressants in utero had an impaired ability to nurture their own children in later life.
Authenticity Can Heal Trauma | Gabor Maté, MD
From How To Academy: What happens if, for the sake of fitting in with the family or culture, we have to give up our connection to ourselves, our authenticity, for the sake of attachment?
AI Has Already Taken Over. It’s Called the Corporation
From Resilience/Jeremy Lent: Futurists warning about the threats of AI are looking in the wrong place. Humanity is already facing an existential threat from an artificial intelligence we created hundreds of years ago.
And Now They Are Coming for the Unhoused: The Long Push to Expand Involuntary...
Mayor Adams' plan to "involuntarily remove" unhoused people has met with backlash from activists and the unhoused, who say it violates their rights and further entrenches systemic racism.
What’s Happening in Mental Health Services? | Asylum Magazine
From Asylum Magazine: Perhaps we need to spend less energy arguing about 'models' of mental health care and turn our attention to challenging the abuse of power.
On the Brink of Psychosis
Most available narratives are sad stories centred around the aspect of a disease, or terrifying tales about psychiatric treatment. But what if there is also something in between?
Echando Pa’Lante Podcast: Esperanza, Coloniaje y Puerto Rico w/ JosĂ© Luiggi-Hernández
From Echando Pa'Lante: MIA science writer José Luiggi-Hernández discusses his recently published chapter "The Experience of Hope Within the Puerto Rican Colonial Context" and the debate in Puerto Rico about Puerto Rican "resilience."
Adults Treated for ADHD Report Low Quality of Life
Adults receiving ADHD medications and therapy frequently experience adverse events that interfere with employment and daily life.
The Online Therapy Bubble Is Bursting
From TIME: Many of the mental health startups that popped up or thrived during the pandemic are being scrutinized for prioritizing growth above all else—a common mentality among tech startups.
Rights Groups Rip NYC Mayor Over Forced ‘Hospitalizations’ for ‘Mental Illness’
From Common Dreams: "The decades-old practice of sweeping deep-seated problems out of public view may play well for the politicians, but the problems will persist—for vulnerable people...and for [other] New Yorkers," said the head of the NYCLU.
Why Highly Sensitive People Can (and Should) Trust Their Hearts — And Use Their...
From Highly Sensitive Refuge: Highly sensitive people have important perspectives to contribute to society. They must protect their process, especially when the world doesn’t.
Could the Blackfoot Wisdom That Inspired Maslow Guide Us Now?
From GatherFor/Medium: At the Blackfoot Reserve, "Maslow saw a place where what he would later call self-actualization was the norm," said researcher Ryan Heavy Head. This observation "totally changed his trajectory."
Still Looking For Answers
What is happening in my body? And has being on medication caused long-term side effects or damage? I’ll forever be searching for answers; I want to feel “normal” again and live a life of enjoyment vs fear and anxiety.
How Hospice Became a For-Profit Hustle
From The New Yorker: Hospice has evolved from a constellation of charities, mostly reliant on volunteers, into a twenty-two-billion-dollar juggernaut funded by taxpayers and rife with exploitation.
The Mental Health Industry Speaks Volumes About Our Society’s Priorities
An educated public has a much better chance of advocating from the grassroots for safe and effective treatments in the face of a pharmaceutical industry more interested in profits than people.
How Big Pharma Hijacked Patient Groups
From The Breach: Once a vibrant grassroots social movement, patient groups have become a powerful cluster of corporate-influenced organizations, with leaders whose values, beliefs and ties align more closely with the private sector than the public interest.Â
Gradual Tapering Recommended for Antidepressant Discontinuation
A new literature review reinforces the need to “down-titrate” or taper antidepressants, especially drugs like Celexa and Paxil.
New York City Will ‘Hospitalize’ More ‘Mentally Ill’ People Involuntarily
From The New York Times: "The common misunderstanding persists that we cannot provide involuntary 'assistance' unless the person is violent," said Mayor Eric Adams. "This myth must be put to rest."
The Tyranny of the Prefrontal Cortex
From Jeremy Lent: There is an overriding dynamic driving all the imbalances in our lives. Acknowledging it is the first step toward achieving re-harmonization within our individual and collective consciousness.
Books Under Review: Fall 2022
Reviews of three recent books reflecting various perspectives on the mental health system.
The Tapering Team: “Medications: Where Do We Stand in Psychiatry?”
From Underground Psychiatry: "The insurance companies, the patients, and the doctors are addicted to the tablets. So we are all stuck in the system. And only if you put the health of the patient as the purpose of your treatment, then you can change it.” ~ Pharmacist Paul Harder
Art and Transformation: Creating Justice in Mental Health
An upcoming conference focuses on the perspective of artists and activists in answering what it means to have a just mental health care system: Who decides who is labelled as mad?
