She Was Headed to a Locked Psych Ward. Then an ER Doctor Made a...
From The Washington Post: "It’s a cautionary tale," said neurosurgeon Ray M. Chu. "People get pigeonholed" if they have a psychiatric diagnosis.
Fear and Loathing in the ECT Debate
Proponents of ECT have resorted to ad hominem attacks and rude language in addition to reiterating the same tired points over and over. John Read responds.
Regulators Are Approving Drugs Without Clear Evidence That They Work
Drug regulators frequently approve drugs despite contradictory clinical trial results and without evidence of clinical benefits.
How Providers Can Support Psychiatric Drug Discontinuation
Supportive patient-practitioner relationships are crucial to the successful discontinuation of psychiatric medication.
Nature Is Healing: Some Canadian Doctors to Prescribe National Parks Passes to Patients
From National Parks Traveler: Evidence shows the health benefits of nature time range from better immune function and life expectancy to reduced risk of heart disease, depression and anxiety.
Mad in Norway
"People are getting some faith back. People are getting some hope, and they are finding each other, and we are building this community of people who want a change."
Fairness, Justice, and Childhood Trauma | Daniel Mackler
From Daniel Mackler/Wild Truth: Unresolved trauma tends to twist people's sense of fairness and justice because they lose perspective on where they are and who they are in relation to other people.
Susan Inman Is at It Again
Veterans of our mental health system know that seeking voluntary care is dangerous. We will organize and find our voice. People like Ms. Inman need to get out of our way.
Are You ‘Mentally Ill,’ or Very Unhappy? Psychiatrists Can’t Agree
From The New Statesman: As rates of diagnosis rise, a fierce debate rages in psychiatry. Are we experiencing a parallel pandemic, or having a rational response to a traumatic world?
The Danger of Marginalizing People
Instead of increasing understanding of our differences, the mental health system contributes to the marginalization of people it classifies as mentally ill.
Lithium, Antidepressants, Esketamine—All No Better Than Placebo?
Peter Simons covers a clinical trial that found lithium ineffective at preventing suicide attempts, an essay by Allen Frances on the overdiagnosis of depression and overprescription of antidepressants, a review of the ineffectiveness and dangers of antidepressants, and an analysis that revealed that esketamine failed five of its six clinical trials.
When Meds Taken “As Prescribed” Still Cause Harm
From Lown Institute: The upcoming documentary "As Prescribed" shares the stories of people in all stages of benzo withdrawal and the massive impact benzos have had on their physical, social, and financial health.
Why Is Psychiatry So Defensive About Criticism? Part 2
The definition of "mental illness" is not elusive. The "philosophical difficulties" in the notion of "mental illness" are obfuscations by psychiatrists.
New Lancet Commission Looks at the Medicalization of Death
From Lown Institute: "How people die has changed dramatically over the past 60 years, from a family event with occasional medical support, to a medical event with limited family support." ~ Libby Sallnow, co-chair, Lancet Commission on the Value of Death
Consternation of the Bees
How do we get back to the place where bees know how to hive, where unstressed mothers teach each other to breast feed, stop and rock and to discipline gently? Where artists are heard?
As Conservatorship Abuse Gains More Attention, More Activists Speak Out Against It
From The Daily Kos: "Saying that you’re going to remove someone’s rights in order to protect them doesn’t make any sense," said activist Marian Kornicki. "People need support, but you don’t remove their rights to do that."
Mad in Brasil
As is true of all Mad in America affiliates, Mad in Brasil want to see a transformation of the current drug-based paradigm of care, says Fernando de Freitas, psychologist and co-creator of the site.
Inside a Forensic Psychiatry Unit: Earning the Right to Sleep on the Floor
Life in the DC was far too complicated for me to be able to just listen to my body and sleep on a thick yoga mat placed on the floor to alleviate my severe back pain.
The 7 Biggest Problems Facing Science, According to 270 Scientists
From Vox: In recent years, many scientists have become afflicted with a serious case of doubt — doubt in the very institution of science.
Break Down. Wake Up. podcast – 012 – Listening to her Whole Self…Even the...
How coming to terms with her own relationship doubt and a part of herself she did not want to see brought an executive coach deep compassion for herself and others.
Michael Hengartner – Evidence-biased Antidepressant Prescription
We talk with Dr. Michael Hengartner about his new book which addresses the overprescribing of antidepressant drugs and critically examines the scientific evidence on their efficacy and safety.
Mother of 11-Year-Old Who Died by Suicide Sues Social Media Firms Meta, Snap
From The Washington Post: The lawsuit alleges Selena Rodriguez’s suicide was "caused by the defective design, negligence and unreasonably dangerous features of their products," the Social Media Victims Law Center said in a statement.
The New DSM Is Coming and That Isn’t Good News
Binge Eating Disorder is one of many invalid diagnoses we’ll continue to receive as a result of the APA’s failure to correct the mistakes of past versions of the DSM.
Shifting Away from ECT and Antidepressants for Depression
Researchers argue that we need a paradigm shift away from the biomedical model of mental illness to one informed by political action and common sense.
Crisis Text Line Shares Data With For-Profit Spinoff, Raising Ethical Questions
From Politico: While the hotline says the data it shares is "anonymized," ethics experts and some volunteers are raising concerns about users' lack of meaningful consent.
