Police Violence Victims at Increased Risk of Psychotic Symptoms

19
Researchers examine links between police victimization and psychotic symptoms in a topical new study.
brain

Psychiatry: The Brain is a Malignant Tumor!

38
We have persistently failed in trying to influence psychiatry with scientific argument because we view the brain as normal and they think it is a cancer. Imagine how weird it must seem to them: We are talking about an organ inside our heads that we treasure, and they are peering at it the way a surgeon studies a neuroblastoma.
antipsychotic

Duration of Untreated Psychosis Revisited: Response to the Goff Paper

66
Based on the studies cited, it seems hard to support the assertion that “early initiation of antipsychotics may improve long-term course of the illness.” This raises an urgent question about initial treatment. Doesn’t it make sense to try to capture all of those individuals who might get through a psychosis without drugs?

Rigorous Study Finds Antidepressants Worsen Long-Term Outcomes

37
A new study conducted by Jeffrey Vittengl at Truman University has found that taking antidepressant medications resulted in more severe depression symptoms after nine years.
animal research

The State of Animal Psychiatric Research

22
Since animal research is the foundation for moving on to clinical trials despite its poor quality, it is likely that this leads to many superfluous trials in humans based on false hopes. This leaves a risk of adverse events for the participants in the trials, and subsequently the patients.

Study Examines Overdiagnosis of Mental Health Disorders in Childhood

8
Are diagnoses of mental disorders among children and adolescents in developed countries disproportionate to disease prevalence trends?
mushrooms

To See An Atom: Psychosis and Ecology

12
Having smelled colors, heard ghosts, grown ecstatic, glimpsed Gaia, chatted with cartoons, and been overwhelmed by persistent paranoia and fear while under the influence of LSD, a modified fungus, I cannot distinguish how such plant-induced experiences differ from what psychiatrists call psychosis.

World Mental Health Day 2017: Challenging the Messages – A Call to Action

23
If we can have a presence and visibility, this could be life-changing for individuals with no current access to the bigger truths about psychiatric theory and practice. So let's infiltrate and disrupt the hashtags #WMHD2017 #worldmentalhealthday and share messages of hope, healing, validation and solidarity!

In Memoriam: Matt Stevenson

210
MIA blogger Matt Stevenson, who was best known to the MIA community for his frequent—and insightful—comments on MIA posts, died last Thursday. He took his own life, at age 32. His last message was this: Don't let a psychiatric diagnosis rob you of your hope.

Researchers Question Add-On Treatment for ‘Schizophrenia’

12
A common practice when antipsychotics are found to be ineffective for schizophrenia is to prescribe a second, additional psychoactive medication. Now, a new study suggests that this practice is not supported by the research.
Michelle Carter

Michelle Carter Part IV: Did She Tell Conrad to “Get back in the truck”?

13
There is no text, transcript or recording that demonstrates that Michelle ever said anything to Conrad about getting back in the truck to die. The DA’s entire case is based upon the “confession” of an irrational girl on antidepressants who has been trying to communicate with her boyfriend in heaven via phone.

Some Thoughts About Conferences

129
Without judging the motivation of people presenting and speaking at conferences, I’d like to ask the question: can we achieve more with these conferences than generating knowledge and touching people's hearts? Are we preparing the ground for change or are we marking time?

Human Right to Health – More than Economic Justice

53
Something is lost, a great deal is lost, when we give up an independent advocacy platform about our own bodies and subsume our needs and rights into what medical professionals are motivated to fight for on our behalf.

Call to Action: MA Bill H.3594 for Informed Benzodiazepine Use

26
This proposed legislation would require practitioners to obtain written informed consent regarding risk of dependency and addiction and risks associated with long-term use. It would also mandate warning labels concerning long-term use.

Our Letter to Lancet Psychiatry

7
This is the cover letter that Mad in America Foundation sent to Niall Boyce, editor of Lancet Psychiatry, requesting that the journal retract Martine Hoogman's study of "subcortical brain volumes" in those diagnosed with ADHD.

Study Explores Cognitive Effects of Antipsychotics

15
Reduced usage of antipsychotics in first-episode psychosis was associated with improved executive functioning.

Anti-Authoritarian Options for Suicidal Anti-Authoritarians

21
Many teenagers and young adults (the group for whom suicide is the second leading cause of death) are anti-authoritarians. For them, the idea that they're experiencing a crisis of self rather than a mental illness can reduce their pain, increase their hope and open them up for dialogue.

Letter to my Classmates on our 40th Reunion

14
It is hard for me to feel celebratory on the occasion of our 40th reunion. As my career winds down, I feel more disappointment and dismay than the glow of lifelong achievement.
Mickey Nardo (photo by Abby Nardo)

Farewell Mickey Nardo, 1 (not very) Boring Old Man

31
Mickey studied how the intimacy between leading academic psychiatrists and the pharmaceutical companies had impacted our profession. His blog was a treasure trove of analysis and information. Mickey did some heavy lifting, and for that we are all indebted.

7 Years Off Psych Drugs: A Message to Those Labeled by Psychiatry (video)

19
Seven years ago, I completed a six-year process of withdrawing from six psychiatric drugs. That process was the impetus to start speaking up about what is happening in psychiatry with far too many of us being gravely harmed.

Sir Robin Murray and Our Collective Mea Culpa

40
Sir Robin Murray, a distinguished British professor of psychiatry, recently published a paper in Schizophrenia Bulletin titled, “Mistakes I Have Made in My Research Career.” I wonder what leads Robin Murray to acknowledge his mistakes when others seem to hunker down. I also wonder how I can know when I am misled in my assumptions.

Treating Metabolic Conditions May Resolve Some Depressive Symptoms

6
New research suggests that treatable metabolic abnormalities underlie some treatment-resistant cases of depression—and treating the metabolic condition has the possibility of dramatically reducing depressive symptoms

Pioneering New Zealand Antipsychotic Medication Study Focuses on Patient Experiences

17
Miriam Larsen-Barr's study is the largest to date on the subjective experiences of antipsychotic withdrawal, and the first to explore how people who have successfully stopped antipsychotics are able to maintain their well-being.

Carrie Fisher, Bipolar Disorder, and the Spread of False Information

213
As a child of the 80s, I had a childhood dream of growing up to be Princess Leia, and — of course — marrying Han Solo. What I did not dream of was fighting an empire that seems only to grow over time, and with no Harrison Ford by my side to make it all better. The death of Carrie Fisher is heartbreaking; the news coverage of her life and suffering is a tragedy.

Carrie Fisher: Bipolar Meds and Heart Disease

478
Carrie Fisher recently died of a heart attack at age 60. How likely was it that her heart attack was caused by her psych meds? Or that her psych meds increased her risk of death once the heart attack happened?