I share many of the same reservations about Szasz that Ron Unger articulates so well, but likewise remain very sensible to the incredible impact of his life and legacy. In this respect I really appreciate Professor Fontaine’s work on this article – it’s erudite, bold, creative and exactly the right side of provocative! It’s always a pleasure to see these types of pieces on MiA, and is what contributes to making the website so special.
“Independence Day from psychiatry” – I love that. Thanks for such a smart, powerful and thought-provoking comment. This would make a terrific blog post in its own right.
Thanks for your question Alexa. I haven’t been criticised for it (yet!) but it is something I’m asked about a lot, and people tend to be surprised when they find out I haven’t taken ‘anti-psychotics’ for nearly 10 years. When talking about medication, I emphasize the importance of personal, informed choice for deciding to take it, but also what I see as the latent risks of using it as a permanent substitute for more active ways of coping with distress. In my own situation, it was integrating, tolerating, and understanding painful emotions (and the ways these were represented by the voices) that made my recovery possible, and this wasn’t something medication could achieve. I suspect that even if medication had got rid of my voices (which it definitely didn’t!), the difficulties would have just manifested in a different way.
Thank you so much everyone for the warm welcome and positive feedback – it’s put a big smile on my face! I’m really looking forward to getting much more involved with the site as soon as I get my thesis out the way…
There are some fantastic reflections and perspectives in this comment section in terms of moving psychiatry forward (no surprise there!). If people have time, it would be great if you would consider re-posting parts of them under the talk on TED.com so as many people as possible can benefit from this wisdom.
Thank you Ron, it’s really great to be here. And thanks also for being one of the earliest promoters and endorsers of the London TED talk – the initial support made all the difference in getting to California!
I share many of the same reservations about Szasz that Ron Unger articulates so well, but likewise remain very sensible to the incredible impact of his life and legacy. In this respect I really appreciate Professor Fontaine’s work on this article – it’s erudite, bold, creative and exactly the right side of provocative! It’s always a pleasure to see these types of pieces on MiA, and is what contributes to making the website so special.
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“Independence Day from psychiatry” – I love that. Thanks for such a smart, powerful and thought-provoking comment. This would make a terrific blog post in its own right.
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Thanks for your question Alexa. I haven’t been criticised for it (yet!) but it is something I’m asked about a lot, and people tend to be surprised when they find out I haven’t taken ‘anti-psychotics’ for nearly 10 years. When talking about medication, I emphasize the importance of personal, informed choice for deciding to take it, but also what I see as the latent risks of using it as a permanent substitute for more active ways of coping with distress. In my own situation, it was integrating, tolerating, and understanding painful emotions (and the ways these were represented by the voices) that made my recovery possible, and this wasn’t something medication could achieve. I suspect that even if medication had got rid of my voices (which it definitely didn’t!), the difficulties would have just manifested in a different way.
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Sorry, I’m not familiar with that term. Do you mean someone else (like a parent or therapist) dialoguing with the person’s voice(s)?
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Thank you so much everyone for the warm welcome and positive feedback – it’s put a big smile on my face! I’m really looking forward to getting much more involved with the site as soon as I get my thesis out the way…
There are some fantastic reflections and perspectives in this comment section in terms of moving psychiatry forward (no surprise there!). If people have time, it would be great if you would consider re-posting parts of them under the talk on TED.com so as many people as possible can benefit from this wisdom.
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Thank you Ron, it’s really great to be here. And thanks also for being one of the earliest promoters and endorsers of the London TED talk – the initial support made all the difference in getting to California!
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Many thanks Sean!
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