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There’s an interesting article in the June 2014 issue of the Journal of ECT. It’s written by Max Fink, MD, and is titled Celebrating 80 Years of Inducing Brain Seizures as Psychiatric Treatment. Dr. Fink is a psychiatrist and neurologist, and professor emeritus of psychiatry and neurology at the State University of New York, Stony Brook. The article is short (approximately 400 words), and is essentially a tribute to Ladislas Meduna for his discovery “…that induced seizures alleviated severe psychiatric disorders…”, which Dr. Fink describes as “…a remarkable medical advance…” ...

On August 15, 2014, McGill-Queens University Press published Psychiatry Disrupted: Theorizing Resistance and Crafting the (R)evolution. The work is a collection of papers by various authors, edited by Bonnie Burstow, Brenda A. LeFrançois, and Shaindl Diamond. There is a Foreword by Paula Caplan, and a Preface by Kate Millett. It is no secret that there is growing opposition to psychiatry. No longer marginalized and ignored, as in former decades, anti-psychiatry writers are proclaiming psychiatry’s spurious and destructive nature in a wide range of venues. Even the mainstream media is taking tentative steps in our direction. ...

To sue or not to sue. I welcome any thoughts . . . lay and/or psych opinions about the following matter. Most of the following was taken from a statement written by the patient’s daughter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . my mother and I took my father to the emergency room at Hospital due to concerns regarding his diabetes. He had not taken his insulin for several days and was having uncharacteristic confusion along with large thirst for water . . . when the woman who checked us in learned that he was diabetic, he was checked in and taken immediately to one of the rooms. My mother and I accompanied him. . . . a nurse took his blood sugar and measured it to be 485, which she said “wasn’t bad.” While in the emergency room, he continued to behave strangely, but seemed to be in good spirits. He was in good spirits and conversed with several members of staff and told them that someday he would be on TV. ...

On August 20, 2014, Psychiatry Advisor published an article on its website. The article was written by Leslie Citrome, MD, a professor of psychiatry at New York Medical College in Valhalla, NY, and a member of the Board of Directors of the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology. The article is called Is Bias Against Pharma-Funded Research Fair? This is an interesting title, because bias, by its very definition, is unfair. So the very wording of the question begs the question – which strikes me as unfair. But let’s put that aside. ...

I’ve recently read Stigma and mental health problems: why psychiatric professionals are the main culprits, by Gary Sidley, PhD. You can find it on his website. It’s a concise, accurate, and compelling account of how psychiatry stigmatizes its clients. This is a particularly important topic, in that psychiatrists routinely assert that it is we mental illness deniers and critics who create the stigma. Gary distinguishes public stigma (negative evaluation by the public), and self stigma, which arises when mental health clients accept these negative evaluations and begin to undervalue themselves. ...

I have had a severe depression since I was in high school. I’ve never had a bad life. I have had heart break and not very many good friends. I lost my virginity to a guy after three dates at 21. and i don’t love him or anyone else right now. I dont’ want to talk to him. I don’t want to see him again. I don’t want to have sex again. I’ve been raped in another country, in that i was so freakin drunk that i was about to have sex on a bench, but ,managed to get up and wlak away and he let me. Now, I drink and i feel the need to cut myself. I feel so alone, so scared of this feeling inside me and so embarrassed. I thought i had overcome this in my depression \but my leg is cut up and my hands and i don’t know where else to turn. I don’t want help from ‘professionals’. I got drunk one time and threatened to kill myself. I got beaten by the police and taken to the hospital. The next day i feel fine, and i know i should stop drinking, but I’m 21 and I JUST WANT TO BE NORMAL. It hurts me to know this is inside me and i hate it. The blood fades but the scars never do, and they’re on show for everyone who looks. What then? How do i explain this to other people? My shame, my skin, my depression? I do love my life and i always think that i make this great big progressions in my depression, yet here i am, cutting myself. Is it my subconscious telling me no i’m not okay or is it my depression acting out against my own happiness. Every time that i try to go out with friends, soomething happens to make them cancel, or not be able too. And here i am, cutting myself because i dont’ think that no one loves me because i’m worthless, fat, ugly, not fun, depressing, needy, scary, boring. Whatever. I’m alone, and they don’t see it. If they did, they probably wouldn’t even want to be around me or associated. I hate myself, because no one else seems to like me. I miss having fun and being surrounded by people. ...

There’s an interesting article in the current issue of the National Psychologist written by David Kirschner, PhD, a New York psychologist. The National Psychologist is a newspaper-type magazine that publishes articles of general interest to psychologists and others working in this field. Most issues contain a mix of opinion pieces, news, changes in government regulations, etc… Dr. Kirschner’s article is titled Mass shooters received only limited treatment. Here are some quotes: ...

On August 19, 2014, the Annals of Internal Medicine published a paper titled Atypical Antipsychotic Drugs and the Risk for Acute Kidney Injury [AKI] and Other Adverse Outcomes in Older Adults. The authors were Joseph Hwang et al, and the study was conducted at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences in Ontario, Canada. The primary funding source was the Academic Medical Organization of Southwestern Ontario. The principal investigator was Amit X. Garg, MD, PhD, a kidney specialist at the London Health Science Center and the London Kidney Clinical Research Unit in Ontario, Canada. ...

My name is vishalatchi arunagiri, I am a 22 year old girl diagnosed with a learning disability and schizophrenia. I am now recovering very well and have written many articles and published a book online. I am now forming my own meetup group. During the illness i was sleeping and studying makeup which helped me and i started making progress in focusing. ...

I recently read Peter Kinderman’s new book, A Prescription for Psychiatry, which was published on September 3 by Palgrave Macmillan. The overall message of the work is captured nicely in the subtitle: Why We Need a Whole New Approach to Mental Health and Wellbeing. Dr. Kinderman is Professor of Clinical Psychology, Head of the Institute of Psychology, Health and Society at the University of Liverpool, and an honorary Consultant Clinical Psychologist with Mersey Care NHS Trust in the UK. ...