Category Archives: making sense of “mental illlness”

got a diagnsis? trying to make sense of what it means?
A diagnosis can be a good place to start understanding – it might even be enough for you.

For most of us it is not the end but the start of making our own sense of what is happening in our life and what we can do about it.

Schizophrenia: A Recovery – Jonathan Benjamin


Jonathan Benjamin describes his experience falling into mental illness, with depression,  hearing voices, thinking he was being visited by an angel then possessed by a devil, of self-harming, diagnosis, diagnoses, feeling numbed by medications; hopelessness; suicide – arrest, being sectioned and psychiatric discharge. He … Continue reading

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Anti-depressants doing more harm than good: Study


Article in NY Daily News about a report (another one) from a study at a Canadian University – McMasters – that says that not only do SSRIs – or as the marketers like us to call them “atypical antidepressants” [lest we  confuse … Continue reading

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Childhood Sexual Abuse May Be Important Cause Of Schizophrenia, UK


More research adding to the body of evidence showing the connection between difficult life experiences and “mental illness”.   This one focusses on the connection between child abuse and what gets diagnosed as “schizophrenia”. There is now a lot of evidence like this and not … Continue reading

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Clara Hughes on Strombo


Clara Hughes talks with George Stroumboulopoulos . “It’s ok to be human.” Related articles Clara Hughes on Q (recoverynetworktoronto.wordpress.com)

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Inquiry into the ‘Schizophrenia’ Label


Inquiry into the ‘Schizophrenia’ Label An independent Inquiry into the ‘Schizophrenia’ Label has been launched on 16th April 2012 by a group of organisations and individuals concerned about the meaning and usefulness of ‘schizophrenia’ and similar labels such as ‘psychosis’. … Continue reading

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Schizophrenia: 100 years of bad treatment


A great piece from Sept 2011 in the lead up to the unhappy 100th anniversary of the coining of the term “schizophrenia”. The article offers a wee glimpse into the dark history of how psychiatry and wider society has treated the … Continue reading

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psych drugs not the best option for people at risk of psychosis


Report in UK Guardian of a new research study first published by the British Medical Journal…. The study demonstrates that current antipsychotic-first approaches typically used in early intervention programmes are no more effective than other “benign” therapies and that, anyhoo, the numbers of people identified … Continue reading

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Paxil Withdrawal: A Mother Speaks


Laurie York kicks butt Here Laurie she talks to an ISEPP conference  of the experience ,  regretably all too common, that followed after her son fell ill and they sought medical advice: 10 minute exam, prescription for  drugs , seeming improvement followed … Continue reading

Posted in anatomy of an epidemic, anxiety, coming off meds, compulsive behaviours, depression, medication madness, obssessve thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dr David Healy – bad medicine


TVO The Agenda Steve Paikin Interview with Dr David Healy 12: 45min in  the final minute … “Anti- depressants are an enormously useful class of drugs ….. “ “the problem is these medicines come with risks – when you have a … Continue reading

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depressed over anti-depressants


TVO The Agenda  Aired: Mar 12 2012 Steve Paiken with… Dr David Healy University of Cardiff Dr Kwame McKenzie Senior Scientist and Psychiatrist, CAMH Roger McIntyre -Head of Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology at UHN Edward Shorter Prof. Histry of Medicine at … Continue reading

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