mental health, psychiatry, and friends 💊 🩺

Some people, especially those who are autistic, dohave a flat emotional affect, do rely on scripts and do have a clear-cut sense of justice which leads them to cut off those who transgress it. When we talk about these traits as inhuman and robotic, what are we implying about the people who display them? The impulse to be unapologetic about... See more

IFS illuminates the mind's landscape as a mosaic of distinct parts, each with its own voice, identity, and role to play. This concept resonates with our daily experiences; we often catch ourselves saying, "A part of me wants this, but another part of me wants that." Addiction can amplify this internal dialogue, making it feel like an alien force... See more

At the core of it seems to be a belief that you - the patient, the self-healer, the consumer - are not the problem, and everyone else is toxic, or a narcissist, or an abuser. You are just vibrating at a higher frequency than they are. Everyone is out to get you. Crucially, the customer is always right.

Many scientific theories assume constructs that are not directly observable (muons, genetic drift) but whose existence is inferred. In mental health research, psychiatric diagnoses play such a role. We assume that constructs, such as schizophrenia or alcohol use disorder, exist but we can only observe the signs, symptoms, and course of illness that... See more

The search for root causes often means a life event that has triggered the mental disorder. When I hear people talk about root causes, it usually means they are not happy with a biological explanation and want something more psychological, more meaningful, more profound.

In clinical practice, this is tricky though - we can rarely, if ever, put our... See more

There is only so much powerlessness, so much indignity in the mounting pressure that people can tolerate, and God, family values, or appeals to a mythical utopian past quite frankly are not going to change a single concrete thing for them. Resorting to the dopamine rush of endless scrolling, or to the sticking-plaster medical intervention of SSRIs,... See more

Studies have shown promise in treating Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s with GLP-1 drugs, perhaps by regulating insulin levels and reducing inflammation, and the drugs may yet prove useful in treating many other conditions made worse by chronic inflammation. Some studies have found large decreases in the risk of depression and anxiety; others found... See more

Szaszians hold on to a fantasy where an objective definition of “disorder” not only exists, but it also successfully covers recognized disorders in general medicine while conveniently excluding mental illnesses as faux-disorders. Szaszians also commit themselves to some version of the idea that medical authority only applies to genuine disorders,... See more

Also, psychedelics have a fundamental discordance with allopathic research which can never be overcome. The placebo problem is unsolvable. And these medicines are customarily adjacent to non-directive therapy, and ongoing integration. We'll never be able to quantify those things in a trial format the same we we can for a blood pressure pill.... See more