I’ve started another blog called Basic research on the self. My intention is to write there about the social and cultural history of the self, aided by insights from sociology, anthropology, philosophy and psychology (especially critical psychology). This is a subject that relates to a number of topics I’ve written about here. A while back… Read more
Search Results for: psychopharma
On healthism, the social determinants of health, conformity, & embracing the abnormal: (3) Connections
~ Conformity and corporatism: Surgically altering one’s appearance (e.g., designer feet) presumably increases one’s chance of success in a society that commodifies bodies (i.e., in a society where salary, career advancement, social status and marriage prospects are influenced by appearance). Altering one’s personality with psychopharmaceuticals allows one to project the qualities necessary for success in a highly competitive society. Read more
On healthism, the social determinants of health, conformity, & embracing the abnormal: (1) Bodies, minds & medicine
It’s always hard to be sure about these things, but I think the reason I decided to take a ‘sabbatical’ from blogging last July was that I was interested in too many seemingly unrelated topics. Writing about all of them left me feeling like I never got to the ‘meat’ of any one of them. And I couldn’t convince myself to focus on just one or two things, since that would mean abandoning the others, which I was unwilling to do. Read more
Recommended (online) reading
I’m still on “sabbatical.” Mostly reading. Thinking about what I most want to write about. I know what my interests are — the problem is, I have too many. Meanwhile, here are some blogs I enjoy reading. Read more
Overdiagnosed and overprotected children
We have to really listen and think about why a child is telling us something. The behaviour of children and young people is fundamental to a well-functioning society, because they can tell us what is going on more honestly than we tell ourselves. Read more
Should psychiatrists go to med school?
One of the problems Carlat readily acknowledges is that psychiatry is excessively focused on psychopharmaceuticals at the expense of other effective treatments. Not only is there too much focus when it comes to treatment. There’s so much money flowing from the pharmaceutical industry to psychiatrists that one has to seriously question the profession’s ability to be objective. Read more
About
Hi. I’m Jan Henderson, and this is my blog. I study the history of medicine, and I’m especially interested in how the practice of medicine has changed since the mid-20th century. My interests center on current health issues – health care, pharmaceuticals, the doctor/patient relationship, aging and death – with an eye to both the… Read more